West Central District, Tainan City｜存憶 Cafe Bar

Okay, it was last year that I visited this place. But it was the single most memorable coffee shop I visited in Taiwan. The ambience was that of the ideal Bobemian cafe, one such as one might have expected to find in Paris in the 50’s. One that greets each customer on his or her own terms, where writers, artists and musicians linger for hours discussing the things that these people discuss. A place where the owner is something of a “member” more than a business owner. In short, a place where people feel like they can live, and be alive. Oh, and I forgot… It also has excellent coffee and is fun to look at the antique decor which feels like it has lived in this place since time immemorial. Perhaps one of the nicest coffee shops I’ve been in any place in the world.

Okay, y’all talking about how great the coffee is are missing the afternoon bar scene. We arrived after 6pm and ordered a whiskey sour, Kombucha, and strawberry juice, which were all out, and so we drank what the owner gave us (it was amazing). The spot seems to be a gathering place of fun local personalities after dark. While there, we befriended a chill cat on a day out, a retired ojisan from Japan that kindly invited us to sit next to him and spoke to us in Japanese (because we couldn’t speak Mandarin), and the mysterious owner who was barefoot and shared with us the wonderful world of vegan food in Tainan using google translate. At one point the owner even left the shop with ojisan, probably to get him home safely, like a scene of a movie. A beautiful fever dream. Suffice to say, it was the best experience we’ve had in Taiwan. 🇹🇼❤️

cafe perfection. the surroundings are visual poetry, evoking old Tainan. the owner William is a wise soul & warm teacher, happy to chat about coffee & its politics, the Taiwanese project, and the beauty of our native tongue. he’s passionate about coffee—tell him what you like & he’ll prepare the perfect cup with his siphon maker. grateful to have found this spot ☕️✨