Taipei may not be the most romantic city in the world, yet that doesn’t mean there aren’t any ideal dating spots.
After searching for a fancy place to date, we were pleased to find Rosmarine Giardino, a beautiful restaurant that serves delicious European cuisine at reasonable prices.
Rosmarine Giardino is located in a nice and quiet residential area of Zhongshan District.
It’s pretty convenient to get to because the restaurant is in between two MRT stations, Nanjing Fuxing and Songjiang Nanjing (under a 10-minute walk from each station).
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1. About the Restaurant |
Unlike most romantic restaurants in Taipei, Rosmarine Giardino, (Italian for rosemary garden), has a lovely outside seating area just as you enter through the iron gates. – It’s also completely covered under an awning in case it rains.
It’s just as beautiful inside with its mood-setting ambiance, which can get things off to a good start even before the dishes begin to arrive.
We made our reservation for a Saturday afternoon since they would probably be busier on the weekdays.
The staff told us they don’t take many bookings within the same period to make their customers feel very comfortable and get the most out of their romantic experience dining here.
The beautiful, European-style restaurant uses soft lighting with light music playing to give a pleasant and romantic vibe.
They have a nice selection of wine, beer, and tea on display at the counter to cater to what you’re in the mood for.
They keep their desserts, fruits, and chilled alcohol on display in the refrigerated cabinet. Some of their desserts are handmade cakes that come in different flavors each day.
What we ordered
After checking out what they had on display and in their menu, we made our minds up on what we wanted. We skipped the appetizers, and went for three main course meals, followed by two desserts.
Our Drinks
Green Apple Litchi Iced Tea ($160)
This iced tea looked a lot more like an exotic cocktail drink than anything else. However, it’s made with green tea for the base, added with a mix of green apple syrup and lychee.
The blue at the bottom of the glass is citrus dew, which we suggest stirring it in before drinking or it’ll taste pretty sweet. – You can also squeeze in the lemon slices on top to adjust the sweetness as the tea doesn’t taste as sweet as it looks.
Hot Fruit Tea ($180)
You get the option to have the fruit tea hot or cold. It’s made with a mix of many kinds of chopped-up fruits, which didn’t taste sour at all. – We later realized they use Twinings which tends to be a smoother kind of tea.
Sea Urchin Pasta with Scallops ($380)
The spaghetti is fried with Japanese sea urchin sauce, garlic, onions, and cheese. We could taste the sea urchin sauce without the obvious feeling we were eating sea urchins.
The dish comes with three big pan-fried Japanese scallops on top. The surface layer of the scallops is lightly fried with a slight crispy fragrance, while the inner layer retains a little rawness. This gave them a crispy outside texture while being juicy, fresh, and sweet on the inside.
Pork Leg with Osmanthus Apple ($390)
We ordered the pork drumstick dish from the ‘Chef’s Special’ page of the menu.
If gourmet is the cultural ideal associated with the culinary arts of fine food, then this eligible dish should be classed for its quality, flavor, and artful presentation.
The pork wasn’t too much for this dish. It was soft, sweet-scented, and it came off the bone very easily. It went very well with the sauce, which is based on apples, red wine, plum sauce, and vegetables cooked together.
The composition of potato fries, brussels sprouts, tomatoes and the slice of pineapple transformed the overall flavor of this dish into a sweet and refreshing taste. – Despite the fact it didn’t look a lot, we were pretty stuffed after finishing it!
Smoked Salmon Pizza ($380)
We decided to order a pizza because it’s ideal food sharing when dating.
The base was quite thin to what you’d expect from a pizza in a fancy restaurant. As for the size, it wasn’t very big, but definitely, enough to share between two people considering that we had ordered other dishes.
We also felt that the price was justified with the quality and freshness of the salmon and cheese. The cheese is danish mozzarella, which stretches before breaking off as we pulled each slice away.
The pizza was also crispy around the edges, making it easy to pick the slices up from the stone slab.
We didn’t touch the side food and dip sauce because we felt the pizza was perfect and enough on its own.
Tiramisu ($150)
The desserts are amazing here, especially if traditional Italian desserts are your thing. They even use edible rose petals to decorate the plate to make your date more romantic.
The base is a sweet and soft sponge called Ladyfingers. As for the ingredients that make up the Tiramisu, they consist of coffee wine, brandy, lime, cream, mascarpone cheese, and cocoa powder.
We found the tiramisu cake to be creamy, much like the taste of ice cream. The bittersweet chocolate powder on top melted straightway in our mouths.
Mixed Berry Tart ($150)
This romantic dessert is carefully handmade with lime, cream, and mascarpone cheese. The berries were juicy, which went very well with the mint and yogurt underneath.
As for the cookie crust, we found it to be a bit hard and crispy, so it was easier to pick it up to bite into.
If you’re interested in ordering the mixed berry tart, it’s best to let them know in advance by booking ahead. This is because the berries are stored frozen, and would need time to thaw.
The Menu
Since their menu changes by season, it’s best to view all the latest options and prices on their official Facebook page.
When we checked out their reservation policy, we found it’s best to make a reservation a few days ahead of time for them to prepare the meals you’ve ordered. – This is because some dishes require a day or two to be ready.
Worth visiting?
We had a wonderful, romantic time dating there. The restaurant also makes an ideal venue for birthdays, as well as any other fancy dinner group outing events.
Will we go back?
None of our friends have any upcoming birthdays as of yet, but it’ll be at the top of our suggestions to book here when we do.
★ While we were there, we learned that saying “Hi, Chef Chef” to the staff can get you a small treat for free! – (Chef chef sounds pretty similar to “thank you” in Chinese).
Rosmarine GiardinoHours: Telephone: 09 6512 5278 Facebook: 迷迭香花園Rosmarine Giardino English address: No.6, Lane 48, Section 3, Zhongshan District, Nanjing East Road, Taipei City Chinese address: 104台北市中山區南京東路三段48巷6號1樓 Closest MRTs: Nanjing Fuxing Songjiang Nanjing |
🗓️ Updated: March 2021 – Taipei.Expats
