"A one-star French table reworking Taiwanese street food — book Impromptu by Paul Lee for sugarcane-smoked duck."
Impromptu sits on basement level one of the Regent Taipei in the Taipei district of Zhongshan, where US-trained chef Paul Lee returned home to open in 2018 and won a Michelin star in 2019 that he has held since. The format is French technique applied to the flavours Lee grew up with — a ten-course tasting menu that reads as fine dining but draws openly on Taiwanese street food, served at a counter facing the kitchen.
Chef Paul Lee builds the tasting around quality local produce and a few imported luxuries, finished with modern technique. The signature is sugarcane-smoked duck, and an early highlight is firefly squid in squid-ink sauce; Asian and European notes run side by side across the ten courses. The set menu lands around NT$3,900 per person, with an optional cocktail or wine pairing, placing a full evening in the top ($$$$) bracket and squarely in special-occasion territory.
The room is small and intimate, with much of the seating at a bar that lets you watch the chefs plate and talk you through the courses. Expect about three hours for the full menu, and a calm, grown-up mood rather than a buzzy dining hall. Tables are limited and demand is high, so reservations open roughly a month ahead and go quickly — book the moment the window opens, especially for a weekend.
For a proposal, an anniversary or an evening to impress visiting clients, Impromptu fits: the counter seats put the kitchen on show, the long tasting paces a celebration, and the Regent address makes it easy. A natural proposal and anniversary table, and a confident room in which to impress clients.
Not for a quick à la carte bite or a large group — Impromptu is a small counter serving one long set tasting menu, booked weeks ahead.
Impromptu is on basement level one of the Regent Taipei, off Lane 39 of Zhongshan North Road Section 2, in Taipei's Zhongshan district.
Yes. Chef Paul Lee won a Michelin star in 2019, the year after opening, and the restaurant has held it since.
There is one ten-course tasting menu; the sugarcane-smoked duck is the signature, alongside firefly squid in squid-ink sauce.
The set tasting menu runs around NT$3,900 per person, with an optional cocktail or wine pairing on top.
Reservations open roughly a month in advance and the small counter fills quickly, so book as soon as the window opens.
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