1F, No. 13, Lane 85, Lin-sen N Rd, Utopia Map, 2581-3133. Open nightly. 林森北路85巷13號一樓

Comments from Utopians:

"Goldfish was nice on Fri night. Not terribly crowded, but not empty either. It's a bar, not a disco, yet the music was good (made me want to dance sometimes). I left at about 1am, right about when it started to get a bit crowded. In general, the crowd was about 30-45yo, definitely gym-going, but muscle bearish. Not too smokey. No cover charge." -- Greg, Apr 1, 2013

TAIPEI CITY HALL

1F, No. 13, Alley 5, Lane 147, Sec 1, Keelung Rd, Utopia Map, 2749-5956. Gay-owned, straight-friendly bar with a neighborhood feeling and contemporary decor mixing gothic and Old World flavors. The owner has filled his large club with quality sound equipment, comfortable couches and eclectic furnishings to create a space designed for Generation Y to network, share, date, and matchmake (the owner has brought together more than half a dozen couples). Gender rules and attitude are left at the door. Crowd is a mix of 25-35yo young professionals. Lesbian bartender and some lesbian customers also. Open daily 9pm-3am. 信義區基隆路一段147巷5弄13號1F，100

XIMEN -- Red House

Ximen is Taipei's largest gayborhood, with over two dozen gay venues including gay hotels, bars, saunas, shops and restaurants. Easy access by subway and everything here is within a short walking distance.

1/F Red House, No. 51, Lane 10, Chengdu Rd, Utopia Map, 2370-7833, email. Foreigner-friendly gay bar located at the Red House courtyard, in the heart of Taipei's most hopping rainbow neighborhood. This al fresco bar is open during the day until late at night. Good music. Cocktails, coffee and more. 西門紅樓廣場

2/F Red House, No. 51, Lane 10, Chengdu Rd, Utopia Map, 2388-0440, 097-314-1656. Taipei's first BDSM bar. Hard gay hang out with S&M flavored decor at this more secluded upstairs bar. Indoor and terrace seating. Small bar but busy, even on week nights. Very friendly for visiting hard gays of all stripes. Customers have been known to initiate impromptu play and training and the staff will lower the curtains for discretion when that happens (ask to see pics from some of the more recent sessions). The bartender is excellent and making stiff drinks is his cocktail philosophy, including some inventive Absinthe concoctions. Please have your safeword prepared. 西門紅樓廣場

B1, No.36, Sec 2, Kaifeng St, Utopia Map, 2389-0899. Second branch of this BDSM bar. 台北市萬華區開封街二段36號B1

Comments from Utopians:

"Commander D. is the only gay bar in Taipei that has a no-smoking policy (snokers go out on the stairwell or outside to smoke). People who are really into S/M will be disappointed. It mainly just gives demos on Japanese bondage, once or twice a night. The crowd in general is younger (20s), with a few people up to their early 40s as well. Try not to step on the hands of the dog-in-training, though. He won't bite, but it's not polite." -- Greg, Apr 1, 2013

"New fetish bar by the owners of Commander, Commander D., is located at B1, No 36, Section 2, Kaifeng St. Fully equipped with BDSM facilities. The nearest MRT station is Ximen." -- bill18062000, Jul 17, 2012

No. 228 Kunming St, Wanhua Dist, Utopia Map, 2371-1071. Pandas (Asian bears) and monkeys (chasers) take note: this chub and bear-popular tea drink stall has a bar, sidewalk seating and a 2/F aircon bear den upstairs. They serve jumbo, non-alcoholic drinks in oversized jars and pitchers which make the pandas and chubs look even cuter. Open from the afternoon until late. 台北市昆明街228號

1/F Red House, No. 51, Lane 10, Chengdu Rd, Utopia Map, 2388-2069, email. This friendly chub, bear and chaser bar uses the back of their business card to gather and pass personal info along to anyone you might fancy. Spearheading this social lubrication is Singaporean bon vivant, Donny, and his captain, Simon. This is a great place to get info on all things gay and bear in the city. They have a free brochure covering all the Red House businesses and the scoop (if not the skinny) on local goings-on. Mostly Taiwanese, Japanese and mainland Chinese patrons. 西門紅樓廣場 Utopia Member Discount

No. 51, Lane 10, Chengdu Rd, Utopia Map. This heritage cultural complex houses has become a de facto gay shopping center with more than a dozen LGBT and queer-friendly bars and shops. To get there take the Metro to Ximen Station Exit 1, and it's right in front of you. There are two floors. G/F has a series of bars and restaurants starting with the BAD.TW gay shop and ending with the busy Sol bar. Between these you have a dozen rainbow establishments. And don't overlook the venues on 2/F. It is mainly al fresco and can get cold and wet in the winter, so wrap up well if you visit then. Some of the bars have no toilets and this means a walk to public bathrooms. Lively most nights and packed on weekends. The partying runs into the wee hours. 西門紅樓廣場

1/F Red House, No. 51, Lane 10, Chengdu Rd, Utopia Map. Very popular bar with both indoor and outdoor seating. 西門紅樓廣場

ZHONGXIAO DUNHUA

110 Hsinsheng N. Rd, Section 1 (between Chung Hsiao E. and Nanking E. Rd, on the west side of the street, beside the dry cleaners), Utopia Map. Extremeley difficult to see from the street. Small and a bit run down, but the bartenders and management (Big David and Small David) are super fun to chat with (in Chinese only). Crowded very quickly on weekends. Popular with Japanese and Taiwanese who like them, salarymen and 35yo+. 新生北路1段11號- 南京東路與長安東路間

B1 No. 8, Sec 1, Keelung Rd, Utopia Map, 2762-9246. Occasional gay nights and events for the hardcore party goer. Can get very packed. 基隆路1段8號地下室，與南京東路交叉口

ZHONGXIAO DUNHUA

5/F No. 201, Jhongsiao E. Rd, Sec 4, Utopia Map, 095-590-4600. Situated in central Taipei close to the MRT. A stylish, big club with quarterly gay parties. check the calendar of events on their website. 忠孝東路4段201號5樓 – 統領大樓

OTHER AREAS

B1, No. 10, Sec. 1, Hangjhou S. Rd, Utopia Map, 2394-2162. Popular gay club for over two decades, with an international crowd. One maze-like basement, with a dance floor at the center, coin lockers, and tables and stools around the endges for hanging out. A few women, but mainly guys there to meet and dance with other guys. The music is mostly Asian pop, with some Western mixes thrown in. Crowd is local men and some Japanese guys also. Karaoke also. 杭州南路1段10號地下室

B1F, 23 Longjiang Rd., Zhongshan Dist, Utopia Map, 2507-8186. Local music played here. Lots of young Taiwanese.

"Re-Fresh is closed." -- Greg, Apr 15, 2013

2F-1, 96 Linsen North Rd. 台北市林森北路96號2樓之1

B/F 67 Lane 133, Linsen N. Rd, Jhongshan Dist, Utopia Map, 2543-1101. Karaoke lounge bar. 林森北路133巷67號地下室

2/F 132 Linsen North Rd. 台北市林森北路132號2樓

No. 11, Lane 121, Sec 1, Zhongshan N Rd, Utopia Map, 2567-7306. Opened in 2010. Effervescent owner, Matt, has one of the friendliest karaoke bars in town and one of the most beautifully designed, with a large bar counter, plus table and cozy couch seating. Bold orange, red and chocolate tones throughout and bear art by some of Japan's leading gay manga cartoonists who have visited. Staff speak Chinese plus some English and Japanese. Occasional fun theme parties, such as beach wear. Friendly for visitors (they'll introduce you to the people who speak your language). Crowd is 25-45, mostly local professionals and bears, plus Asian visitors from China, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. Closed Mon. Open T-Th from 8pm-3am, weekends 9pm-5am. 台北市中山區中山北路一段121巷11號

No. 25, Lane 138, Linsen North Rd, Utopia Map. Karaoke bar with bear crowd, including Japanese customers. 台北市林森北路138巷25號

2/F unit 7, No. 21 Lane 105, Jhonshan N. Rd, Sec 1 (next to Astor Hotel), Utopia Map, 2567-9039. Japanese drinking and karaoke bar. 中山北路1段105巷21號2樓 – 緊鄰林森北路亞士都飯店

B1 3 Lane 416 Linsen N. Rd, Utopia Map, 2561-0592. Walk along a very small lane at the opposite side of Cosmed at the intersection of Linsen N. Rd and Jinjhou St. Look out for the entrance sign “membership”. A popular karaoke place drawing a very local crowd. 林森北路416巷3號地下室 – 近東光百貨路口附近

XIMEN -- Red House

B1 79 Kunming St, Utopia Map, 2314-1306. An old fashioned Taiwanese style bar especially for pandas (Asian bears) and monkeys (chasers). Large space. Open from the afternoon until late. Every last Sat of the month they have a NT$500 all-you-can-drink special. Open daily 9pm-3am (weekends until 6am).台北市昆明街79號B1

2/F Red House, No. 51, Lane 10, Chengdu Rd, Utopia Map. Small and busy karaoke bar where young gays and lesbians and their friends hang out. 西門紅樓廣場

2/F Red House, No. 51, Lane 10, Chengdu Rd, Utopia Map, 091-252-5546. Above Sol. Terrace seating. Beer wine, cocktails, karaoke. 西門紅樓廣場

83-10 Wu-chang Rd, Sec 2, Utopia Map, 2388-6883. 萬華區武昌街二段83之10號

Comments from Utopians:

"Tiger is a small karaoke den full of Taiwanese bears who like to smile and sing a lot. The staff is very friendly and helpful as well. The air was a bit too smokey for my taste, though. It has a minimum charge of NT$400 per person, about average for a local karaoke bar." -- Greg, Apr 14, 2013