Special Report / 10 Years in the Taiwan Bar Scene] Lab: Japanese Minimalists on the Cutting Edge of Taipei - Part 2 -

The guest of the second part of the third edition of "Special Report: 10 Years of the Taiwan Bar Scene" is Takafumi Makita, who opened Lab at the end of 2020 after honing his skills under Tomoaki Inaba of WA-SHU Japanese Sake, which was introduced in the first part. We interviewed Mr Makita, who is breaking into the Taiwanese bar scene with a different approach to that of Mr Inaba!

writer：Drink Planet　撮影：Wakako Gomi

Interior view of the inorganic and stylish 'Lab'.

Bar with no back bar and no bottles!

On the outskirts of Taipei's central Eastern District, along a main street near Taipei 101 called Renai Road Section 4, Makita Takafumi's (aka Taka) bar, Lab, is discreetly located.

Even though it is a main street, it is sparsely populated at night.

Although Lab is a glass-fronted shop, the lighting is dimly lit and there is almost no decoration.

Rather than a bar, it looks more like a showroom for an interior design shop (after it has closed) or, as the name 'Lab' suggests, a bit of a laboratory.

The interior has grey walls, a hammered ceiling and a white artificial stone counter.

There is no back bar and no bottles on display.

A mysterious light is leaking from behind the frosted glass at the back of the room.

The space is minimalist, completely stripped of any waste.

There, Taka-san appears, nearly 190 cm tall and clad in a pure white bar coat!

(A complete mad scientist's world!).

It may be a bit of an exaggeration, but the atmosphere of the bar was that different.