Feb 21, 20235 min read

[Taipei Neihu] Best Café to Work in—Leisure time

Updated: Mar 18, 2023

Best cafes to work in Taipei, Instagrammable cafe in Taipei, Best pizza in Taipei reddit, Taipei neihu pizza, Best afternoon tea in Taipei, Neihu restaurant, taipei restaurant, Taipei cafe

I haven't seen my best friend for a while, so when we finally figured out a day when she could come back to Taipei, we jumped at the chance to find a quiet and pretty restaurant for a late lunch. I found out about Leisure Time in neihu. We were obsessed pretty restaurants with afternoon teas when we were in high school, so this was like a trip down memory lane.

Taipei Best Café to Work in: Leisure Time—Interior

The overall design of Leisure time is warm and bright. There are also several Instagram worthy spots both in and outside of the store.

The inside of the store is massive with a huge projector screen and projector as well as private booths. It's a perfect spot for events and company gatherings, especially for the tech and automotive companies nearby. My brother-in-law said that his company actually came here for a few gatherings!

Another thing that I noticed is the abundance of power outlets. I really can't find a better word to describe it. Each seat has an average of 4–6 power outlets available. We saw multiple people there working on their laptops with a coffee, sitting of hours. Since the store is massive with many seats, they don't limit how much time your can spend there. There's also a 15% afternoon tea discount between 14:00–17:00. This is perfect for office workers or freelancers and for students to study or discuss projects. You can also stay here chatting with your friends at ease, knowing that no one will kick you out.

Taipei Best Café to Work in: Leisure Time—Serving Size

Before we begin, a little warning, don't underestimate the serving size.

Rosie and I thought we weren't getting a lot of food, but we were so full this was the only meal I had that day. Even my brother-in-law mentioned how one serving of food here could adequately feed him. Which says a lot. If you've seen my mukbang, you know how much I can eat. And my brother-in-law is a former American football player that is over six feet tall.

Taipei Best Café to Work in: Leisure Time—Pizza

As soon as I walked into Leisure Time, I saw the cute pizza doughs breathing on the counter, which the chef expertly tossed with before sending them into a pizza oven. They puffed up like an American football after being baked. They looked so nice I wish I could reach through the glass and poke them. And I was jealous because my bread never risen as beautifully. Once they cooled down, they flattened.

Immediately I knew that the pizza would be amazing and it definitely is something that you have to order here.

We got a small quadro-cheese pizza (NTD$180, 8inch). Leisure Time's four cheese pizza has a unique touch of crushed mixed nuts sprinkled on top. Instead of serving honey on the side, it is drizzled directly onto the pizza when it is served. I initially had problems with that, but this actually made the mesmerizing scent of honey become stronger and it was also the perfect honey-to-cheese ratio. The dough tasted just as good as I imagined. The outside is crispy while the center is soft and chewy with just the right amount of air pockets.

The amount of cheese strikes a perfect balance, none of them overpowered each other. And it wasn't too salty either, which could easily happen with quadro-cheese pizzas, I've been there when I made my first one. The savory and sweet flavor is rich but not too heavy, I particularly loved it with chili flakes on top. It was so good I ordered another large one (NTD$300, 10 inch) for takeout so that my sister could try it, too.

Taipei Best Café to Work in: Leisure Time—Fried Chicken

Leisure Time actually serves multiple different types of fried chicken. We were lucky enough to get the Korean fried chicken (NTD$290) on the first day that they became available! My friend and I both love Korean food and if you have seen us in my mukbangs, you might know that Rosie even speaks some Korean and I have spent a lot of time studying Korean recipes. In fact, I'm proud that my jokbal recipe went semi-viral and the Chinese version is even the feature snippet on Google. Anyway, I digress. My point is, we were really excited about it and also ready to analyze the hell out of it.

To our delight, the Korean fried chicken from Leisure Time is not overwhelmingly sweet. It has a bit of sweetness to it, as Korean fried chicken should be since gochujang is a bit sweet to begin with. Some crushed almonds are sprinkled on top of the fried chicken and there are tiny dices of pineapple and Asian pear in the sauce. Which is such an iconic Korean thing. You can often find pears, apples, and various other fruits in the recipe for their sauce.

The outside of the chicken is so crispy that I could hear it crunch as I bit into it. I usually hate chicken skin, but the chicken skin in those did not have the common oily stench that I dislike, it also didn't feel greasy or sticky. These are so addictive I can't get tired of them. I even started studying how I could recreate this recipe then and there.

Taipei Best Café to Work in: Leisure Time—Dessert

For our first dessert, we got the boba ice cream waffle (NTD$240). Can you think of a more localized flavor than that? We had to try it. The waffle had a crispy shell and is not sweet on its own. Which is good because the boba pearls make up for it. They bounced against my teeth and filled my nostrils with the sweet scent of brown sugar. The cream and vanilla ice cream on top adds a cold sensation and smooth texture that balances out the sweetness. I definitely enjoyed this more than regular fruit waffles.

Our other dessert was a banana chocolate cream puff(NTD$120). The cream puff is airy and soft. The bottom of the inside was layered with banana slices which brings a firmer texture that complements the cream puff. The rest of it is filled with rich and silky chocolate sauce that slid across my tongue. This one is more on the sweet side, but since cream puffs aren't big, I found it to be just the right portion.

Taipei Best Café to Work in: Leisure Time—Drinks

Rosie ordered the fresh fruit tea (NT$180) which can be made either hot or iced. The tea is a beautiful saturated yellow from all the tropical fruits. There is a thick layer passion fruit seeds on the bottom. The sweetness and sourness of the passion fruit and the refreshing apple slices perfectly complement each other.

I had the berry soda (NTD$130) which is such a cute pink and purple gradient! It is made with Leisure Time's fresh berry jam with a slice of lemon on top. Once I stirred up the berry pulps on the bottom, I could taste pieces of delicious mulberries. The sweet and sour flavor is overall very light, which makes it extremely refreshing and thirst-quenching. I don't normally like soft drinks but I could drink this all day.