The Bannan Line has four consecutive stops inside Banqiao: Fuzhong, Banqiao, Xinpu, Jiangzicui. Walk five minutes from any exit and there is a row of bistros. This piece is split by stop, one drink per stop, stop wherever you stop.
One premise first: ten to fifteen minutes on foot between stops, two minutes by MRT. No need to drive, and no reason to.
Fuzhong: Xianmin Blvd Sec. 1, old Banqiao’s first glass
Out of Fuzhong station, follow Xianmin Blvd Sec. 1. 認真餐酒館 (the name means “serious bistro”) at No. 96-1, 4.9 stars, 1,900-plus reviews, the name is the attitude; 久天居酒屋 at No. 300, close to 3,000 reviews; YELO Seoul Bistro 首爾餐酒館 at No. 308, 2,000 reviews, 4.3 stars, Korean bar snacks with soju, a lower rating but fast turnover — no queue on a Friday night. Three places on one road, two to three hundred metres apart.
For something later, turn into Minzu Rd. ROBATA Bistro爐端餐酒館-板橋深夜酒吧 at No. 58 has “late night” written into its name, 4.8 stars, 350-plus reviews, robata grill with whisky, one of the last seats standing on this stretch of Fuzhong; closing time is whatever the door says. 海神弄局餐酒吧 板橋旗艦店 at No. 26 Chongqing Rd, 400-plus reviews, cocktails first — for people who are not here to eat.
Fuzhong’s price band: NT$500-700 a head, cocktails NT$300-450 a glass. Booking rules are in the Banqiao bistro booking guide; 認真餐酒館 at 7 pm on a Friday or Saturday without a booking probably means a wait.
Banqiao: the south edge of Xinban, Zhongshan Rd Sec. 1 and Banxin Rd
Fuzhong to Banqiao station is about ten minutes on foot. Skip the department stores, take Zhongshan Rd Sec. 1.
酒食人餐酒館 at No. 124, 1,300-plus reviews, 4.7 stars; next door at No. 128, 1F, The Wild Boar 野豬精釀啤酒餐酒館, 1,600-plus reviews, 4.8 stars, craft beer NT$250-350 a glass; 葵 Aoi Bistro at No. 88, 360-plus reviews, 4.8 stars, Japanese bistro, few seats. All three within two minutes’ walk of each other.
Cross Xianmin Blvd to Banxin Rd. The places that have opened on this road in recent years deserve a card more than any department-store rooftop: 印相餐酒 Tales in Focus Bistro Bar at No. 127, 1F, 4.9 stars, 300-plus reviews; Chennel 1 bar at No. 119, a full five stars, 170-plus reviews, a small room — call ahead for six or more; 鳥藏燒き鳥居酒屋 at No. 229, yakitori with sake, 160 reviews, 4.9 stars. 來吧sunset南洋風暢飲餐酒館 at No. 122 Xianmin Blvd Sec. 2, 2,700 reviews, 4.9 stars, all-you-can-drink, about NT$600 a head, worth it for four, not for two.
Feet hurt.
指舞春秋足體養生會館 板橋環球館 on 2F of Global Mall at No. 7 Xianmin Blvd Sec. 2, 900-plus reviews, upstairs from the station — walk down and board after the massage.
Xinpu: the lanes off Minsheng Rd and Wenhua Rd Sec. 1
Banqiao station to Xinpu is about fifteen minutes on foot, one MRT stop. This stop’s bistros are not on the main road; they are in the lanes.
漁網居酒屋 at No. 4, Alley 24, Lane 234, Minsheng Rd Sec. 2, 4.9 stars, 2,500 reviews, Xinpu’s most-reviewed izakaya, waits 7 to 9 pm on Friday and Saturday; Wood Bistro 木餐酒館 at No. 12, Lane 226, 1F, 270-plus reviews. Same block, three minutes apart. 書局酒吧 (the “bookshop bar”) at No. 140 Minsheng Rd Sec. 3, 580-plus reviews, 4.8 stars, no awkwardness coming alone.
On the Wenhua Rd Sec. 1 side, 韓式餐酒館 ABV Bar & Kitchen 板橋文化店 at No. 217, 1,000-plus reviews, the same ABV as the rooftop on Fuzhong Rd with a thinner crowd; next door at No. 219-5, 1F, Brasa西班牙餐酒館, 100-plus reviews, 4.5 stars, book for weekends. 老味噌居酒屋 板橋-新埔店 at No. 11 Wanban Rd, 4,500-plus reviews, Xinpu’s review king, waits 7 to 9 pm, smoother after 9:30.
Jiangzicui: the finish, outside the alley
Xinpu to Jiangzicui, Wenhua Rd Sec. 1 into Sec. 2, twelve minutes or so on foot. The three izakaya heavyweights of Alley 7, Lane 182 were covered in the Jiangzicui piece; not repeating them.
Here, Jiangzicui is only the finish. 花之偈居酒屋 at No. 19, Lane 421, Wenhua Rd Sec. 1, 4.9 stars, 1,100-plus reviews, sits between Xinpu and Jiangzicui and is walkable from both — one more round of skewers goes here; 雅筑養生SPA會館 at No. 17, Lane 182, Wenhua Rd Sec. 2, 1F, 4.9 stars, 430-plus reviews, right beside the izakaya alley, registered as a spa rather than foot massage — for feet, walk to Minquan Rd.
How to split it
All four stops, four or more drinks, not recommended. Two stops a night: Fuzhong with Banqiao is old Banqiao with Xinban; Xinpu with Jiangzicui is lanes with a residential block. Bannan Line last train around midnight; after that, taxis on Xianmin Blvd and Wenhua Rd. After drinks, designated driver or cab; from any of the four stops it is fifteen to twenty minutes back to Taipei.
Lists: Banqiao bars and bistros, Banqiao massage and spa, singing on the Banqiao KTV list, the whole district on the Banqiao guide.