This guide covers the best restaurants, street food, and dining experiences in Taiwan.
For more recommendations, see the full guide.
When it comes to Yilan aboriginal cuisine, you may have heard of the Atayal people, but do you know how many stories their dining table holds? The Atayal villages located in Yilan's Datong Township and Nan'ao Township have preserved a remarkably complete traditional food culture—from mountain vegetable foraging to stream fishing, from stone-roasting techniques to bamboo tube cooking, every dish carries the wisdom of their ancestors.
Featured Highlights:
The core spirit of Atayal cuisine is "living in harmony with the mountains and forests." They avoid chemical pesticides and fertilizers, instead following the seasons to forage wild ingredients: mountain ferns and fiddlehead ferns in spring, lemon grass and mountain pepper in summer, sweet persimmons and walnuts in autumn, yams and ferns in winter. What makes the Atayal unique is their "stone-roasting" tradition—placing heated stones into ingredients to steam-cook them, similar to the prototype of stone fire cooking, a method that preserves the most original sweetness and moisture of the food.
Another特色是「鹹肉」發酵文化，将猎得的猪肉或山羌肉用盐腌製后吊挂风乾，存放数月后食用，风味浓郁，是下酒佳餚。此外，竹筒饭也是经典，将糯米放入竹节中炭烤，竹子的清香渗入米粒，是登山时的能量来源。
近年宜兰原住民餐厅逐渐走向「食材透明化」，不少店家开始与在地小农合作，供应来源可追溯的野菜，并将传统技法现代化，例如用低温烹调取代直接火烤，让风味更细腻。这股趋势也反映在价格上——从过去平均NT$200-300的吃到饱形式，转向NT$400-800的单点精致料理。
Recommended Locations:
"Atayal Flavor House" is located in Leshui Village, Datong Township, one of the few restaurants operated personally by Atayal people. The proprietress learned traditional cooking from her elders since childhood. Their signature "stone-roasted wild boar"—wild boar meat cooked with wild vegetables over hot stones for three hours—features tender meat with a subtle charcoal aroma, with saltiness coming from natural salt rather than processed seasonings. Signature bamboo rice NT$80, mountain fern stir-fried with bamboo shoots NT$150. Ideal for visitors wanting to experience authentic home cooking. Open AM10:00-PM17:00, closed Wednesdays.
"Sayonara Flavor Restaurant" is on Nan'ao Road in Nan'ao Township. The owner is a returning youth who combines traditional Atayal dishes with creative plating. "Mountain pepper steamed fish" uses same-day caught croaker fish, flavored with mountain pepper (litsea cubeba), featuring delicate flesh with a subtle lemon aroma, NT$350. "Salted meat platter" offers three types of salted meat cuts, served with ginger slices and millet wine, perfect for sharing NT$280. Their wild vegetable soup is complimentary, made with six types of foraged vegetables—recommend drinking a bowl first to experience the mountain forest's essence.
"Kitchen in the Valley" is hidden along the access road toward Taishan (Mount Tai), with no obvious sign, requiring advance reservation. Their cooking style is very "raw"—preserving food in its most original state. "Garden salad" directly serves field wild vegetables cleaned and dipped in sesame sauce. "Roasted mountain chicken" is slow-roasted over acacia wood for four hours, all juices locked beneath the skin, starting at NT$500. They emphasize "tasting the season"—the menu changes monthly, and autumn visitors can enjoy dishes incorporating sweet persimmons.
"Grandpa's Stove" is in Hanxi Village, Datong Township, a family-style restaurant run by an 80-year-old grandfather, with his daughter-in-law helping with front-of-house. Their exclusive "millet wine pig's trotters"—braised for six hours with millet wine, ginger slices, and lemon grass—is rich in collagen but not sticky, NT$300. "Fried rice noodles" use brown rice noodles instead of white, with stir-fried salted meat and cabbage, full of home-cooking aroma NT$100. Recommend visiting at lunch; dinner only accepts reserved guests.
"Mountain Wild Vegetable Restaurant" is near Nan'ao Train Station, one of the few places offering all-you-can-eat, NT$350/person. Its advantage is the variety of nearly 30 wild vegetables—water lettuce, fiddlehead ferns, black nightshade, bird's nest fern, and more—plus grilled sweet fish and salted meat soup. Suitable for groups or family outings; uneaten vegetables can be taken out.
Practical Information:
Transportation: From Yilan Train Station or bus terminal, take Guoguang Bus routes 1751 or 1764 to reach various villages in Datong Township; for Nan'ao Township, take route 1766. Self-driving or chartered car is recommended as bus frequencies are low and holiday traffic can be heavy.
Cost参考: Traditional family restaurants approximately NT$150-400/person, specialty restaurants NT$350-600/person, some reservation-only private kitchens NT$800-1200.
Operating hours: Most restaurants open AM10:00-PM17:00, with many closed Wednesdays and Thursdays—recommend calling ahead before visiting.
Best season: Spring (March-May) when wild vegetables are most tender, summer and autumn (July-October) when fruits and catches are abundant, winter (November-February) ideal for salted meat and yam dishes.
Travel Tips:
1. Make reservations in advance—many restaurants have limited seating and ingredients need prior preparation, especially for "Kitchen in the Valley" and "Grandpa's Stove."
2. Bring enough cash—some small establishments do not accept credit cards or mobile payment.
3. Respect dietary customs—Atayal tradition includes serving culture; do not place food directly in the center of the table. Elders should serve first.
4. Nearby itinerary: Taishan National Forest Recreation Area and Jiuzih Hot Spring in Datong Township; Chaoyang Trail and Nan'ao Farm in Nan'ao.
