Taipei’s first capybara cafe, Capybara Knight (水豚騎士) is a cute Taiwan animal cafe that takes its cuteness to another level.
Hidden away in the back-streets of Tucheng District, Capybara Knight is home to Ba La the female capybara and Ga Bi (plus several rabbits, ducks and a cat – it is quite the menagerie!)
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We visited Capybara Knight, Taipei’s most famous capybara cafe in late 2024 to see what all the fuss was about.
As we aren’t generally fans of animal cafes (other than cat ones), we weren’t too sure what to expect. However we are glad to report the animals were free to roam outside and seemed very happy.
From prices to the capybara themed menu, here is our guide to visiting the Capybara Knight capybara cafe in Taipei.
You might also like – Our guide to visiting Taiwan’s Capybara Rock, near Shen’ao Rail Bike
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How to get to Capybara Knight
Capybara Knight is on the outskirts of Taipei in the Tucheng District but easily reachable by MRT then a short walk – from Taipei Main Station, it takes around 45 minutes including the walk.
Take the blue Bannian MRT line to Tucheng MRT Station and take exit 1 – as you exit the MRT, turn around and look at the incredible Guangchenyan Temple behind you.
Go past the 7-Eleven just outside the Tucheng MRT Station exit 1 for about 2 minutes then turn left onto the road just before a huge McDonalds.
Just follow this road (Section 2, Xuefu Road) for about five minutes and you’ll Capybara Knight on the left hand-side; the frontage has lots of cute cartoon capybara and duck signs on the outside.
Here is a Google Maps link to Capybara Knight >
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Capybara Knight prices / bookings in 2024
Compared to a lot of animal cafes in Taipei, Capybara Knight is actually quite inexpensive.
The basic cost to visit Capybara Knight:
- NT$150 on a weekday
- NT$200 on weekends and public holidays
This include 20 minutes feeding the capybaras, plus a drink and capybara pancake / taiyaki.
This is the correct price at the time of our visit in October 2024.
Admission prices are the same for adults and children – kids under 2 go free.
Group sizes for the capybara feeding sessions are usually capped at 6 people – we fed the capybaras with two other couples and everyone patiently waited their turn to feed and photograph etc.
Note that you can spend longer at the cafe eating and drinking but the 20 minute time-slot refers to your capybara feeding time – and you wouldn’t want to miss that! We detail the other menu / food prices at Capybara Knight later on.
Just to say that we thought our NT$150 Capybara Knight admission fee was very reasonable and they could easily charge more. For instance, the new Le Mao Chef cat cafe in Ximending charges a minimum of NT$500 per person plus a 10% service charge on top!
Please note bookings in advance (via the Capybara Knight website) is highly recommended – we booked about a week in advance and found only one remaining time slot (opening) for the day we wanted to go.
Check out our Taipei neighbourhoods guides:
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The ‘Capybara Knight’ experience, Taipei’s top capybara cafe
The cafe is located in a very sleepy side-street away from the hustle and bustle of the city – the capybaras pond and enclosure is located outside in front of the building.
Unlike other traditional / tawdry animal cafes, we were really pleased to see the capybaras weren’t paraded around inside the cafe as we would have questioned the ethics of this.
Instead, Ba La Ga Bi just play around in the yard outside with a small pond to bath, with ducks and rabbits as their companions.
Arriving at the cafe (remember it is highly recommended to book in advance), check in at the front counter and place your drink orders.
If you don’t manage to secure a ‘capybara feeding’ slot booking, you can still turn up at the cafe and buy food and drinks and watch the capybaras (but you won’t be allowed in the enclosure).
As part of the Capybara Knight admission fee you can have either a black tea, green tea or Americano (all hot or cold) included. Or instead, you can have other drinks from the menu and pay the difference.
We didn’t like our drinks (the Americano was very weak and the green tea was too sweet and undrinkable) – but hey, we were here for the Ba La and Ga Bi the capybaras, the drinks were just a bonus.
The package also includes a capybara shaped pancake (like a taiyaki) which was neat.
Example food and drink prices in the Capybara Knight 水豚騎士 cafe ranged from NT$50 for a tea (the cheapest drink) through to flavored lattes for NT$130
Themed cakes and desserts are also available to buy plus fast food like fries for NT$80 or pizzas for NT$200.
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Capybara feeding time
When you pay at the counter, you are told your allocated feeding slot and given an electronic buzzer – when it vibrates, head out to the front; you can leave your bags, coats and drinks / food inside.
Once in the enclosure, you are given a briefing card in different languages – basically don’t get too close to the capybara’s teeth when feeding them, don’t use a flash plus you can feed the ducks and rabbits too.
As you will like be sharing with other people / groups, it also has a gentle reminder not to ‘hog’ the capybaras to yourself and allow others to take photos.
Once in the enclosure, you are given a cup of greens / hay to feed the capybaras – as we were the first session of the day (at 10:20am), the capybaras seemed to enjoy the attention and wolf down the greens.
Try this – See capybaras at Taipei Zoo >
They spent most of their time in the water and occasionally would go for strolls around the yard.
On our visit, our feeding group consisted of three couples and after us, the next feeding session consisted of a family of 3 and a group of European girls (word has spread around the world eh).
Everyone seemed to enjoy their experiences and the capybaras didn’t seem to mind the attention – the ducks enjoyed it even more, especially when fed seed.
We didn’t see any troubling behavior and capybaras looked very well after – so we were very happy with this Taipei capybara cafe experience at Capybara Knight. Staff members were also on-hand inside and out at all times.
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Capybara Knight cafe and gift shop
Obviously everyone is here to ultimately feed the capybaras – the cafe inside was OK and a little shabby around the edges but fine.
Also inside, there are several capybara gift cabinets where you can buy everything from exclusive Capybara Knight sticker sets from NT$100 to bigger capybara collectibles and plushes.
For younger guests, there is a playroom next to the cafe with a tiny table which is home to the resident cat – although the cat seemed to rather stay in their cat box on our visit.
Outside by the capybara enclosure, there is a capybara seating / waiting area complete with themed cushions and stools – they have thought of everything!
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Would we recommend Capybara Knight 水豚騎士 in Taipei?
As travelers who are usually adverse to animal cafes other than the odd cat cafe, we weren’t sure what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised by Capybara Knights.
Whilst the food and drink were nothing special, the chance to feed capybaras up close in the backstreets of Taipei is pretty unique – we were also really glad to see they were allowed to roam outside as opposed to being on ‘display in the cafe.
The price to visit Capybara Knight is also REALLY cheap compared to most other animal cafes and cat cafes in Taipei.
We really wanted to say this was more ‘crappy-bara’ cafe than capybara cafe but we can’t as it was so good – it currently has over 1,000 reviews on Google with an average rating of 4.3, so go and see what all the fuss is about!
Love cute cartoon characters? Check out our guide to Bugcat Capoo House and Foam Cat Cafe (both in Taichung), or the Bugcat Capoo themed 7-Eleven in Taipei
Other nearby capybara activities in Taipei
Capybara Rock
‘Capybara Rock’ is a newly crowned natural attraction in Taiwan in Shen’ao (near Keelung) – it was renamed after the former Elephant Trunk Rock sadly collapsed and fell into the sea in December 2023.
One of the most stunning coastal areas in Northern Taiwan, after the original rock arch crumbled many locals and visitors noticed it’s striking resemble to a capybara and it was hastily retitled – local business owners reported a massive uplift in sales since it was christened ‘Capybara Rock’ (or Capybara Junya).
Now the whole Shen’ao Fishing Port area has gone capybara crazy, with several colorful capybara murals plus cartoon capybara statues installed near the beach. You can even canoe to see the Capybara Rock up close.
Check out our guide to visiting Capybara Rock here >
Taipei Zoo Capybaras
Easily combined with the Maokong Gondola, see a real life capybara family in the Tropical Rainforest Area of Taipei Zoo – they recently welcomed new members to the capybara family. Too cute!
Check out these Taipei Zoo and Maokong Gondola tickets with Klook >
Taiwan capybara souvenirs
Seriously, in 2024, capybaras in Taiwan are so popular right now, it seems like every other souvenir features a capybara.
From capybara claw machines to capybara coffee mugs and t-shirts, you’ll find so many cartoon capybara keepsakes – just make sure you bring an empty suitcase to take them home in (and a capybara sticker for the suitcase as well)!
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Capybara drinks at Ximending More Beer
It had to happen eventually, one of the backstreet bars in Ximending now serves capybara themed drinks whereby steam escapes through capybara cup nostrils – NT$290 for soft drinks or NT390 for alcoholic capybara drinks.
It has gone viral on social media and is just a 20 second walk from the famous Ximending Rainbow Six crossing – find ‘More Beer’ on Google Maps here and purchase a drink voucher in advance on Klook.
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Address
Capybara Knight 水豚騎士, No. 18號, Alley 2, Lane 61, Yuanlin Street, Tucheng District, New Taipei City, 236
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