Cheers / “Ganbei” to the 7-Eleven bars in Taiwan, where you drink pints of beer and watch live sports with the locals.
Yes, in Taiwan, there are selected 7-Eleven stores that have their own in-store bars where you can enjoy a freshly served pint, sit at the counter and enjoy convenience store snacks.
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Everyone knows you can buy beer, wine and spirits in 7-Elevens worldwide but the 7-Eleven Taiwan drinking experience can be a little different in selected stores.
Known as ‘Open Wine Bars’ (Open Chan is the 7-Eleven character brand – alas they are actually ‘open bars’ where drinks are free), you’ll find 7-Eleven bars in the larger cities of Taiwan like Kaohsiung and Taipei.
7-Elevens in Taiwan have always been quite unique from the themed stores like 7-Eleven Hello Kitty or 7-Eleven Bugcat Capoo, to the fact you can win the Taiwan lottery with every purchase (including a beer).
From craft beer and pint prices to the in-store experience, here is our guide to having a beer at a 7-Eleven bar in Taiwan.
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The Taiwan 7-Eleven bar and pub experience
Taiwan 7-Eleven pubs are easy to spot by day or night – the bars and seating areas are always at the front of the store, easily visible through the window.
At evening time, as the stores are well lit, you can easily see all the patrons inside sitting at the bar or drinking pints in the seating area (which often acts as an overspill).
The 7-Eleven bars in Taiwan usually have a small seating area around the bar area itself and they are often quite cosy and convivial – it could kinda be like a Taiwan version of the classic American sitcom series ‘Cheers’.
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Ordering a beer
So obviously you can buy a craft beer can or mainstream beer like Taiwan Classic in the beer fridges at the back for the true 7-Eleven bar experience in Taiwan, order a pint at the counter.
You pay for your beer at the start. Remember to keep your receipt as it contains a Taiwan lottery ticket which foreigners can win, as long as they are willing to collect their winning in person back in Taiwan a couple of months later.
Once paid, the 7-Eleven member of staff will then grab a cold glass from the glass chiller (oooh, ice cold craft beer alert) and pour you a beer – then all you have to do is sit back, drink and relax.
7-Eleven bars don’t usually have their own serving staff – it is just the hard working usual store employees who scamper over to serve you.
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Being Social
We found Taiwan 7-Elevens can be quite ‘social’ places at night (although that is possibly the effect of beer and alcohol).
Based on our experiences having a drink or two at in-store 7-Eleven bars, there are often large groups congregating drinking beers with snacks – a mix of locals (of all ages) and overseas tourists.
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What can you buy in 7-Eleven bars
Once you’ve taken your seat, there are quite a few drinks to choose from – as the menu says, “wine, whiskey, beer” and more.
Usually, the instore 7-Eleven beer (draft) choices in Taiwan are ‘local’ beers like Buckskin Beer (a large Taiwan brewery based out of Taoyuan) and selected overseas beers like Sapporo beer from Japan – kanpai!
The most common beers on tap in 7-Eleven bars was Buckskin Marzen (5.1%), Buckskin Hefeweizen (5.6%), Sunmai Honey Lager, Sapporo Beer plus local favourite ‘Taiwan Beer’. The latter is served pretty much in every bar and restaurant nationwide.
Just remember the Buckskin beer in Taiwan is usually stronger than standard beer.
You can buy draft beers in two sizes – the larger 480ml or 280ml (to note 480ml / 500ml is the standard ‘pint’ / draft beer size in Taiwan).
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Other drinks and snacks
You can buy pre mixed cocktail cans too such as Hami Melon Hooch, Pina Colada plus wine, but beer seems to be the most common alcoholic drink of choice.
Also, these Open ‘Wine Bars’ also serve wine plus fresh fruit smoothies. You’ll see the blender upfront next to the beer pumps – but we know what we prefer!
And yes, you are allowed to buy snacks in store and eat them with your drinks.
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7-Eleven Taiwan beer prices in bars
Beer prices in 7-Eleven Taiwan bars are reasonable, compared to standard Taiwan bars and pubs.
Drink-in prices for draft beer at 7-Eleven Taiwan are cheaper than the draft takeaway prices.
As of 2024, a pint (480ml) of draft Buckskin Beer costs NT$119 (around £2.90 / $3.70 USD) whilst a 480ml draft Sapporo Beer costs NT$109 to drink in store.
The cheapest draft beer is a larger 500ml glass of Taiwan Gold Medal Beer, priced at just NT$89. At just £2.20 / $2.80 USD a pint, the 7-Eleven bars are much cheaper than standard bars in the UK and USA.
7-Eleven sometimes do special offers in their bars – as an example, when we visited, there was an ‘Open! Wine Bar’ promotion where it was ‘buy 1, get one half price’ on draft beers every Friday and Saturday during their ‘Spring Festival’ promotion. So the only thing better than an ice-cold pint freshly served in 7-Eleven is a half price pint!
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Where to find 7-Eleven bars
During our travels in Taiwan, we must have seen at least a dozen 7-Eleven bars in Taiwan, in busy high profile locations through to backstreet boozers in seemingly quiet areas.
Alas we aren’t able to find an official map of all the ‘7-Eleven’ Open Bars in Taiwan but the highest concentration appears to be Taipei, especially in the Xinyi District.
The photo below is of a 7-Eleven bar we found in Taipei (this is the map location).
We can also highly recommend the 7-Eleven bar by Liouhe Night Market in Kaohsiung (map).
There are multiple pop-up craft beer bars and caravans along the night market, so lots to choice from but the 7-Eleven bar is suitable for all weathers as the pub is tucked just inside. It is a nice way to unwind with Taiwanese beer after a night of sublime street-food.
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Other things to know about 7-Eleven Bars
- Taiwan 7-Eleven bars are seemingly open all day (but obviously busiest at night).
- We’ve also spotted actual 7-Eleven bars serving draft craft beer with huge seating areas in Singapore so it isn’t unique to Taiwan.
- Always drink responsibly (and that Buckskin beer is stronger so can ‘catch-up on’ quicker)
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