The restaurant booking scene in Seoul has always been competitive, but the Netflix hit show “Culinary Class Wars” has only heightened the frenzy. Booking a table at Via Toledo — run by the show’s winner Kwon Sung-jun — has become a near-impossible task, with over 100,000 users scrambling to secure a reservation on the restaurant booking app Catchtable, eventually crashing the platform for 20 minutes.
However, while Via Toledo and other restaurants featured on “Culinary Class Wars” garner all the attention, there are plenty of other top-tier Italian spots around Seoul offering just as good, or even better, food without the overwhelming crowd.
Chef Biagio Aprea is the star of the Neapolitan restaurant Osteria Anna in Itaewon, Seoul. He whips up traditional dishes with the hope of bringing something special to his customers. Courtesy of Osteria Anna
Osteria Anna
■ Address: 3F, 210-7 Noksapyeongdaero, Yongsan District, Seoul
■ Phone: (02) 3785-0402
■ Hours: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. (break time: 2:30-5:30 p.m.)
■ Instagram: @osteria_anna_seoul
Nestled in Itaewon, central Seoul, Osteria Anna offers a classic take on Neapolitan cuisine, led by chef Biagio Aprea. The chef hails from Naples, Italy, so it is obvious that you would get the real deal at his place.
“Neapolitan cuisine is a simple one, made with few ingredients but bringing out the most of each one. It can be enjoyed by all kinds of palates and is influenced by many cultures historically, making it that much more welcoming and unique,” chef Aprea told The Korea Times.
Already a favorite among both locals and foreigners, the restaurant adds a touch of elegance to the already beloved menu that includes baby octopus with a special tomato sauce and Neapolitan white ragu. Plus, the carefully curated wine list is strictly Italian, which really makes a difference when you’re dining Italian.
“We follow the Neapolitan culinary traditions and originality, and our goal is to offer dishes customers may have not experienced before. It’s about tradition and passion, the ‘Napoli’ way,” chef Aprea said.
For a touch of elegance, Osteria Anna is an ideal spot to enjoy a traditional yet refined Italian meal paired with wine.
If you loved the film “Eat Pray Love” but can’t fly to Naples for the famous pizza, not to worry, as Marione in Seoul is a pretty close match. The queue may be long, but it most likely will not be disappointing. Courtesy of Han Sang-hee
Marione
■ Address: 23-1 Gwangnaruro 2-gil, Seondgong District, Seoul
■ Phone: (02) 466-6777
■ Hours: 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. (break time: 3 p.m.-5 p.m.)
■ Instagram: @pizzeria_marione
Naples is the home of Neapolitan pizza, famous for its thin dough but big and fluffy crust. There are a handful of famous pizzerias in the Italian city, such as Da Michele and Sorbillo, but one can also find a very close match in the residential area of Seongdong District, Seoul.
Marione is run by chef Kim Joo-young, also known as Mario, who won numerous awards at various pizza competitions around the world. It’s a hot spot for Italians living in Seoul, a strong indication when it comes to judging its authenticity.
The small pizzeria used to be in the hipster neighborhood of Seongsu-dong but moved recently, but this hasn’t changed the restaurant’s soaring popularity among pizza lovers.
The classic Marinara pizza, famously enjoyed by Julia Roberts at Da Michele in the film “Eat Pray Love,” is a staple, but another strong contender is the signature Garibaldi. This pizza features Italian sausage salsiccia, ricotta and provolone piccante cheese, with a hint of peperoncino.
And come to think of it, the sign that is hung up on the pizzeria actually looks familiar. “I was inspired by the font of Da Michele in Naples,” Kim revealed.
Mangwon-dong has some serious competition in the restaurant scene but when it comes to Neapolitan pizza, Polveri has your back. Run by chef Kim Chan-gyum, the small pizzeria offers both classics and specials. Courtesy of Han Sang-hee
Polveri
■ Address: 40 Poeun-ro, Mapo District, Seoul
■ Phone: 070-4150-0011
■ Hours: noon-9 p.m. (break time: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.)
■ Instagram: @polveri.by.nino
Tucked in the busy streets of cozy yet bustling Mangwon-dong, Polveri is a one-man show run by chef Kim Chan-gyum. Mostly famous for its Neapolitan pizza, the hole-in-the-wall pizzeria also offers bolognese and panzerotti, a fried pizza dish hailing from Apulia, southern Italy.
As a certified “vegetable and fruit sommelier,” chef Kim understands the seasonal traits of vegetables and fruits and how to make the most of them in recipes. And just to show that, he updates a special pizza menu monthly, depending on the seasonal availability of vegetables — from pumpkin cream margherita in August to eggplant cream and fig pizza for autumn.
Neapolitan pizza with a twist, if you will.
There are very few Italian pastry shops in Seoul, but one of the most popular would be Nuova Italia in the Ichon neighborhood of Yongsan District. It offers the classic cornetto but also pies, cakes and little Italian pastries called minions. Courtesy of Nuova Italia
Nuova Italia
■ Address: 1F, Shindonga Shopping Center, 352 Ichon-ro, Yongsan District, Seoul
■ Hours: 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
■ Instagram: @nuovaitalia.kr
Chef Ban Joo-hyung already made a name for himself with his focaccia place in Yongsan District called Focaccia della Strada, but he wanted something more, perhaps something sweeter.
Nuova Italia, which opened in February in the Ichon neighborhood, has quickly become a local favorite and a must-visit destination for those seeking classic Southern Italian pastries.
Every morning, the bakery churns out fresh cornetto (stuffed croissants), various types of Italian desserts called “minion” as well as salads and their famous focaccia. It tries to stick to Italian classics, so no popular Korean items such as salted butter rolls or red bean paste filled brioches here.
For a casual yet informative experience on Italian wine, Brillo has a lot to offer. Enter the world of Italian natural wine, with the friendly commentary of owner Park Ji-ae or sommelier Massimiliano Palleschi. Courtesy of Brillo
Brillo
■ Address: 2F, 14 Seoulsup 6-gil, Seongdong District, Seoul
■ Phone: 070-4162-0503
■ Hours: 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.
■ Instagram: @brillo_seoul
Italian meals are incomplete without Italian wine. And wine has become a popular and more accessible choice among restaurant goers in Seoul, mostly thanks to the boom of European cuisine.
One of the wine bars close to Seoul Forest and hip Seongsu-dong is Brillo, run by wine sommelier Massimiliano Palleschi and owner Park Ji-ae. The wine bar focuses on natural wine, a type of wine produced without using artificial additives, pesticides or herbicides, in line with the trend of an eco-friendly and sustainable drinking culture.
“White wine works especially well with seafood, which makes up an important part of Neapolitan cuisine. It complements the saltiness of the sea, making it more interesting to the palate,” Park suggests, recommending the more acidic and drier white wines like Ribelà Bianco from central Italy.
A newcomer in the Italian food scene here in Seoul, Perbacco opened three months ago but has already garnered enough fans to impress. Its specialty is Cicchetti, the perfect finger food to enjoy with a glass of wine or spritz. Courtesy of Perbacco
Perbacco
■ Address: 30 Neungdong-ro 16-gil, Gwangjin District, Seoul
■ Hours: 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
■ Instagram: @perbacco.seoul
For those who want a little more to nibble on with Italian wine and spirits, head to Perbacco. A relatively new addition to the already popular Italian wine bar scene in Seoul, Perbacco offers a special snack called Cicchetti, which includes small dishes of sandwiches, olives or other vegetables and seafood or meat placed on top of slices of bread. The type of Cicchetti differs depending on the available ingredients that day, which means everything is made fresh right on the spot. Add a spritz or a glass of wine of your choice, Italian of course, and enjoy a perfect Italian evening in the heart of Seoul.
Han Sang-hee is a former staff reporter at The Korea Times and a former editor at CNN Travel. She is based in Stuttgart, Germany, but now lives in Seoul with her Italian husband and two daughters. Han shares stories on her Instagram @rachelsanghee.
Dining and Cooking