No-wait Sunday dinner at a Pocheon pasta restaurant: From Italy

I was hunting for a good pasta place and stumbled onto this unexpectedly charming Italian restaurant near Gwangneung Arboretum.

• ① From Italy basic info
• ② European-style interior and outdoor garden
• ③ Real review of zucca dolce, half-and-half pizza and panne
• ④ Checklist before you visit
• ⑤ Overall verdict

What kind of restaurant is From Italy in Pocheon?

From Italy Gomo-ri Flagship is an Italian fusion restaurant at 669 Jugyeopsan-ro, Sohol-eup, Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, near Gwangneung Arboretum and the Gomo-ri drive course. We were coming back from running errands in Paju and decided to swing toward Pocheon for dinner. It lined up perfectly with our route, and it turned out great.

A lot of people planning a Pocheon outing near Gwangneung Arboretum are probably looking for a good restaurant in the area.

From Italy is an Italian fusion restaurant run by an owner-chef who worked at a five-star hotel in Seoul and headed menu R&D in Gangnam, developing the menu personally.

It's consistently listed in the Blue Ribbon Survey, and its Naver rating sits at 4.84 with over 7,600 reviews — already a well-vetted spot.

The building itself feels like a red-brick mansion you'd find somewhere in Europe. From the arched "FROM ITALY" structure to the bell tower decoration, it's photo-worthy from the entrance onward.

From Italy: address, hours and parking

• Name: From Italy (Gomo-ri Flagship)
• Address: 669 Jugyeopsan-ro, Sohol-eup, Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Closed: Every Monday
• Visit time: Around 5:30pm on a Sunday
• Parking: Large lot in front of the restaurant, plenty of room even for large sedans

First floor, second floor and the outdoor garden

Stepping inside From Italy is even more surprising. Antique portrait frames, a marble fireplace, and a crystal chandelier — it felt like an entire European decor shop had been transplanted here. We sat on the first floor, and just looking around, I could tell the interior was no joke.

Before eating, we went upstairs just to look around, and the second floor was just as pretty as the first. There's even a window seat where you can see the mountain ridge through the curtains — I'd love to sit there next time.

They clearly put just as much care into the exterior as the interior, so it felt like you'd be satisfied wherever you sat, first floor or second.

The outdoor garden is also not to be missed. There are wooden tables with parasols and a photo zone with star-shaped lighting.

You can't dine outside, but it seems like a great spot to relax and chat after the meal, like an outdoor café.

From Italy menu and prices

Among the cream pastas, gebawi pasta (₩29,000) was marked as the signature dish. It's a spicy cream sauce with baby crab, seafood, and bacon, and it can be ordered non-spicy too.

On the risotto side, scallop basil risotto (₩28,000) and whole squid gochujang risotto (₩29,000, new menu) were marked as recommendations, and Shanghai pasta (₩28,000) looked good for a day craving seafood and a spicy broth. For salads, there's beef brisket salad (₩27,000) and smoked salmon salad (₩27,000), which seemed like good pairings with steak or pasta.

If you're visiting for a special occasion, check out the jewelry-box steak. Striploin (200g) is ₩69,000 and tenderloin (200g) is ₩74,000 — when you open the box, the steak is presented inside, which seems perfect for an anniversary dinner. There's also a range of course menus, from a solo course (₩89,000) to a 2-person set including lobster tail (₩160,000).

Our table wasn't by the window and was a bit dim, so they lit a candle for us — which made the meal feel more atmospheric.

The pre-meal bread is also made with long-fermented dough — its shape is unusual, and it's chewy and savory, so I kept reaching for more.

We had two glasses of lemonade to drink, and its refreshing tartness paired well with the potentially rich cream pasta.

Tasting the panne, zucca dolce and half-and-half pizza

Our order finally arrived. From Italy's panne (₩28,000) looked amazing too. It's a cream sauce pasta with shrimp, bacon, panne bread, and black olives, and since the bowl itself is bread, it's fun to eat as well.

Zucca dolce (₩37,000) had an unfamiliar name, but it's a generous 1.5-person portion — a whole pumpkin filled with spicy tomato sauce pasta, which made it nutritionally satisfying thanks to the pumpkin, and it tasted really good too.

There were mussels and other seafood mixed in as well, so we ate really well and got quite full.

For pizza, we ordered the half-and-half pizza (₩34,000, choice of two flavors).

Usually the kids always pick gorgonzola, so we never get to try other flavors, but this time we got to order it alongside margherita too. The dough was chewy and delicious, so we were satisfied with both.

Receipt review prize draw

One fun thing about From Italy is that leaving a receipt review lets you enter a lucky draw. I won a can of Cider (Korean lemon-lime soda).

But what stuck with me most from this visit was my daughter's reaction. She said it was the best pasta place she'd ever been to, praising it endlessly, which made me quite proud.

Verdict and what to check before visiting From Italy

• With so many photo spots between the interior and the outdoor garden, the visit itself becomes part of an outing.
• The menu spans pasta, risotto, steak and pizza, so you can order a wide variety depending on your group size.
• Dishes like the half-and-half pizza let people with different tastes be satisfied at once, which is great for family visits.

Honestly, I didn't really notice any drawbacks this time. That's how satisfying the visit was.

• 👉 Monday is the regular closing day, so check the day of the week before you visit
• 👉 We visited around 5:30pm on a Sunday and were seated immediately with no wait
• 👉 Leave a receipt review to enter the lucky draw event
• 👉 If your family has different tastes, try the half-and-half pizza to enjoy two flavors at once

It's a great restaurant to include on an outing near Gwangneung Arboretum, and also works well as a family meal spot alongside a Gomo-ri drive. I'd recommend it to families, or anyone looking for a pasta restaurant for a drive-course date. Next time I have a reason to visit Pocheon, I'd love to come back to From Italy again.