Songdo tagliatelle lunch by the window: Cenacolo Artfore Italian

Songdo's Artfore district is the kind of place you end up walking around even if you only came for lunch. Red brick buildings, pointed rooftops, and shops lining the alleys give it a different feel from the Songdo most people know. It's got an almost European street vibe, and on a nice day a slow walk here feels like a short trip somewhere else. This time I had lunch at Cenacolo, an Italian restaurant tucked into Artfore.

How Cenacolo Artfore fits into the Artfore lanes in Songdo

Cenacolo's exterior matches Artfore perfectly. Red brick walls, a small sign, green plants by the entrance, and a wooden OPEN sign all catch the eye. Right at the entrance there's also a Red Ribbon Best Restaurants mark for 2024, 2025, and 2026 — three years running, which made me curious before I'd even walked in.

Inside, the space is done in wood-toned furniture with soft lighting. We sat at a window table, and the sunlight pouring through the big windows made the whole meal feel good. You could also see the Artfore scenery outside, so I felt like I'd picked the right seat.

Near the entrance is an open kitchen.

You can watch the cooking happening, and above the kitchen wine glasses hang in a row. Combined with the unusual lighting, this corner kept pulling my eyes too.

What comes first: pre-meal bread and soup of the day

After ordering, bread, olives, and pickles arrived first. The nicely toasted bread was good dipped in olive oil and balsamic, and we had a green and a black olive each alongside.

Next came the soup of the day — a homemade soup Cenacolo simmers carefully with fresh ingredients, changing depending on what's available that day. On our visit it was a smooth, creamy soup topped with croutons and herbs, a nice slow start to the meal alongside the bread.

For a drink I picked the Galvanina Blood Orange. Its bright red color was pretty and paired well with the pasta that followed. And then, the main event of the day — the pasta — arrived.

Two pastas from Cenacolo Artfore's recommended menu

Looking through the menu, I picked two pastas marked as Cenacolo's recommended dishes: shrimp mascarpone cheese pasta and shrimp rosé pasta. Both use shrimp, but the sauces and even the noodles are different — one is tagliatelle, the other spaghettini. So ordering both together never felt repetitive.

Shrimp mascarpone cheese pasta (tagliatelle)

This is a cream pasta made with shrimp, mushrooms, and clam stock, finished with mascarpone cheese. It uses flat tagliatelle noodles. Just looking at the plate — creamy sauce clinging moistly between the wide noodles — was appetizing, and it was topped with several plump shrimp.

The mascarpone cream sauce wrapped the noodles smoothly, with mushroom bites throughout. The sauce clung well to the wide tagliatelle, and twirling it onto a fork was satisfying.

Shrimp rosé pasta (spaghettini)

This dish pairs plump shrimp with a bisque rosé sauce, using thin spaghettini noodles. The noodle shape was obviously different from the tagliatelle we ordered alongside it. Even though both are shrimp pastas, one uses a mascarpone cream sauce and the other a bisque rosé sauce, so each had a clearly distinct flavor.

Songdo gnocchi and risotto still on the list at Cenacolo Artfore

When people look for an Italian restaurant in Songdo, a lot of them search not just for Songdo pasta but also Songdo gnocchi and Songdo risotto. Cenacolo has plenty of other menu options beyond pasta too. Since we ate two recommended pastas this time, I'm planning to try the gnocchi and risotto on my next visit. I'll come back and share that once I've tried them. :)

Artfore and a Central Park stroll after lunch

Step out after the meal and you're right in the Artfore alley. It's easy to pair a walk through Central Park with this meal — one reason it's also worth a look for anyone searching for Songdo Central Park pasta.

The pasta was delicious, but the feeling Artfore adds made the whole meal feel special. You don't have to travel far to walk around like you're on a trip and settle into a place that catches your eye for a slow meal. On a day I wanted a little taste of travel in Songdo, Artfore and Cenacolo fit together well.

Cenacolo Artfore address, hours and visit information

• Address: 257 Incheon Tower-daero, Building C, Artfore, 2nd floor, Unit 211, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, South Korea
• Hours: 11:00–22:00
• Break time: 15:00–17:00
• Last order: 21:00 (20:30 on Sundays)

Details may change, so it's worth checking before you visit.