After-work Italian dinner near Hakdong Station: polpo, Osteria Lucia

Osteria Lucia, a Gangnam restaurant near Hakdong Station, is an authentic Italian place run by a Michelin-background chef, and its deeply flavored pasta and risotto really stand out. The open kitchen inspires trust, and with the atmosphere and service it's a great spot for dates and gatherings :)

Why Osteria Lucia for a mood-lifting dinner after work

I was in such a bad mood after work that I decided to have a really good dinner before going home. I sent out an emergency call to a friend, and we picked a nice-vibes restaurant for the first time in a while :) That's how we ended up at Osteria Lucia near Hakdong Station in Gangnam! Verdict first: I highly praise this choice~

Osteria Lucia is at 20 Hakdong-ro 30-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 1st floor.

Who is the chef at Osteria Lucia?

Osteria Lucia is said to be run by a chef who trained at an Italian culinary school and has Michelin 3-star experience.

The restaurant's description says he cooks not just to make "tasty food" but with the heart of inviting someone precious into your home, and once I ate there I understood exactly what that meant~ I could really feel the care in every single plate!

Atmosphere and service: good for dates, gatherings and company dinners?

Osteria Lucia isn't just about the food! The atmosphere is nice and the staff are really friendly, so it felt like an all-purpose restaurant that works for dates, gatherings and company dinners.

Looking at the tables around us, there really was a mix: couples on dates, friends meeting up, even a company dinner.

They also reportedly allow private hire for up to 56 people with no hire fee, so I thought it could work for events too.

How do you book and park at Osteria Lucia?

We booked ahead through Catch Table (a Korean reservation app). Having a reservation definitely made it easy, with no waiting. Parking seemed to be free in the evening, while at lunch you'd need a nearby paid lot!

The open kitchen builds trust

After we were shown to our seats, I loved that it's an open kitchen. Why? Because seeing the cooking process really boosts my trust in the hygiene and the ingredients.

Osteria Lucia menu and wine list

The Italian food at Osteria Lucia is excellent, but the wine selection is also really varied.

They reportedly have about 100 wines from Italian regions and allow corkage too. I think this place would be pure heaven for wine lovers~

The food came out faster than I expected. We ordered 1 pasta + 1 risotto + 1 side.

What does the polpo (octopus dish) taste like?

The first dish to arrive at Osteria Lucia was the polpo.

The octopus was so tender I thought, "Is this really octopus?" Eaten with the potato purée, the texture got even softer and nuttier. The smoked paprika powder and extra virgin olive oil made the flavor really come alive.

The signature bottarga pasta

Then came Osteria Lucia's signature dish, the bottarga pasta. Put simply, bottarga is an Italian ingredient made by drying fish roe, so think of it as eoran (Korean salted dried fish roe) and it's easy to grasp.

The bottarga pasta uses garlic, butter, parsley and Sicilian bottarga, and it was salty with an explosion of savoriness. The saltiness, nuttiness and deep flavor were perfectly balanced.

Mushroom risotto

The key to Osteria Lucia's mushroom risotto is reportedly that various mushrooms are sautéed for a long time into a paste. Maybe that's why the mushroom aroma rose strongly the moment I took a bite.

It was thick and deep in flavor, definitely a style that anyone who likes mushrooms will love.

And the pickles served with the dishes were so good that I cleared a whole plate of them, swoosh-

The food was so delicious that day that I literally scraped the plates. I'd been in such a bad mood, but eating good food with my friend cheered me up. I thought, what a good decision not to go straight home after work!

Dessert: truffle gelato and lemon sorbetto

Osteria Lucia gives you a lemon sorbetto if you write a Naver receipt review, so I joined right away. And I ordered a truffle gelato on top!

The truffle gelato has a fairly strong aroma, so it can be hit or miss, but I was a total fan. It's like eating truffle risotto cold, and strangely addictive.

The lemon sorbetto was the ultimate in freshness. It felt like it completely reset my mouth, so it was perfect to finish the meal.

Would I go back to Osteria Lucia?

Osteria Lucia near Hakdong Station in Gangnam was satisfying in taste, atmosphere and service. It suits dates, anniversaries and gatherings alike, so I'm 100% going back. Next time I plan to come back and really enjoy the wine too :)