Alio olio and snow-cheese arugula pizza at Gimpo pasta restaurant

Gimpo pasta favorite, Restaurant Polia. My wife and I went on a date to Restaurant Polia, a Gimpo steak and pasta spot near Unyang Station in Gimpo Hangang Newtown. This is a place worth saving to revisit — great atmosphere, kind staff and owner, and above all, the food was excellent.

It's been a while since it was just the two of us at a restaurant like this. It's quiet and calm, great for conversation, so I'd recommend it for a couple's date or a family meal out.

Looking at the menu, it was full of things I love, so picking was genuinely hard — but everything we ordered that day was top notch.

Where is Restaurant Polia in Gimpo, and what are its hours and main menu?

Restaurant Polia is on the 2nd floor at 200-9 Gimpohangang-11-ro 438beon-gil, Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi-do. Hours are Wednesday to Monday, 11:00–21:30, with a break time from 15:30–17:00, closed every Tuesday.

• Signature tenderloin steak (200g) ₩47,700
• Striploin steak ₩39,700
• Premium lamb chop steak ₩34,000
• Sirloin flap tagliata salad ₩31,900
• Ricotta salad ₩21,900
• Crab pesché ₩23,500
• Steak pizza ₩28,900
• Rucola pizza ₩25,500
• Alio olio ₩17,900
• Shrimp rosé ₩20,900 and more

Restaurant Polia is close to Unyang Station in Gimpo Hangang Newtown. When we arrived, the area was really quiet. There's a large parking lot right in front of the restaurant.

After parking, you head up to the second floor to find the restaurant.

Provence-style interior and seating at Restaurant Polia

Restaurant Polia's interior feels quite elegant, almost like stepping into a restaurant in a Provence village. It's dominated by calm, cozy natural tones and lots of wood, giving off a warm feeling.

Restaurant Polia is apparently famous for its wood-fired bread and pizza baked right in-house. We were planning to have wood-fired pizza too.

Looking around the restaurant, the atmosphere is really nice. Because we went right at opening time, we got to enjoy this quiet, cozy vibe all to ourselves.

Overall it has an upscale restaurant feel, and the tables are spaced generously, so there was no discomfort whether chatting or eating.

We had reserved ahead and sat at a lovely window-side table to order. Sunlight streamed in through the large windows — the natural light was really nice.

The pre-meal bread was really, really good. It's garlic bread with a strong buttery aroma, soft rather than hard — I ate it very happily.

What we ordered that day was ricotta salad, rucola pizza, and alio olio pasta. Classic, steady menu items that are delicious no matter when you eat them. Honestly I wanted to order the crab pesché too, but I heard it's spicy, and since we're both wimps about spice, sadly we skipped it, haha.

Alio olio, ₩17,900: sauce and pasta cooked just right

My favorite, alio olio pasta. Alio olio is made with just garlic and olive oil, so people say anyone can make it — but that's not true at all. They say you can tell a restaurant's level from its alio olio.

To start, this one was truly classic. At some pasta specialty spots or other restaurants, alio olio comes mixed with all sorts of extras, or drowning in oil. Restaurant Polia's version was cooked to just the right thickness — not too dry, not too oily, with the garlic flavor coming through clearly. The noodles were cooked just right too.

Handmade arugula pizza, ₩25,500, with a snow cheese add-on

We love rucola (arugula) so much that we'll eat anything piled with it. I first tried rucola pizza in Vienna, and I've never forgotten that taste and texture — it's a magic pizza I keep coming back for.

You can add snow cheese on top, and it makes the pizza or pasta taste much richer. The wood-fired crust was wonderfully chewy — the texture was art. On top, plenty of fragrant, flavorful rucola, plus rich cheese! It tastes great, but it's also a healthy pizza that's good to share with kids.

Ricotta salad with gonggalppang (hollow puffed bread), ₩21,900

We always order a salad with our meal, so I got my favorite, ricotta salad. Here it comes with gonggalppang (a hollow puffed bread), which made it even more enjoyable.

Gonggalppang is bread that's puffed up big but hollow inside. You cut it open with scissors and stuff the salad in. This one's also baked in the wood-fired oven, so the texture is fantastic. Fill it with salad and ricotta cheese and it's no longer just a salad — it becomes a proper dish in itself.

It's impossible not to love wood-fired bread. The chewy texture and clean flavor make it delicious even on its own, and the ricotta salad comes in a generous portion, so I'd definitely recommend it if you're eating out as a group. It's so good, and there's fun in stuffing all sorts of ingredients into the bread.

Who is Restaurant Polia in Gimpo Unyang-dong best for?

Restaurant Polia delivered above-average results across the board — pasta, wood-fired pizza, and salad alike. With such a great atmosphere, I'd recommend it as a date spot for couples or a family dinner venue. Add in the friendly staff, and it's a Unyang-dong restaurant I want to return to. After a meal like this, I think next time I'll bring my son and try the steak, haha.

If you love wood-fired pizza, classic authentic pasta, or want great taste and atmosphere in one place, I recommend Restaurant Polia.