Daegu Italian restaurant half-and-half lasagna: Etrenne Jukjeon Branch

Finding Etrenne near Jukjeon Station

I’d been eating way too much meat lately, and my Italian-food craving cycle finally came around again—? So I headed back to Etrenne Jukjeon Branch, one of my Daegu date-night favorites near Jukjeon Station. It’s right near my home, so I used to visit often on my own dime, but it had been such a long time since my last visit..! It’s on the first floor of the Daewoo Worldmark shopping complex, tucked farther inside, so it can be a little hard to spot from outside. If you find Jojo Kalguksu, just head farther in from there.

The owner has experience running a restaurant as an Outback manager and franchise owner, so the steak and Toowoomba pasta are especially delicious here!

Pasta deal and reservations

Isn’t the ₩10,000 pasta event on the 10th and 20th of every month such a steal—? They’re also running a receipt review event, so everyone, join in and get a little service~~ I happened to visit on the 10th, and maybe that was why the place was packed, haha. It wasn’t just younger diners either; lots of older guests came by too! Etrenne has food and an atmosphere that everyone can enjoy.

Since so many people come with reservations, there may be a wait if you walk in!

There were so many tempting dishes, but the weekday lunch set in particular looked like an amazing value. Sadly, weekday lunch is impossible for us Korean office workers... 🥹

Four Italian dishes for two

Our order Chicken salad Toowoomba pasta Half-and-half lasagna Gambas

There were two of us, and we ordered an absolutely huge spread, haha. Ordering four dishes for two somehow felt a little embarrassing...

They served this as pre-meal bread: a baguette that was crisp outside and soft inside, with loads of buttery flavor on top. I was already hungry, and it really got my appetite going.

I wanted to photograph everything together once all the food arrived, but I started eating before taking the photo, so the visuals are slightly... well, haha. Still, what a spread~~ And it’s no secret that the gambas had not arrived yet.

Chicken salad and half-and-half lasagna

To preserve at least a little conscience and prevent a blood-sugar spike, I started with the chicken salad, haha. The chicken tenders were so tender, and the salad dressing was wonderfully fresh. I already love salad, but this was so good that I finished it in no time—?

Lasagna is one of Etrenne’s signature dishes, just as much as its steak and pasta! The look alone is incredible, right—? When you can’t choose between classic and potato, it’s so nice that you can order them half-and-half. Personally, I liked the potato one more than the classic. It was delicious with plenty of tomato sauce poured over it!!! The flavor wasn’t overpowering, so I think it would suit just about everyone.

Rich, spicy Toowoomba and gambas

Outback’s Toowoomba pasta is seriously delicious, right—? It’s a dish I always order there, and because this restaurant is run by an owner with an Outback background, this is Toowoomba pasta you can trust, haha. The menu overall has an oily yet light feel, so adding a spicy pasta like this meant I could keep eating without getting tired of it. The sauce was wonderfully thick and spicy—totally my kind of thing.

The timing of the dishes was so nice too, with no gaps in the meal, and the gambas that arrived last looked incredible.

Honestly, this is more of a drinking snack, so I think it would be wonderful with wine. But I don’t drink much, and having it as a meal made it pure oily richness. Still, as someone who loves food so much that I barely know what it means to get tired of a flavor, I scraped the plate clean, leaving nothing but the dish, haha. If you’re looking for a Daegu date restaurant with a lovely atmosphere, try Etrenne near Jukjeon Station.