Cheonan Italian restaurant for spicy pasta and truffle fries: Napoli Shinbu

A return visit to Napoli Shinbu in Sinbu-dong, Cheonan

I had such a delicious memory of visiting with my sister before that I kept thinking about it, so I came back to Napoli Shinbu (나폴리신부). It is a place in Sinbu-dong, Cheonan, where you can have wood-fired pizza and pasta.

I enjoyed my first visit too, but I was just as satisfied on this second visit. The calzone salad I had this time was especially my kind of thing—good enough to keep thinking about.

Weekday lunch visit and parking

My sister and I came around noon on a weekday without making a reservation. When I arrived, we could go straight in without waiting.

It is behind Shinsegae Department Store, and you will spot it right after passing Jang Kalguksu.

We parked at the Shinsegae Department Store Cheonan Asan branch. I heard that installing the Shinsegae app and agreeing to receive notifications gets you a 3-hour free-parking coupon.

After parking, we walked to Napoli Shinbu, and it was definitely a walkable distance. Benefits such as the free-parking coupon can change, so I recommend checking the app before visiting.

A softly lit Italian restaurant in Sinbu-dong

The interior had soft lighting throughout and was decorated with a lovely atmosphere.

It did not feel overly formal, but it had more atmosphere than a typical casual restaurant. It seemed nice for a meal with friends or a date as well.

High chairs were available too, so it seemed like a good place to visit with children. Napoli Shinbu belongs to the Wood-Fired Pizza Masters Association.

They say they use Italian flour and mozzarella for the pizzas, and house-made stock and sauces for the pasta too. No wonder it was so delicious.

That makes it a place worth noting if you are looking for wood-fired pizza in Cheonan.

A varied menu, from salads to pasta

The menu included a wide range of Italian dishes, from salads and wood-fired pizzas to pasta and risotto. That day, we ordered the calzone salad, amatriciana, and truffle fries.

It was quite a generous order for two people. We kept eating because it was delicious, but we got so full that we eventually had to leave a little.

The calzone salad I remember most

My number-one pick from everything we ate this time was absolutely the calzone salad.

The calzone caught my eye from the moment it arrived because it was bigger than I expected.

Its size may not come across in photos, but it was quite large in person. You cut the calzone into easy-to-eat pieces with scissors and have it with the salad underneath.

What I especially loved here was the bread. The outside was nutty from the wood-fired oven, while the inside was moist, so the texture was great.

It was much better with the salad than on its own. The salad was both fresh and nutty, and the red onion was particularly crisp and delicious.

I also ate small bites of the soft, cream-cheese-like cheese served alongside it. With the moist, nutty bread, crisp salad, and soft cheese, it felt like several flavors coming together rather than just one.

This combination was so good that the calzone salad ranked first among everything we had that day.

I came back because I remembered enjoying it so much last time, and this was a dish that made me think, once again, that I was glad I returned.

Amatriciana with a noticeable kick

Next was the amatriciana. For someone like me who is not good with spicy food, it was quite spicy.

It got so spicy while I was eating that I had to alternate bites of the calzone salad and fries to soothe my mouth. My sister, who likes spicy food, enjoyed it and said it was delicious.

The sauce was not watery; it was rich and clung closely to the noodles. There were also far more mushrooms than I expected, so I picked up a generous amount in nearly every bite.

If you like spicy, rich pasta, the amatriciana seems like a good choice too. But if you cannot handle spicy food well like me, keep that in mind when choosing the spice level.

Truffle fries I kept reaching for

These were the truffle fries I kept reaching for throughout the meal.

The amatriciana was quite spicy for me, so I was not in a state to savor the truffle aroma one fry at a time. Still, the fries themselves were crisp, and they were perfect for grabbing whenever the pasta got too hot.

In the end, I kept reaching for these too. With the calzone salad, pasta, and fries, it was a very generous amount for my sister and me.

I wanted to finish everything, but I was too full and had no choice but to leave a little. It was more disappointing because I did not leave it because it was bad—I simply could not eat any more.

A satisfying second meal

I returned to Napoli Shinbu because I remembered enjoying it after my first visit, and I had another satisfying meal on my second visit too. The calzone salad is especially something I would order again next time.

The combination I remember most was the bread, nutty on the outside and moist inside from the wood-fired oven, with fresh and crisp salad.

The atmosphere was nice too, so I think it would be worth visiting if you are looking for somewhere to eat with friends, a date spot, wood-fired pizza in Cheonan, or Italian pasta in Sinbu-dong.