Chef's rooftop garden, melanzane and octopus fire show: Allegro

Today's spot is just two weeks into its opening! I went to a brand-new, still-warm-from-the-oven restaurant. Even though it just opened, it's already rising fast as a date-night anniversary course and a wedding-invitation meetup spot near Songparu Station in Bang-i-dong, Songpa. After visiting myself, I got why. Live jazz performances alongside delicious Italian dining, plus anniversary lettering service — here's my honest review of Allegro, the atmospheric Western-style restaurant..!

Allegro's hours, reservations, and parking info

• Hours: Wed–Mon 12:00–23:00 / break time 15:00–18:00 / last order 21:30
• Closed every Tuesday
• Reservations available (Catchtable, Naver Place)
• Separate men's/women's restrooms, kids' chair available, wheelchair-accessible entrance
• No pets allowed
• Corkage available — ₩50,000 per bottle of wine (max 2 bottles)
• No parking on-site — nearby alternative lot suggested (Toru Parking Songpa Yonsei Building branch)
• Venue rental available, terrace seats and couple seats provided
• Group seating (min 4–max 6) available
• Local currency card/paper payment accepted, easy pay accepted

Finding it from Songparu Station, Italian dining on the 3rd floor

Walking through Bang-i-dong's landmark restaurant alley in Songpa, a sleek, stylish building caught my eye. Even with Naver Maps navigation running, I honestly didn't think it was a restaurant building at first — I was surprised. Checking the floor directory attached to the exterior wall, I realized Allegro, where I'd booked through Catchtable for today, was on the 3rd floor. I almost walked right past it.

I read through the menu board posted out front, thinking — a restaurant this modern, in an alley near Songparu Station? My anticipation kept building as I rode the elevator up.

Please check out the September jazz performance schedule lineup below.

The head chef's own vegetable garden, a lush and heartfelt terrace

Wanting to eat before the first seating got busy, I set my Catchtable reservation for opening time and did an opening run, arriving a bit earlier than my booked slot.

I wandered out to check out the terrace, and ran into a truly unexpected sight. Eggplant, tomatoes, basil, cilantro, arugula, and other fresh ingredients were growing lushly in a little garden.

Even right before the busy opening rush, the head chef came out and, politely excusing himself while I was looking around, carefully watered the plants. Seeing every single ingredient that goes into the cooking process grown with this much care and affection gave me a real sense of trust and emotion before I'd even eaten a bite.

A romantic dining space filled with jazz melodies and analog charm

Stepping inside, the modern yet cozy interior immediately stirred something in me.

Up front, a stage was set up for jazz performances — perfect for a special anniversary date or a birthday gathering, I thought.

Stylish framed artwork covering the walls, LP records, a turntable, and sentimental little props — every corner of the interior was carefully styled.

What I especially loved was the smart table arrangement. Instead of the usual restaurant setup where you sit facing your companion, all the tables were lined up facing the stage so you could fully enjoy the jazz performance.

I also liked that each table had its own light, letting you adjust the brightness to whatever mood you wanted.

On the sleek black tables glowing under soft lighting sat neat tableware and an info leaflet — the perfect setup to enjoy music and fine dining together.

A varied Italian menu and wine pairing

Instead of a paper menu, there was a tablet on the table, which made checking the menu and ordering easy and comfortable.

Appetizers to whet the appetite, fresh salads, and appealing main dishes all caught my eye. Even the side dishes looked varied and upscale. On top of that, they had white wine, rosé, sparkling wine, and red wine — a full wine bar lineup to pair perfectly with the food! I found myself happily agonizing over what flavor combination to try at Allegro...

For reference, Allegro's signature dishes are: the white wine steamed clams appetizer, the sous-vide pork neck steak main, the mushroom cream potato gnocchi pasta, and vitello tonnato — a Piedmont dish of sous-vide A++ Korean beef eye of round with tuna caper sauce. It's a lineup where nothing feels like it can be skipped.

What I ordered and paired — a two-person lunch for 110,000 won that felt like four servings

After much deliberation, let me introduce the dishes I enjoyed.

• Appetizer: Melanzane ₩19,000
• Salad: Seafood salad ₩20,000
• Main: Polpo ₩34,000
• Pasta: Puttanesca ₩19,000
• Drink: Orange juice ₩5,000
• Alcohol: Aperol Spritz ₩13,000
• Total: ₩110,000

House-baked pre-meal bread alongside the refreshing, sweet aperitifs — orange juice and an Aperol Spritz — got my appetite going.

Aperol is already famous as Blackpink Jennie's cocktail. If you haven't tried it, you really should. There's a unique charm to that sweet-bitter orange aroma spreading through it.

Seafood salad — a Mediterranean dish topped with sea grapes

The first dish to arrive was the seafood salad. Fresh seafood with bell peppers, onions, sea grapes, and a lime dressing made for a Mediterranean-style salad. The whole time I was eating it, my mouth was full of a fresh, ocean-like tang.

The chef told me it's best to scoop up the lime dressing and ingredients together with a spoon, like soup. Wouldn't that be too sour? I wondered — but one bite in, an elegant tanginess washed over me, and it was excellent. Nothing like that overpowering artificial lime flavor.

I'd only ever seen sea grapes in mukbang videos before, so trying them for the first time as a salad topping added a visual thrill even before I took a bite. With the popping, crunchy texture of the sea grapes on top, the ocean flavor came through even richer. Thanks to the colorful look and refreshing taste, it was the perfect light choice to start before the main dishes.

Melanzane — an eggplant gratin that won over even an eggplant-hater

The second dish was the melanzane appetizer. Melanzane is an eggplant gratin baked with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese on top.

The softly cooked eggplant soaked up plenty of the sweet-tangy tomato sauce, making it moist and deeply flavorful. The rich, savory cheese piled generously on top balanced everything beautifully.

Piled onto golden, savory focaccia with rich tomato sauce, soft slow-cooked eggplant, and stretchy mozzarella, it eats like an open-faced brunch café sandwich.

The tangy-sweet sauce over the crispy-yet-soft bread came together with the heavier flavors so well that I found myself scraping up the last drop — it was addictive. I usually don't like eggplant, but who knew it could taste this good..! It was the perfect appetizer to ramp up the appetite before the main courses — a crowd-pleaser flavor everyone will love.

Puttanesca — hand-cleaned anchovy fillets instead of canned

The third dish was the puttanesca pasta. Puttanesca is an oil pasta with olives, anchovies, capers, and Neapolitan-style tomato flavor.

Tasting it, it had just the right saltiness with a deep, savory richness — I loved it. The fresh arugula piled generously over the noodles, with cheese sprinkled on top like snowfall, rounded out the flavor smoothly.

The real kick of this puttanesca, though, is the anchovy fillets. Most other Western restaurants serving pasta tend to use canned anchovies, but at Allegro, the chef hand-prepares the anchovy fillets himself.

Looking closely, I could actually see whole, plump anchovy fillets sitting right there in the dish. Eating anchovies in such large, whole pieces was such a fresh experience. And the flavor was correspondingly deeper and more freshly savory. I'd gone back and forth with the signature potato gnocchi before ordering this anchovy pasta, and I have no regrets. I'll be reordering it without hesitation next time I visit Allegro!

Polpo — a fire show performance right in front of you

The last dish was the main course, polpo. Polpo is a tender octopus dish, crispy-seared and served with romesco sauce.

While the dish was being prepared, the chef put on a fire show right in front of us — the visual spectacle and smoky aroma made the meal even more fun. It felt like the whole atmosphere leveled up.

The crispy, golden-seared tender octopus paired with the signature romesco sauce delivered a perfect textural balance — crisp outside, moist inside. Romesco is a classic Spanish sauce, savory and hearty with a subtle natural sweetness. Its rich but not overpowering umami gently wrapped around the octopus's own flavor and lifted it further.

The chewy octopus, smoky from the fire, paired with the savory, deep-flavored sauce, truly showed off what a main dish can be.

A pleasant scent and thoughtful touches in the powder room

Before leaving, I stopped by the restroom to tidy up. As soon as I headed that way, a luxurious scent hit me — turns out there was a Daniel Trust diffuser there. As expected — that signature soft Daniel Trust scent filled the space, and it felt great.

On top of that, there were neatly arranged disposable mouthwash packets to use after the meal. I was impressed by how thoughtfully the owner considered even the smallest details for guests.

Who would I recommend Allegro to?

Every dish at Allegro, this Italian dining restaurant infused with the chef's care, felt like one seamless, fantastic tasting course. Here's who I'd recommend this place to:

• Anyone planning a romantic date centered around a live performance
• Anyone who wants to spend a special anniversary at an atmospheric Italian dining spot, Western restaurant, or wine bar
• Anyone who wants dessert lettering service for a birthday or anniversary
• Anyone who wants to taste real, deep Italian flavors made by a chef's own hands instead of store-bought ingredients
• Anyone who wants a feast for all the senses — a dramatic fire show performance right in front of you paired with an emotional live jazz set
• Anyone who wants a carefully tailored dining experience without dietary worries, since allergy, vegan, and vegetarian substitutions are available
• Anyone who wants a reasonably priced lunch happy hour (15% off the entire menu) at a fine-dining restaurant

There wasn't a single thing lacking — flavor, atmosphere, and thoughtfulness all left a deep impression, and I'm already looking forward to whatever wonderful dish awaits me next time. It was a new opening so I barely managed to snag a reservation, but I have a feeling it's going to become a fiercely competitive booking soon. Next time, I want to visit for dinner and catch a live performance.

If you're looking to spend a wonderful time with someone special near Songparu Station in Bang-i-dong, Songpa, I recommend Allegro for any occasion — birthdays, anniversaries, or wedding-invitation gatherings.