Songpa Italian restaurant lunch happy hour, 16,000 won pasta: Allegro

What is Allegro? An Italian restaurant by Songpanaru Station Exit 2

Allegro is an Italian restaurant on the 3rd floor of 57-1 Olympic-ro 32-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, about 238m from Exit 2 of Songpanaru Station. It's open 12:00–23:00 with a break time of 15:00–18:00, last order at 21:30, and closed on Tuesdays.

I visited Allegro, a pasta place in the Songpanaru/Bangi-dong area, for lunch. What caught my eye was that it isn't just a restaurant for food — in the evenings it becomes a space where you can enjoy live music too. Since I came at lunchtime, I didn't get to catch the show, but seeing a full stage with piano, drums and even a mic set up on one side made me curious what the evening atmosphere is like.

Allegro by day: a calm room for an unhurried lunch

Walking into Allegro, the space was bigger than I expected, with plenty of room between tables. The interior is done in calm black and gray tones, but with sunlight coming through the windows during the day, it didn't feel too dark or heavy.

What stood out most was having the performance stage right next to the dining space. The stage was empty since it was lunchtime, but with the piano, drums and everything still set up, I could tell the evening would definitely have a different vibe.

Allegro lunch happy hour prices: pasta 16,000 won, 15% off food

During my visit, Allegro's LUNCH HAPPY HOUR was in effect. It's advertised as pasta menu items at 16,000 won and 15% off the food menu for lunch visits, while dinner runs at regular prices.

Ordering was done through the tablet at the table, which was convenient since you could see photos and descriptions side by side. What I ordered that day is exactly the three dishes pictured — sous vide pork neck steak, house-made gnocchi, and seafood salad ♡

Starting fresh with Allegro's seafood salad

Allegro's seafood salad was colorful right off the bat, with seafood mixed with bell pepper, onion, tomato and more. It's a Mediterranean-style salad with lime dressing, which made it a nice pairing alongside the sous vide pork neck steak or the creamy gnocchi.

Rather than eating each dish separately, I preferred taking a bite of seafood and vegetables together — that suited my taste better.

House-made gnocchi full of mushroom flavor

Second up was the house-made gnocchi, introduced as the head chef's signature dish. Golden-brown gnocchi sat on top of a creamy sauce loaded with various mushrooms.

The surface of the gnocchi was browned nicely, making it look really appetizing. Since I like the combination of mushrooms and cream sauce, I enjoyed this one too.

The main course: sous vide pork neck steak with peppercorn sauce

The main dish I ordered, Allegro's sous vide pork neck steak, uses 300g of domestic pork neck that's sous vide-cooked then seared, served with peppercorn sauce. When it arrived, the meat had real presence with its thickness, and it came with fries on the side.

The outside was seared to a nice color, and there was plenty of sauce pooled underneath, making it easy to dip the sliced meat in. Going back and forth between salad → gnocchi → steak, the fresh, creamy, and meaty flavors flowed into each other naturally — I was glad I ordered all three together.

Worth returning to Allegro for a dinner date and the 19:30 show

Since this was a lunch visit, I didn't get to enjoy Allegro's live show in person. Still, dining while glancing over at the stage right next to me made me think I'd like to come back for a date timed with the evening performance.

Since the live show starts at 7:30pm, I'll check the performance schedule ahead of time for my next visit so I can enjoy the meal and the show together.

Being able to enjoy a relaxed meal at lunch with the happy hour, then a date with atmosphere and live music in the evening, seems to be what makes Allegro special. If you're looking for a bit of a different restaurant near Songpanaru Station or Songridan-gil, this might be worth checking out. Next time, I want to experience Allegro at night and see just how different the atmosphere gets. haha