Italian restaurant in Dunsan-dong, Daejeon: spicy seafood pasta &

Basic info for Bologna Daejeon Dunsan Branch

• Hours: 11:00 – 21:30
• Break time: 15:00 – 17:00 / Last order 20:30
• Parking: 2 hours free at the parking tower next to the restaurant

I came here in June, and since I was back in Daejeon and it was so good, I revisited Bologna Daejeon Dunsan Branch again haha😆 Still a Dunsan-dong hotspot! A must-visit near Daejeon City Hall Station!

Exterior and terrace

The exterior really stands out with its red brick, giving off a European vibe✨

They have Catch Table but I didn't use it! On my first visit there was water out on the terrace, but this time there wasn't lol

Just looking at the menu photos on the standing sign made my mouth water🤤

What's the interior vibe like? Why it also works as a blind date spot

The inside was WAY bigger than the outside suggested and it surprised me😮 The moment I walked in I felt like I was in some restaurant in Europe! The dim lighting, marble tables, and burgundy sofa chairs all fit together so well, and the whole place had a really cozy atmosphere I loved😊 The tables were also on the wider side, so even with lots of dishes piled up we could eat comfortably👍 And the spacing between tables was generous too, so it was comfortable — you couldn't hear conversations from neighboring tables so we could talk freely haha! That's why I think it's great for couples, and especially for blind dates>_<

A perfectly vintage space, right down to the LP records

Wood-tone interiors can sometimes feel a bit stuffy or dated, but Bologna mixed brick, framed art, and lighting so well that it never felt that way! There were vintage framed pictures on the walls that were fun to look at, and thanks to them the walls didn't feel plain🖼

As befits a wine spot, they had many kinds of wine arranged nicely like a wine bar🍷

The bathroom amenities are seriously impressive

I was especially blown away by the bathroom!! A Dyson styler, mouthwash, cotton swabs, a comb, hair ties, even floss — the ultimate in service>_< Bologna Daejeon Dunsan Branch is so thoughtful...🥺

The menu

[Set menu]

[À la carte menu]

[Drinks and beverages] * Wine is also sold, though it's not shown in the attached photo

[Kids-only menu]

✔️ Spicy Mare Pasta ₩18,000 ✔️ Gorgonzola Pizza ₩15,000

Starting with the pre-meal bread and corn soup

First, bread, soup, pickles, and wet wipes come as standard! The soup was a different kind from my last visit — seems like it changes depending on the day haha. It was corn soup this time, which I actually liked even more, and the bread was crispy outside and soft inside, so dipping it in the soup was even better🥖

The spicy Mare pasta came out first and I was eating it when the gorgonzola pizza arrived! It looked so appetizing right from the start🍕 My beloved gorgonzola~~~🧡

How does the spicy Mare pasta taste?

The spicy Mare pasta had mussels, shrimp, baby octopus, and other seafood, topped with grated cheese — it looked like the textbook definition of a tomato pasta🍝

Mixing it all together~~~

One bite in, it was spicy with the umami of the seafood coming through nicely, making it the perfect match for the gorgonzola pizza! Pasta like this can easily get greasy, but the spiciness cut right through it so it wasn't heavy at all, and there was plenty of seafood which was satisfying👍 The noodles were cooked just right, and the sauce amount was just enough that I never got sick of it throughout the meal!🍝

Gorgonzola pizza with pastry dough

Gorgonzola pizza!🍕 Whenever I go to an Italian restaurant, I always order gorgonzola pizza, but Bologna Daejeon Dunsan Branch's version was different haha. The dough is pastry dough!!! This was my first time having a crust like that~~~😋

Look at that cheese pull🤩

The moment I took a bite... ummm~~~ gorgonzola pizza never lets me down! You have to dip it in honey!!! Maybe because of the pastry dough, it stayed delicious all the way through — though it does leave a lot of flaky crumbs after eating haha. There was quite a lot of cheese too, so it was savory and salty, and adding the honey made it the classic sweet-and-salty combo👍 It went SO well with the spicy Mare pasta!! Last time I had it with the Bolognese ragu pasta, but I think it tasted even better with the spicy Mare pasta, since the spiciness really cut through the richness!

The Bolognese ragu pasta I had back in June

It looked appetizing from the start, and one bite in, the ragu sauce was really rich and deep, so good! The heaviness of the meat's flavor came through along with a subtle tanginess from the tomato that worked really well together😋 The noodles were kalguksu-style (knife-cut noodles), which gave a fun chewy texture, and every time I bit into a piece of minced meat between the noodles it added even more savoriness, so I enjoyed it to the last bite! The bread served with the ragu pasta was even better dipped in the ragu sauce>_< Everything I've eaten at Bologna Daejeon Dunsan Branch has been good enough that I keep coming back! And I'm 10000% planning to visit again👍👍👍👍👍