Sangmu, Gwangju brunch with friends: porcini gnocchi set, Bueokgan

I hadn't seen my friends in a while and we planned to meet in Sangmu, so we went to Bueokgan Sangmu Branch (부엌간 상무점), famous as a brunch spot in the area!! When I go to Sangmu I always look for somewhere with easy parking, and this brunch place has its own parking lot, which is so nice haha

Bueokgan Sangmu Branch hours and parking

Opening hours are 11:00–22:00, with a break from 16:00 to 16:30 and last order at 21:00. There's a dedicated parking lot, so driving to Sangmu is no stress.

Roman hotel concept: atmosphere and seating

I go to the Suwan branch fairly often, but this was my first time at the Sangmu branch, so I was excited. True to a European restaurant with a Roman hotel concept, you can feel the great atmosphere from the outside. The inside is quite spacious, with tables for 2, tables for 4 and group seating, and it was busy even on a weekday. There may be a wait on weekends, so keep that in mind.

Set menu and what we ordered

Every table has a tablet, so ordering is easy. There are lots of brunch dishes like soup, pasta, risotto and pizza, and the set menus are well put together too!! I ordered the set menu of soup, 2 pastas, pizza and 2 drinks, and chose porcini mushroom gnocchi, rose pasta, basil margherita pizza, pumpkin soup and napa cabbage Caesar salad.

Full even at an early lunch: how fast is the service?

I thought we'd come at an early lunch, but the place was packed. Definitely a Sangmu brunch hotspot!! haha So I figured we'd wait a long time for the food, but it came out faster than expected. What I personally liked is that some places bring dishes out one at a time, far apart, but here they brought everything out almost in order and close together, so we could enjoy it all at once!! haha

Basil margherita pizza, wood-fired style

This is the pizza I order every single time I go to Bueokgan!! It's wood-fired style and so good it feels like a proper pizza place!! haha All my friends agreed too. It's a basil margherita pizza topped with prosciutto and arugula, light and delicious, and it's the place I think of whenever I want margherita pizza.

See that cheese pull?! haha If you like wood-fired-style pizza, definitely order the pizza at Bueokgan Sangmu Branch!! haha It isn't heavy or greasy, just light, and the flavor keeps coming back to my mind. Personally I really love Bueokgan's pizza.

What's in the napa cabbage Caesar salad?

And another Bueokgan favorite of mine: the napa cabbage Caesar salad!! I recommended this one too and my friends were all happy with it haha. It's grilled napa cabbage topped with a poached egg, sun-dried tomatoes, bacon chips and lots of cheese, and this combination is seriously the best!! hahaha When you eat pizza and pasta together you can feel a bit guilty, but hey, we had a salad too!!! That kind of feeling? But it's also a hearty dish, which I like.

Pumpkin soup included in the set

The pumpkin soup that came with the set!! Personally I loved this too, total hooray!! hahaha It doesn't taste artificially pumpkin-y; it has the natural sweetness of pumpkin and a rich pumpkin soup flavor, which I liked.

Shrimp rose pasta and porcini mushroom gnocchi

And a rose pasta with nicely textured shrimp!! This Sangmu brunch spot has lots of pasta types, and I picked this one because I thought it would go well with the pizza and gnocchi. Rose never disappoints, no need to say more. It had 5–6 plump shrimp and a slightly thick-style rose sauce, which I liked.

And gnocchi (Italian potato dumplings), one of Bueokgan's signature dishes!! haha It's porcini mushroom gnocchi with a deep mushroom aroma, packed with mushrooms that have a great texture, and the gnocchi is chewy, so dipping it in the sauce gives a really rich flavor.

I didn't get a photo, but the lemonade and grapefruit ade were nicely homemade-tasting too, and I like that every time I go to Bueokgan there's not a single miss on the menu haha

If you're looking for a Sangmu brunch spot with a nice atmosphere, I recommend Bueokgan Sangmu Branch: easy parking and a wide variety of dishes!!