Gimpo Italian restaurant with a toddler: mushroom cream risotto, Polia

Where to eat a weekend lunch with a baby in Unyang-dong, Gimpo?

On a Saturday lunch I visited Restaurant Polia Gimpo Unyang Branch (레스토랑 폴리아 김포 운양점) with our 19-month-old baby. When the weekend lunch hour rolls around, you want a change of pace as a family, and a place with a nice atmosphere and good pasta and risotto sounds perfect. So I looked for a restaurant for a weekend outing with our 19-month-old, one with easy parking and easy to visit with a baby.

We went to Polia in Unyang, a long-established restaurant known for homemade ricotta cheese and richly flavored Italian dishes. It was weekend lunchtime and I worried it might get crowded, so we hurried over. The place was neat and tidy, and very comfortable for eating with a child.

The address is 5126-2 Unyang-dong, Gimpo, Gyeonggi, 2nd floor. It sits on the 2nd floor in the row facing Modam Park, near the shops by Unyang Station, so it's easy to reach, and the building's parking lot is well equipped, which made it very convenient to go in my husband's car.

Inside Restaurant Polia Gimpo Unyang Branch and its baby-friendly setup

Restaurant Polia Gimpo Unyang Branch is a 2nd-floor restaurant near Modam Park reached by elevator, with widely spaced tables, and the staff bring a baby chair and baby tableware right away. Stepping in from the elevator, the wide, tidy room with warm sunlight coming in felt really cozy.

The tables aren't packed in but spaced out generously, so there's no feeling of being cramped whether you bring a stroller or just eat with your child. On a weekend lunch, families were chatting over their meals, but it wasn't overly chaotic. It felt neat and orderly.

As soon as we walked in with our 19-month-old, the staff greeted us with bright smiles and quickly set up a baby chair and baby-only tableware. We were really grateful. When you go out with a little one, small considerate touches like this put your mind at ease.

What does Polia's homemade ricotta salad (₩21,900) taste like?

Polia's homemade ricotta salad costs ₩21,900 and is a signature dish served with house-made ricotta cheese and a big gongal-ppang (puffed hollow bread). After settling in and reading the menu carefully, I picked the Polia homemade ricotta salad first, said to be the standout signature here. It comes with ricotta made in the restaurant every day and a big, crispy puffed bread.

Soon a salad plate with a showy look arrived. Next to a huge, freshly baked puffed bread were fresh salad greens piled with big, soft clumps of homemade ricotta.

I tore the bread by hand, topped it with the mild, soft ricotta and fresh greens, and took a bite, and wow... the nuttiness and freshness just exploded in my mouth. The cheese wasn't artificially sweet or stiff, and kept that dense softness typical of homemade, blending wonderfully with the bread and greens. When I gave our 19-month-old a little piece of the puffed bread, she seemed to love the crunch and happily gobbled it up.

Seafood tomato pasta with crab and clams (₩22,500)

The seafood tomato pasta at Polia's Unyang branch is ₩22,500, piled with crab and clams, and the broth tasted clean and deep. The main dish that followed was the seafood tomato pasta, with its rich flavor.

The moment the steaming bowl was in front of me, the look of it, heaped with rich seafood, big pieces of crab and fresh clams, made my mouth water.

I twirled the noodles with my fork and soaked them in plenty of sauce. It didn't taste like a processed sauce. The cool, deep seafood stock from clams and crab blended with a rich tomato sauce for a huge umami punch. The noodles were cooked just right, and eaten with bits of seafood it was appealing without being harsh. The tomato flavor was so strong that dipping pieces of the salad's puffed bread into the sauce was an amazing combo too.

Mushroom cream risotto (₩18,900) that even a 19-month-old ate well

The mushroom cream risotto is ₩18,900, not salty and soft, so it was easy to share with our 19-month-old. I ordered it too, planning to share it gently with the baby along with the pasta.

It was topped with a generous pile of sliced fresh mushrooms, with a rich, thick cream sauce soaking moist into every grain of rice.

I scooped a big spoonful, and the deep aroma of mushrooms and the rich, nutty cream spread softly through my mouth. It wasn't too salty, and the rice grains had a soft chew without feeling separate from the sauce, so the more I ate, the more comfortable my stomach felt. It was soft and moist, so when I put a small portion on our 19-month-old's plate, she opened her mouth wide and took it really well. It was the perfect menu item to share with a baby.

Orange ade (₩6,500) and the review-event lemonade

For drinks I ordered an orange ade (₩6,500), and by joining the Naver review event at Restaurant Polia Gimpo Unyang Branch, I got a glass of lemonade as a free service. The cool orange ade with pulp had a fizzy sparkle and fresh-squeezed orange that blended nicely, and it cleansed my palate between bites of pasta and risotto.

I joined the restaurant's Naver review event on the spot, and happily received a zingy glass of lemonade as a free gift!

Even though it was free, the lemonade was full of lemon pulp and fizz, and it was so refreshing it felt like it cleared my chest. My husband said the tangy lemonade suited him perfectly and happily emptied the glass. Getting the event perk made the meal feel even more satisfying.

Tips for visiting Restaurant Polia Gimpo Unyang Branch

• Order the homemade ricotta salad: the soft ricotta made fresh daily with crispy puffed bread is the signature dish you should definitely have when visiting Polia.
• Join the Naver review event: if you take part in the on-site Naver review event during your meal, you can get a refreshing lemonade as a free service, so don't forget.
• Good for eating out with a baby: baby chairs and baby tableware are well prepared, and there are mild dishes like the mushroom cream risotto or the puffed bread that are easy to share with kids.

Verdict: how was it as a weekend meal out with a baby?

Our Saturday lunch at Restaurant Polia Gimpo Unyang Branch, with my husband and our 19-month-old, the whole family together, was warmer and more satisfying than I expected.

From the otherworldly homemade ricotta salad made fresh daily, to the deeply flavored seafood tomato pasta, the soft and nutty mushroom cream risotto, and the lemonade from the review event, nothing was lacking. It was a perfect weekend spread.

Thanks to the owner's and staff's kind attention, we could sit down with a little baby and focus on our meal comfortably without worrying about other diners, which I appreciated even more.

If you're looking for a pasta place or a weekend Italian restaurant with a nice atmosphere that's easy to visit with kids in Unyang-dong, Gimpo, or near Modam Park, definitely stop by Restaurant Polia Gimpo Unyang Branch on the 2nd floor in Unyang-dong! I recommend it with confidence.