Gapyeong-eup Italian restaurant with 10,000-won pasta: Pinoli

Where Pinoli is in Gapyeong-eup: hours and parking

Pinoli (PINOLI) is located at 12 Jangteo 2-gil, 1st floor, Unit 111, Gapyeong-eup, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do (405 Eupnae-ri), South Korea. It's open Wed–Sat 11:00–15:00 (last order 14:00), and closed every Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

• Parking available (free for 2 hours) — Changeop Economy Town No Brand shared parking lot near the Gapyeong-eup public parking lot
• Restroom: separate men's/women's inside the building
• Takeout, reservations and group bookings available
• No pets allowed
• Wi-Fi available

• Pasta, lasagna and even risotto are mostly priced in the ₩10,000s, so it's not a heavy spend
• They say they make their own sauces and dressings, plus a house soy seasoning aged for 24 hours
• Uses local Gapyeong produce like pine nuts, apples, grapes and tomatoes in dishes

How we found Pinoli while searching for pasta in Gapyeong

It's run by a cooking instructor who has studied and taught Italian cuisine for 18 years, and the menu turned out to be more varied than I expected — pasta, lasagna, risotto, plus salads and desserts.

Pinoli isn't the kind of place with an enormous menu; instead it's built around solid mains like pasta, risotto and lasagna.

Pinoli menu and prices

Pinoli Pasta ₩14,900 / Lasagna ₩15,900 / Polpette con Riso Saltato ₩15,900 / Pollo Piccante con Riso Saltato ₩15,900 / Aglio Olio ₩13,900 / Pinoli Salad ₩9,900 / Pinoli Salad with jambon ham & crackers ₩12,900 / Open jambon sandwich ₩12,900 / Tiramisu ₩7,900 / Panna cotta ₩6,900 / Rooibos & calamansi ade ₩3,900 / Calamansi ade ₩3,500 / Lemon lime bitter ₩6,900 / Milk tea ₩5,900 / Matcha latte ₩5,900 / Coke, Zero Pepsi & Sprite ₩3,000 / Sparkling mineral water ₩3,500

Inside Pinoli: interior and seating

The interior was clean and calm overall.

The tables weren't cramped and the dining space felt orderly, so it was easy to chat over pasta or risotto.

It felt more like a small restaurant than a casual spot, and the dishes come nicely plated, so it works well for a date or a family meal.

The window seats look out onto the street, so daytime visits feel a bit brighter, while the inner tables seemed good for a quieter meal.

Overall it wasn't elaborately decorated — more of a clean space that let you focus on the food.

There were also cute aprons and bags hanging on the wall.

Pinoli Salad with jambon ham and crackers, 12,900 won

This is the Pinoli Salad served together with jambon ham and crackers.

Pasta and fried rice alone can feel a bit heavy, but having the salad in between made for a good combination.

I ate the vegetables with the jambon ham, and also piled them onto crackers — of the three dishes, this was the lightest to snack on alongside the others.

Pinoli Pasta, 14,900 won: mafaldine in cream sauce

Pinoli's signature dish, so I tried it first.

It has bacon and mushrooms in a cream base with peperoncino, giving it a savory flavor with a slight kick.

Mafaldine noodles are wide with wavy edges, so the sauce clung well, and they were chewier than I expected.

It's a cream sauce, but it didn't go too heavy — the occasional spicy note kept me eating it all the way through.

Polpette con Riso Saltato, 15,900 won: meatballs with garlic fried rice

Garlic fried rice topped with house-made meatballs.

The name sounds unfamiliar, but it's really buttery garlic fried rice eaten together with meatballs, so it was easy to enjoy.

The fried rice was savory with a good garlic aroma, and I liked that it didn't overlap with the pasta when ordered together.

A side of yeolmu (young radish greens) pickle came standard, and its crisp, tangy bite was good to reach for between bites of pasta or fried rice.

After lunch: the Jatgoeul Market five-day market nearby

After eating at Pinoli, I stepped out to find Jatgoeul Market nearby, so I took a quick look around. It's a five-day market that opens every five days, and it happened to be market day when I visited.

I wandered around after the meal and bought a fish cake skewer, then headed back to get my car from the parking lot once I was done browsing.

Since I'd already made the trip to Gapyeong, pairing the meal with a stroll through the nearby market rather than just eating and leaving made for a good combined outing.