Magoknaru Italian restaurant 6th anniversary lunch: Romaok Magok

I'd wanted to visit LG Art Center Seoul for a while, and I'd wanted to try Romaok too!

Turns out Romaok Magok is right there on the 3rd floor of LG Art Center Seoul, haha. My husband and I visited for lunch right after finishing our 6th anniversary staycation at the Mayfield Hotel.

We got to have a delicious meal and check out the gorgeous interior of LG Art Center Seoul too, so it really worked well as a date course. If you're looking for a good restaurant near Magongnaru Station or Magongnaru, or a place to eat before or after a show at LG Art Center, I think this is worth considering. :)

Where is Romaok Magok, and how does parking work?

Romaok Magok sits inside LG Art Center Seoul, connected directly to Magongnaru Station on the airport railroad, so it's easy to reach by public transport. Access by subway looked really convenient!

We drove, and the parking lot was spacious enough that finding a spot wasn't a problem. Best of all, dining at Romaok Magok gets you 2 hours of free parking, which made driving there easy too, haha. Between the subway access and the parking, this place really has a location advantage if you're hunting for restaurants near Magongnaru Station.

Looking around LG Art Center Seoul before lunch

The moment we walked in, striking architecture and installations greeted us, haha. Every time I visit a building like this, I'm reminded how fascinating architecture can be. The space itself is so impressive that we ended up wandering around before we even sat down to eat.

When we visited, there were also props related to the musical Dracula on display.

My husband suddenly climbed into a coffin and took a photo. Lolol. So there was plenty to look at even before we set foot inside Romaok.

Romaok Magok opening hours on the 3rd floor

After exploring LG Art Center Seoul, we finally headed to Romaok Magok, haha.

Hours are 11:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., with a break time from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

There's a menu board outside the restaurant so you can check what's on offer before going in. Of course, I'd already made a Naver reservation and pre-decided what I wanted to eat, but still! Lolololol

What we ordered and how the dining room feels

As soon as we walked in, a staff member kindly showed us to our seat. Ordering was done via a tablet at the table. What we ordered was

• Eclipse squid ink risotto — ₩25,000
• Piri piri chicken — ₩31,000
• Zero Coke

Those three!

We got the Zero Coke by participating in a Naver receipt review event. :)

When ordering the eclipse squid ink risotto, you could choose between regular or lightly seasoned. I went with regular, of course, lolol. I'd rather eat it salty than under-seasoned~! Lolololol

On the table, a small plate, water glass, fork, spoon, and knife were all neatly set out.

We visited on a Monday for lunch, and quite a few office workers from nearby were dining too. There were also tables that could seat groups, so it looked like a solid option for a Magok lunch or a work gathering spot.

The view differed a bit depending on where you sat. From the window seats you could see the lush rooftop garden, while our seat looked into the interior of LG Art Center Seoul.

There was also a table in the middle decorated with lovely props, and honestly every corner had good atmosphere for a date, haha.

The pre-meal bread at Romaok Magok

And then the pre-meal bread that so many people had raved about arrived.

It really was delicious!

The bread came out warm and had a fairly hearty texture, lolol.

It's good on its own, but dipping it in the accompanying sauce made it even better. The pre-meal bread alone got us excited before the mains even arrived, haha.

Eclipse squid ink risotto, 25,000 won

Then the eclipse squid ink risotto we'd been waiting for arrived. Before that, though, the staff's service impressed me — not long after we ordered, someone came over to explain that the risotto would take about 10–15 minutes to cook and the piri piri chicken about 20–25 minutes.

They also asked whether we wanted each dish brought out as it was ready, or both served together. I was already hungry, so I said bring them as they're done, lolololol. Little touches like explaining this upfront were really nice. What I felt throughout the meal overall was that the Romaok Magok staff are genuinely kind!

Having seen the Dracula musical props before entering, seeing the pitch-black squid ink risotto felt strangely fitting with the Dracula theme, which made me laugh, haha. But beyond the fun visual, I was surprised again once I took a bite — it was delicious. The savory scent of the cuttlefish especially stood out. The cuttlefish paired so well with the ink risotto that I kept going back for more.

Piri piri chicken, 31,000 won, even without a love of cilantro

Next came the piri piri chicken, topped with orange foam and cilantro.

At first I wondered if the cilantro would work for my husband and me, since neither of us is a big fan, but once we tried it together, the combination of piri piri sauce, chicken, orange foam, and cilantro turned out to fit really well.

Both of us ate it happily, haha.

Personally, I thought both the eclipse squid ink risotto and the piri piri chicken we ordered really showed off Romaok's own personality.

If it's your first time at Romaok, I'd recommend trying both dishes! We ate so happily that... we ended up with completely empty plates, lolol.

After lunch: the LG Art Center rooftop garden and TUBE

It felt like a waste to head straight home after the meal, so we walked through the rooftop garden we'd seen from our seats at Romaok Magok. There was something fun about actually walking through the space we'd been looking at through the window while eating, haha.

We also checked out the TUBE space at LG Art Center Seoul. This feels like another advantage of Romaok Magok — it's not just about the meal; you can explore the beautiful spaces of LG Art Center Seoul before or after eating. Getting to enjoy good food and a beautiful space together on a date made for a really pleasant time. :)

Is Romaok Magok a good date spot in Magok?

Getting a delicious meal and exploring the beautiful spaces of LG Art Center Seoul together made Romaok Magok even more enjoyable!

If you're looking for a good restaurant near Magongnaru or planning a show or date at LG Art Center Seoul, this place is worth visiting together. :) We ate well and got a full round of sightseeing in too, haha.