Songdo Italian Friday night with friends: prosciutto pizza, Salerno

Salerno Songdo Onesta

On a Friday, I met up with two close friends for the first time in ages and we made a day trip to Songdo in Incheon. The weather was gorgeous, and just walking around melted the stress away, haha. There was plenty to see nearby and we wandered around deciding where to go, until we found a Songdo restaurant that nails all three: the exterior, the interior and, most important, the food. All three of us left completely satisfied, so I'm happy to introduce it today.

What kind of place is Salerno Songdo Onesta?

Salerno Songdo Onesta is an Italian restaurant on the 3rd floor of Onesta on Songdogukje-daero. We arrived full of expectation, and the exotic feel at the entrance got us excited before we even went in. The moment we stepped inside, the spacious, stylish interior caught our eyes.

Salerno Songdo location, hours and parking

• Location: 157 Songdogukje-daero, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon (3rd floor)
• Hours: Mon-Sun 11:00-21:30
• Break time: 15:00-17:00
• Last order: 20:30
• Parking: available, in the Onesta building car park

What's the atmosphere at Salerno Songdo Onesta like?

Elegant marble tables with eye-catching blue chairs as an accent make the whole place feel very modern and clean. I could see why it gets talked about as a Songdo spot with great atmosphere. A big screen on one wall adds to the stylish mood.

Is it okay to go with a child?

Salerno Songdo Onesta has baby chairs ready. It works for friends like us and for couples on a date, and I thought it would also be nice to bring a child in Songdo. With such a pleasant space, it would suit a family gathering too.

There are books in the restaurant so kids can read while the adults eat. It felt really thoughtful.

On one side there's a corner where you can grab any extra cutlery you need.

Salerno menu and prices

The menu at Salerno Songdo Onesta ranges from pasta to risotto, pizza and steak, and the jjijja (hand-torn pizza), scallop vongole and pumpkin gnocchi we picked were ₩28,000 each. Small plates and cutlery were neatly set on the table, with the menu placed tidily too. Looking through it, there were so many mouthwatering dishes that the three of us fell into happy indecision. We wanted this and that, and after long deliberation decided to order a good spread of typical Songdo Italian dishes. The prices felt reasonable for what you get, so I can easily recommend it as a place to visit without worrying about the bill.

Ordering is done on a tablet, which is convenient, haha. We were busy choosing and choosing~ haha

What the three of us ordered at Salerno

• Jjijja (prosciutto & mozzarella pizza) ₩28,000
• Soup of the day set
• Amalfi lemonade
• Iced Americano
• Scallop vongole ₩28,000
• Pumpkin gnocchi ₩28,000

The wine shelves and the golden wood-fired oven

Salerno Songdo Onesta stands out for the wine shelves filling one wall and the golden wood-fired oven in the corner. While the food was being prepared we didn't want to just sit there, so we took a quick look around, and you can tell they put real care into every interior detail. Seeing the wine bottles stylishly displayed made the mood feel even classier. A glass of wine with these dishes would make a perfect date, I think.

But above all, what completely stole our attention was the huge oven in the corner. The shiny golden oven stands there grandly, and its presence is no joke. You can watch the chef handle the dough and bake the pizza right in front of it in real time, which raised our trust a lot. It turns out Salerno isn't a place that makes pizza carelessly; it's a proper Songdo wood-fired pizza specialist that bakes each pizza in the oven as soon as the order comes in.

While we chatted, our dishes finally started arriving at the table one by one. Wow, the moment the food came out, all three of us gasped. The plating was so elegant and pretty that our eyes were happy before we even ate. We ordered the scallop vongole pasta, pumpkin gnocchi and prosciutto & mozzarella wood-fired pizza, and with the soup of the day from the set, the refreshing Amalfi lemonade and the iced Americano, the table got really full 😆

Bread and the soup of the day

First came the bread~ The soup of the day at Salerno that day was corn soup, which was just right for soothing an empty stomach, soft and warm. We dipped the bread in it and ate happily, haha.

How is the prosciutto & mozzarella wood-fired pizza?

Salerno's prosciutto & mozzarella jjijja came fresh out of the oven, and maybe that's why the dough was wonderfully chewy yet light. Fresh, vibrant salad greens, salty prosciutto and rich mozzarella were piled on generously, so a variety of flavors spread softly through the mouth. The clean, non-greasy taste typical of Songdo wood-fired pizza was exactly my style.

Scallop vongole pasta

Salerno's scallop vongole pasta came with a generous heap of pretty, colorful scallops, and the deep flavor of fresh clams melted right into the oil sauce. The noodles were cooked just right and springy, and the clams' distinctive savory depth soaked into them, so good that we scraped up every bit of sauce ♡

Pumpkin gnocchi

Salerno's pumpkin gnocchi had such an appealing yellow color. A soft, sweet yet rich pumpkin-based sauce with chewy gnocchi made every bite draw a happy sigh. The gnocchi pieces, golden outside and soft inside, went so well with the sweet sauce that we never got tired of them.

Sipping the cool Amalfi lemonade, with its bursts of freshness, and the clean iced Americano in between kept our mouths refreshed, so we could enjoy the food to the very end.

Why I recommend Salerno Songdo for friends and dates

The staff at Salerno Songdo Onesta are friendly and the space is wide and pleasant, so I'd recommend it for a get-together with friends or a date. Chatting away with good friends over delicious food, I thought, this is what healing is. The staff checked on us thoughtfully now and then and were so kind that we felt well looked after throughout the meal.

Lately a lot of people around me have been looking for a good Songdo restaurant for the weekend, and I'm sure that if I recommend Salerno, nobody will complain. Taking in the tidy city view and then finishing with a lovely meal in a restaurant with killer atmosphere is hard to beat for a nice date or a special day. For a friends' get-together like ours, the space is wide and pleasant, so it's perfect.

When you're craving real, chewy yet light wood-fired pizza, or missing an Italian restaurant with proper atmosphere, head to Songdo's Salerno without hesitation. Whoever you bring will probably praise you for your good taste. Enjoying a perfect meal with my two friends after so long, I felt proud to have found a great weekend spot.