Lunch set steak and pollack roe pasta shared: Osteria Ottivo in Seocho

Bangbae-dong is a quiet neighborhood with plenty of good-vibe restaurants and cafés, making it a nice place to meet a friend or go on a date over the weekend.

This time, I was looking for an Italian restaurant serving both pasta and steak not far from the Han River, since I wanted to catch the Seoul fireworks too, and I ended up at Osteria Ottivo right at the entrance of Bangbae Café Street.

Let me introduce Osteria Ottivo, an Italian spot that's great for a date in Bangbae Café Street.

Osteria Ottivo

The exterior, right at the entrance of Bangbae Café Street

Osteria Ottivo looked clean and calm from the outside. The big window had PIZZA PASTA STEAK RISOTTO written on it, so you know exactly what kind of food they serve at a glance.

It fit right in with the relaxed vibe of Bangbae Café Street. Just a note — for the 2026 Chuseok holiday, the store is only closed on the 24th and 25th.

What's the interior and seating like?

Once inside, the space felt quite a bit bigger than it looked from outside. Bright walls, marble-like finishes, and warm lighting all together gave it a clean yet upscale mood. The window seats in particular got a lot of sunlight through the huge windows, which made it nice for a daytime visit.

The tables also had generous spacing, so it was easy to chat comfortably with my friend over the meal. It'd suit a day when you want a quiet meal, or as a Bangbae date spot.

During the day you can enjoy brunch and coffee, and in the evening, wine paired with Italian dishes.

There's a wine display on one side of the store, and it made me want to come back in the evening.

They also sell cakes, so it's a good place for a simple dessert too.

Lunch set composition and pricing

We ordered from the lunch menu. Lunch Set A was ₩35,000 per person, with a choice of main plus garden salad. We picked steak as the main.

Lunch Set B came with the pasta of the day for ₩25,000. That day's option was pollack roe oil pasta, plus garden salad. Ordering both came to ₩60,000 total. Getting one steak and one pasta to share with a friend made for a great combination.

Garden salad

The garden salad came out first, with plenty of fresh greens and cherry tomatoes.

Nuts and cheese added a nutty flavor, and the dressing wasn't overdone, so it was a nice, fresh way to wake up the appetite before the main dish.

The sauce seemed to be balsamic-based, and it had good flavor.

Steak

And next up, the steak! The plating alone was pretty impressive.

The meat came sliced in half for easy sharing, alongside grilled asparagus, corn, and other vegetables. A soft purée and whole grain mustard came along too, so you could pair them according to taste.

The rich sauce went really well with the steak, and pink peppercorns on top added a nice visual touch. Eating it together with the grilled vegetables let us enjoy a range of flavors in one plate.

Pollack roe oil pasta

The pollack roe oil pasta was tasty too. Even though it's an oil-based pasta, the sauce had a moist texture, and it came with shrimp and cherry tomatoes mixed in. The distinctive umami of the pollack roe blended naturally into the oil sauce, pairing well with the noodles.

There were several pieces of shrimp too, so it was fun picking them out along the way. If the steak played the role of the heavy main, the pollack roe oil pasta felt like it was in charge of umami.

The pickles that came with the meal were nice to nibble on in between too — they cleaned up the palate.

Overall, the plating was clean across the board, which also made it great for photos.

Coming with a friend and ordering one pasta and one steak worked out especially well. Rather than sticking to just one dish, alternating between the two made for a much more satisfying lunch.

Blueberry brownie

To finish, a blueberry-topped brownie! Rich and nutty — perfect as a palate cleanser.

Day or evening — which is better?

Osteria Ottivo seems like a place where the day and evening mood would be quite different. During the day, it's great for a relaxed brunch or lunch with sunlight streaming through the huge windows, and in the evening, it looks like a good spot to enjoy pasta or steak with the wine on hand.

Just as the restaurant describes itself as a space for completing special moments with the people who matter, it suits both gatherings with friends and dates equally well.

Group dining, corkage, and valet info

• Group dining available
• Corkage available
• Valet parking available — listed cost is ₩3,000 for 3 hours, then ₩1,000 per additional hour

Fitting it into a Bangbae date course

If you're looking for a good-vibe Italian restaurant with a friend in Bangbae Café Street on the weekend, it's worth trying the steak and pasta together at Osteria Ottivo. Since it's easy to continue on to nearby cafés after the meal, it works well as part of a Bangbae date course.

It happened to be the day of the 2026 Hanwha World Fireworks Festival, so we even caught the fireworks nearby at Dongjak Bridge afterward — that made the day even more fun! A good memory made.