Baby-friendly pasta restaurant in Songdo: Cenacolo Artfore risotto

Looking for a pasta spot for lunch near Songdo Central Park, I ended up at Cenacolo Artfore. It's located at 257 Incheon Tower-daero, Building Artfore C, Unit 211, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, and it's open 11:00–22:00 with a break time from 15:00 to 17:00.

Cenacolo says it uses fresh seasonal ingredients along with carefully made house sauces, which got me curious about the food. The menu ranges from pasta to gnocchi, risotto, and steak, so it was fun just deciding what to order.

This time I visited with a baby and a stroller, and it turned out to be more comfortable than I expected — so here's my honest review covering the food, the atmosphere, and parking.

Where do you park at Cenacolo Artfore in Songdo?

Cenacolo is on the 2nd floor of Building C in Songdo's Artfore complex. You can use the Artfore building's underground parking lot, which is fairly spacious, so finding a spot wasn't difficult. Two hours of free parking is available with a visit to the restaurant. Since Cenacolo is in Building C, if it's your first visit, I'd recommend parking as close to the Building C entrance as possible — it makes the walk to the restaurant a bit easier.

Cenacolo Artfore's interior, stroller space and baby chairs

Artfore itself has a somewhat exotic feel compared to a typical commercial building, so even the walk to the restaurant was fun to take in. Once you head into Building C and up to the 2nd floor, Cenacolo is easy to find.

The front of the restaurant was neat and tidy, with an overall relaxed, European-feeling exterior.

Inside, the vibe was warm, centered around wood tones. Natural light streaming in through the floor-to-ceiling windows kept things bright overall — not too dark or heavy, which made it a nice spot for lunch.

I visited toward the tail end of the weekday lunch rush, so it wasn't packed, and I could eat at a relaxed pace.

I had a stroller with me, and the tables weren't spaced too tightly, so it wasn't a big hassle. Most of all, I was grateful that the staff made space for the stroller. The service was friendly overall, which made things even easier for me as a parent with a baby. Baby chairs were also available, so it's worth keeping in mind if you're looking for a place to eat with a young child.

Cenacolo Artfore menu and how to order by QR code

Beyond pasta, the menu includes appetizers, soups, risotto, and steak, along with wine and other drinks. That makes it a good spot for a light lunch, but also flexible enough for an evening meal with wine, depending on the mood you're after.

For the record, you order by scanning the QR code attached to the table, which links to the restaurant's website — and since it shows photos of the dishes, it was handy for deciding what to order.

What I ordered was

• Mushroom cream gnocchi
• Calamari pasta
• Cham-songi mushroom cream risotto

— these three dishes.

How was the mushroom cream gnocchi?

First up, Cenacolo's signature dish: gnocchi. The gnocchi itself had a pretty strong potato flavor, layered with mushroom aroma, making it savory and rich overall. The combination of cream sauce and potato gnocchi could easily turn out heavy, but the mushroom fragrance balanced it out nicely. It had been a while since I'd had gnocchi, and I enjoyed it a lot.

Calamari pasta at Cenacolo Artfore

Next, the calamari pasta.

Made with domestic squid, tomato, and olives, the squid flavor came through quite strongly. Especially with the squid in it, the distinctive seafood aroma stood out, and eating it with the tomato gave it a clean finish. Instead of regular long spaghetti noodles, the pasta was a slightly flat, square-cut shape, which made it easy to eat together with the sauce.

Cham-songi mushroom cream risotto: the best dish of the meal

And personally, my favorite dish was the cham-songi mushroom cream risotto. It's made with cham-songi mushrooms from Naju, Jeollanam-do, with truffle aroma added, and every bite of mushroom delivered a deep, rich flavor. The soft cream risotto, combined with the mushroom's depth and a subtle hint of truffle, worked really well together.

Is Cenacolo Artfore worth it with a baby?

Overall, the food was great, the atmosphere was pleasant, and the staff were friendly, making for a comfortable meal at Cenacolo. Being inside Artfore made parking easy, and it's close to Central Park, so it's a nice spot to wander around after eating. If you're looking for pasta, risotto, steak, or brunch near Songdo Central Park, or a date spot with a good atmosphere, I'd recommend Cenacolo!