Daejeon restaurant couple's lunch date, wine-pickled onion: THE MUA

My husband and I were in Daejeon looking for lunch and wanted a Western restaurant with good vibes too, so we headed to THE MUA, a pasta spot in Tanbang-dong.

It's a great place for pasta and risotto with ades and coffee at lunch, or wine in the evening — good for a lunch date but I'd also recommend it as a dinner spot for group gatherings :)

Where is THE MUA? A new Western restaurant near Tanbang and Yongmun Station

THE MUA is a 15-minute walk from Tanbang and Yongmun stations, and also close to Lotte Department Store Daejeon and Namseon Park, so it was easy to fit into our date route. Sedeungseonwon temple sits right across the street, so we caught a peaceful glimpse of it on the way.

There was room for about 1–2 cars to park in front, and a grand-opening poster was still up when we visited, so it's clearly a brand-new place.

Inside THE MUA: a low-lit hall and a private room

Even during the day, the interior lighting was fairly dim, which actually made it feel cozy and atmospheric. There are 4-person tables, but also two 6-person group tables — we came as a couple for lunch this time, but it seemed like a great spot for a group dinner with wine later on.

Wine bottles were displayed right from the entrance, and there was a separate wine fridge, so it seemed like a great fit for special occasions with drinks — wedding invitation gatherings, year-end parties, that kind of thing.

Best of all, there's a private group room toward the back that looked really useful for group gatherings. And on Thursdays, there's no corkage fee, so bringing your own wine sounds like a great idea!

They have a high chair, so babies and toddlers are welcome, and there's an indoor restroom too, which made it comfortable to linger a while.

THE MUA menu: the 49,900 won lunch set and 99,900 won dinner set

THE MUA serves a wide range of Western dishes — pasta, gnocchi, lasagna, steak, salads. For lunch, there's a ₩49,900 set that's great for two, and for dinner there's a ₩99,900 set with steak and wine, which made choosing easy.

We visited for lunch and ordered the lunch set: 2 lobster croquettes plus 2 mains and 2 drinks (ade or coffee), which was just right for the two of us.

What the lunch set was like: plating by an Australia-trained chef

For mains we picked the shrimp ricotta pomodoro pasta and the sous vide wine pork belly risotto, with lemon ade and cold brew to drink. THE MUA's chef trained in Australia, and it showed — the plating and the dishes themselves weren't ordinary at all.

The lemon ade came first, with mint leaves that made it refreshing and zesty, plus a layer of sweet syrup at the bottom that made it even better. The cold brew is made from beans they roast in-house, and it definitely showed in the quality.

Lobster croquettes

The lobster croquettes were beautifully crisp-fried with leafy greens on top — such a pretty presentation. The staff kindly explained that the greens are there to cut through the richness of the tartar sauce underneath, so we should eat them together.

Trying it, there was barely any unpleasant leafy taste, and it genuinely worked well with the tartar sauce — I get why it's the signature dish! The plating was gorgeous too, fun just to look at. (My husband said it felt like a fancy restaurant dish — haha!)

Shrimp ricotta pomodoro pasta

The shrimp ricotta pomodoro pasta was loaded with a tangy fresh-tomato sauce, plus real tomato pieces, so that bright pomodoro flavor really came through.

The ricotta on top gave it a different feel from your typical tomato pasta, and with the shrimp added, it was that can't-go-wrong combo of tomato and shrimp! Overall the seasoning wasn't heavy, letting the main ingredients' natural flavors shine — you could feel the chef's care in it.

Sous vide wine pork belly risotto with wine-pickled onion

The sous vide wine pork belly risotto had a charm all its own too. You'd usually picture risotto as creamy and thick, but this one was different — it felt like it had a meat-broth base, moist and juicy rather than dense.

The wine-scented pickled onion served alongside was the real key that tied it all together — eating it plain was nice, but adding the pickled onion changed the flavor completely, which was such a fun surprise. (Never expected the pickled onion to steal the spotlight from the meat...!)

The pork belly was cooked tender with the skin still on, giving it a nice chewy texture, and the rice was clean-tasting with a hint of pepper that made the whole dish appealing.

Final verdict: a Tanbang-dong Western restaurant for dates and group dinners

THE MUA is a great fit for days when you want a good meal in a place with real atmosphere in Tanbang-dong. We came for a lunch date this time, but I could see it being just as good for an evening group gathering with wine in the private room.

Whether you want good Western food on a date, or a group gathering in a nice atmospheric room, this is a Tanbang-dong pasta spot I'd love to come back to :)