Italian restaurant in Sangmu, Gwangju: shrimp bisque pasta, Camel Orzo

Whenever I'm craving Italian food in the Sangmu district, Camel Orzo is where I end up going. Honestly I've been so many times I've lost count haha.

Time for a Camel Orzo review, yesss~!

Camel Orzo hours and where to park

Camel Orzo is open daily from 11:00 to 23:00, with last order at 21:00. It's located at 1F, 102, Urban Peak Sangmu, 261 Uncheon-ro, Seo-gu, Gwangju, South Korea. There's on-site parking, plus support at several nearby lots.

• Switzen retail parking lot, 2 hours free
• Nice Park Gwangju Chipyeong lot, 2 hours free (1209-6 Chipyeong-dong, Seo-gu)
• Peace Park underground lot, ₩2,000 (1 hour) support per table — near the entrance of Korea Real Estate Board Gwangju branch, 102 Naebang-ro, Seo-gu
• Megabox 'annex' lot, floors 2–5, weekdays 11:00 AM–4:00 PM, 1 hour free

The Switzen retail lot is often full, but Camel Orzo has so much parking support nearby that it's never really stressful. Honestly, there have been quite a few times I came intending to go somewhere else, found the Switzen lot full, and just switched to Camel Orzo instead haha.

The exterior and the outdoor terrace at Camel Orzo

When Camel Orzo was still under construction before opening, the exterior already caught my eye because it looked so pretty — and it still looks great now.

There's also an outdoor terrace, so if there's a wait, you can just sit there!

What to order from the Camel Orzo menu

Camel Orzo does risotto and pasta really well, so every time I come I order this exact combo.

The event running now at Camel Orzo

• Sept 1–20: spend ₩150,000+ and receive a ₩5,000 return voucher
• 20% off takeout drinks

The vongole I craved even during my hospital stay

Camel Orzo is surprisingly good at oil-based pastas, which is rare because it's hard to find a place that does them well, so I usually don't order oil pasta at Italian restaurants. When I came with a friend before, I got the vongole (clam pasta) and it was delicious. I ate it the day before I was hospitalized, and I kept thinking about it the whole time I was admitted.

The clam flavor really soaked into the noodles — it clung to your mouth with such good umami, honestly so good that I couldn't stop thinking about it,,

Seating and service at Camel Orzo

Camel Orzo has soft ambient lighting and wide table spacing. Most of all, the tables are large enough that even four people don't feel cramped! At small-table places, you end up having to clear the table constantly mid-meal, which is annoying, but here you don't have to deal with that at all — which is great.

Every time I come, I notice how friendly and quick the staff are. As soon as my water glass is empty, they swoop in like a hornet, hah, to refill it 🫶

Two new dishes: red shrimp bisque pasta and hanwoo stk paella

It had been a while since my last visit, so there were so many new menu items that picking was genuinely fun✨ This time I chose the red shrimp bisque pasta (₩22,000) and the hanwoo stk paella (₩33,000).

Red shrimp bisque pasta, 22,000 won

Apparently it's a bisque pasta made with French lobster bisque sauce, seafood stock, and gourmet butter to bring out deep shellfish flavor, finished with grilled Argentinian red shrimp.

Huge, plump shrimp piled on top made this a knockout dish visually before I even took a bite,,💕

Because the sauce is made from shellfish, it tasted cleaner than a rosé sauce but with even more depth of flavor.

Hanwoo stk paella, 33,000 won

This is apparently a paella made with Italian-style cured and dried pancetta, fragrant saffron, and natural stock, paired with aged hanwoo (Korean beef) steak.

There were peas mixed throughout, which added good texture and paired really well. Since a lot of people don't like peas, there's also an option to leave them out.

There was plenty of meat and a good variety of mushrooms, so every bite felt satisfying.

Had a great meal and made sure to earn Dodo Points too! You can use Yakmoondong, Catch's, and Camel Orzo all together for points, so they add up surprisingly fast.