Calzone and creamy seafood risotto for two at a Yongin Italian spot

Today's food post is about Ttukbaegi-e Dameun Italia (뚝배기에 담은 이탈리아), a restaurant in Yangji, Yongin.

I came here once last year when a friend moved nearby, and this time I visited again with my husband, just the two of us.

📍 Ttukbaegi Italia Address: 1F, 33 Nampyeong-ro, Yangji-eup, Cheoin-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea Hours: 🍝 Daily 11:00 – 22:00 ☕ Break time 15:00 – 17:00 ⏰ Last order 20:40

The entrance is confusing — go up to the 2nd floor and around back

This building is a bit unusual — you go in through the building entrance and head up to the 2nd floor. Then you walk around to the back of the building, and that's where the main door is. Don't get confused like I almost did! ✨

Once you're up on the 2nd floor and go around back, there's a parking lot right there. There are plenty of spaces so parking isn't a hassle.

A spacious dining room and a self-bar

Ttukbaegi-e Dameun Italia's interior is spacious too. Tables are spread out with plenty of room, so you can eat comfortably. The area sectioned off by partitions is set up like a private room and can be reserved for groups.

There's also a self-bar in operation, stocked with pickles and coffee for dessert.

What we ordered: rosé bacon calzone, creamy seafood risotto

We ordered the rosé bacon calzone and creamy seafood risotto. The calzone is Ttukbaegi-e Dameun Italia's signature dish!

There's a wood-fired oven right there in the restaurant! It's kept spotlessly clean too. The pizzas and calzones come straight out of it, freshly baked 🧡

I was watching the oven out of curiosity when I spotted the calzone I'd ordered going in. Probably mine, haha. It's a wood-fired pizza folded over with cheese inside.

Pickles and pre-meal bread

They set out pickles first, then bring the pre-meal bread. The balsamic sauce is tangy and the bread is crisp yet soft, perfect for whetting the appetite.

So what exactly is a calzone?

The rosé bacon calzone — quite the visual, right! I was curious so I looked it up: a calzone is a southern Italian dish where meat, vegetables, and cheese are folded into dough and baked in an oven. Here, they make theirs with plenty of cheese inside. Honestly, I only learned this dish even had a name after coming here, haha.

My husband cutting it up nicely for us to eat, haha. Since it comes straight out of the wood-fired oven, it cut with a satisfying crunch and was genuinely loaded with cheese inside.

We cut it into big pieces on our plates first, then cut it further into bite-sized pieces. Dipping it generously in the rosé sauce, it was delicious with the savory cheese. The portion is huge.

Twirling the pasta and taking a bite was also so good. The noodles were cooked just right and the sauce was tasty, so I just kept eating this rosé pasta.

Creamy seafood risotto served in a stone pot

The creamy seafood risotto comes in a stone pot (ttukbaegi), true to the restaurant's name, haha. Because it's served in the stone pot, I could eat it warm for quite a long time! Even at an Italian restaurant, I still can't give up rice — I guess a person's just gotta eat rice.

The cream was thick and rich, loaded with clams, and it wasn't too salty (some restaurants make the cream way too salty), which paired really well with the rosé.

How much food is two dishes for two people?

You have to eat the risotto with a fork. Since it's rice, it felt a lot more filling. The calzone and pasta noodles aren't that much on their own, but eating it together with the risotto, I got full fast, haha. When we ordered two dishes, both my husband and I were so full we couldn't finish. We had a lot of risotto left over, so we packed it to go.

Also, Ttukbaegi-e Dameun Italia is running a no-lose roulette event. There's also a Naver receipt photo review event going on, so if you visit, be sure to take part!

To sum up

Yangji in Yongin has quite a lot of Korean restaurants. Ttukbaegi-e Dameun Italia is a great Yongin Yangji restaurant to visit when you're craving something a bit different. It's familiar Italian food, but the advantage is that it's served in a stone pot — so you can keep eating it warm! If you're looking for Italian food in Yongin Yangji or Cheoin-gu, I recommend Ttukbaegi-e Dameun Italia 🧡