Terrace restaurant in Sangmu, Gwangju: bottarga pasta at Camel Orzo

A friend came down using up a pile of vacation days for the holiday. Since she'd traveled far, I figured I had to feed her something good~~ so I took her to

What is Camel Orzo? Italian dining from a chef with 25 years at Maekmundong

[ Camel Orzo ] in Sangmu district — Camel Orzo is an Italian dining restaurant newly opened by the owner-chef with 25 years of experience at Maekmundong, a well-known name in Gwangju. It's said to be a space embodying Maekmundong's "final journey," centering on Italian dishes made with seasonal ingredients, offering menus that are hard to find elsewhere in Gwangju. Since Maekmundong itself is so famous, I visited with pretty high expectations for what they'd serve. :)

Camel Orzo location, hours and parking in Sangmu, Gwangju

It's located on the first floor, Unit 102, of Urban Peak in Sangmu district. Right in front of the escalator!

⏰ Hours Daily: 11:00 - 23:00 Break time Weekdays: 15:30 - 17:00 Weekends: 16:00 - 17:00 Last order: 22:30

• 🍷 Corkage ₩10,000 per bottle
• 🚗 Parking available (see photos below)
• 🚗 Disabled parking spot O
• ♿ Wheelchair accessible
• 🎁 Takeout available
• 👶 High chairs O
• 👥 Group-friendly
• 🚾 Separate men's/women's restrooms

Besides these, there were various services prepared like anniversary perks, takeout discounts, and a kids' menu. As for parking,

it's available at four locations: the Switzen commercial building, Nice Park Gwangju Chipyeong parking lot, Peace Park underground parking, and the Megabox annex parking lot. Note that the Megabox annex parking is weekdays only!

About 20 terrace seats: the Camel Orzo exterior

[ Exterior ] With its warm beige tones, plant pots, and signage, it feels like a restaurant tucked in a European alley. It photographs well from any angle — honestly the whole place felt like a photo zone. The moment I saw it, I thought it'd be perfect for a pre-wedding gathering. What I liked especially was the terrace seating — about 20 seats out there alone. More seats than I expected, which was nice. In cool weather like these days, it seems perfect for brunch or a glass of wine on the terrace. 🍷

Inside Camel Orzo: the room and how the waitlist works

[ Interior ] You can also remote-queue via Table Order. There's a machine near the entrance, visible in the second photo. Going straight in from the entrance, there's also sofa seating.

The interior blends beige tones with wood and rattan furniture. Overall it's a warm color palette, but bright and open enough that it doesn't feel stuffy. Something about the terracotta-colored tiles and rattan chairs gives it the vibe of a Southern European resort town. There's quite a lot of seating further inside too, so the place is fairly spacious. Warm yet airy — personally exactly my taste. The spacing between tables was also comfortable enough for conversation.

You order via tablet. They give you a physical menu without even asking, which seems convenient for choosing when there's a group. I meant to photograph the menu when ordering dessert, but we were too full to order dessert, so I forgot the photo too. 😂😂 Planning to revisit soon.

What we ordered at Camel Orzo and the drink-of-the-day price

After careful deliberation, we ordered Botteriga cuttlefish (pasta), fig fresco pizza with added burrata cheese, and two drinks of the day.

While we waited, they set the table and brought out the drinks of the day right away. Fruit drinks are normally ₩5,800, but ordering as the drink of the day drops it to ₩4,500. We had a fresh grapefruit soda and a green pineapple juice. The green pineapple juice tasted like healthy pineapple — not too sweet, refreshing. Really, really good. The fresh grapefruit soda tasted like the classic rich grapefruit ade you'd expect, with big chunks of grapefruit piled on top.

Bottarga cuttlefish pasta: how spicy is it?

The first dish out was [ Botteriga Cuttlefish ] — an oil pasta with cuttlefish and lemon, topped with lemon zest. There's lemon on the side you can squeeze on to taste. This is a dish I'd recommend trying at least once even if you don't love seafood!!!! The menu had a spicy marker, but it's less "spicy pasta" and more "oil pasta with the usual bit of heat from peperoncino that most oil pastas have." Since I asked lots of questions beforehand about the spice, they gave a detailed explanation and served the pepper and peperoncino separately. Even set aside, there was still some heat to it. But my friend, who can't handle spice at all, ate it happily, so I don't think there's much to worry about.

They even give you gloves so you can squeeze the lemon. Since I love both spicy and sour, I squeezed a ton onto just my plate. The seafood and the lemon's tartness paired really well. They also kept checking in on us during the meal and refilled our water glasses often, which I really appreciated.

Seriously, a life-best pasta 👍👍👍👍

A restaurant I used to love closed down after not surviving COVID, and I lost my life-best pasta with it... but now it's back. The pasta + lemon 🍋 combo might sound unfamiliar, but the lemon cuts the fishy edge off the seafood — they go really well together.

Fig fresco pizza with burrata: why you dip it in honey

Next up, pizza! [ Fig Fresco Pizza ] The fig fresco is a seasonal special pizza, topped on the dough with jambon, figs, cheese, rocket, and confit tomatoes. Ricotta cheese comes standard, and the burrata we added sits in a big chunk in the middle. It came with a pizza plate, plastic gloves, and honey.

My eyesight isn't great, so I thought they were just plain tomatoes at first, but they were peeled confit tomatoes. The honey has pistachio sprinkled over it. They recommended not just drizzling it on top but rolling the pizza up and dipping it into the honey like a sandwich.

The sweetness of the figs, the saltiness of the jambon, and the rich cheese made for a great sweet-and-salty combo. The dough was also chewy and nutty, but with such fresh and generous toppings, it felt more like fresh-baked bread piled high with a fig salad. Even though it's pizza, it didn't feel heavy or greasy, so it was relatively easy to eat even while dieting. Dipping it in the honey added even more sweetness and made it even better — but I held back since I'm dieting.

Is Camel Orzo good for a pre-wedding gathering or a date?

The food was delicious, but I loved the space itself — the pretty exterior, the great interior atmosphere, and the terrace seating. Every dish looked beautiful too, so if you're looking for a pre-wedding gathering spot or a date restaurant in Gwangju, I'd recommend this place. Especially on a nice day, I'd love to enjoy brunch or wine out on the terrace. I still have to try the dessert I skipped this time since I was too full, so I really do need to go back soon. Would revisit ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐