Dunsan-dong pasta spot, free parking & meatball bolognese: Plate

Falling for the charm of fresh pasta

What is Plate Dunsan Branch in Daejeon?

Plate Dunsan Branch (플레이트 둔산점) is a Western restaurant right next to Galleria Timeworld in Dunsan-dong, Daejeon, built around fresh pasta kneaded in the shop. If you want proper fresh pasta in Daejeon, this is the place! I came while looking for a Western restaurant with a nice atmosphere in Dunsan-dong, and the noodle range is wide, from spaghetti to squid-ink, spinach, tagliatelle and pappardelle, so picking which noodle goes with each dish is half the fun.

Seating and free parking at Plate Dunsan Branch

The restaurant is spacious and clean, with big window seats and private rooms. If you park in the building's underground lot, you get 2 hours of free parking for one car per table. It looked good for dates and blind dates, but also for family meals and gatherings. It feels right for a day when you want to dress things up a bit! Being right next to Galleria Timeworld makes it easy to find too.

Does Plate Dunsan Branch serve steak and pizza too?

Fresh pasta is the main act, but you can enjoy steak and pizza here too. And once I walked in, I saw they don't treat steak as a mere side. They even have a separate meat fridge, set up so you can see the condition of the meat yourself! Pasta is great, but they clearly take their meat seriously as well.

How do you choose your pasta at Plate?

Plate's biggest feature is that everything from the pasta noodles to the pizza dough is made in the shop! And the pasta isn't just one type; you can pick the noodle to suit your taste.

• Fresh noodles: spaghetti, spinach spaghetti, squid-ink spaghetti, tagliatelle (ribbon noodles), pappardelle (wide ribbon noodles)
• Dried noodles: linguine, penne, fusilli, farfalle, conchiglie, rigatoni

Choosing a noodle can be surprisingly tricky, but each menu item marks a recommended noodle, so it wasn't hard even on a first visit.

What we ordered and how much it cost

• Classic meatball bolognese (pappardelle) ₩10,900
• Beef cheddar pizza ₩21,900

Rich bolognese sauce and meatballs on wide pappardelle, and next to it a pizza piled with beef topping and cheese 🍝🍕 Put together, it really feels like a full spread, doesn't it? The pasta is wide, thick fresh noodles that catch your eye first, and with the pizza, a cheese-pull shot with a slice is a must! Let me take plenty of photos first, and then we'll dig in properly.

How was the classic meatball bolognese with pappardelle?

The menu marks a recommended noodle for the classic meatball bolognese, so I picked pappardelle without agonizing. The recommendation is there for a reason! The bolognese sauce clung to the wide, thick fresh noodles, and the combination was just right. Still, there are so many noodle types that I'm curious to try other noodles with other dishes next time. Swapping noodles to your own taste seems to be part of the fun of Plate's fresh pasta.

How does Plate's beef cheddar pizza taste?

The beef cheddar pizza was tastier than I expected, I have to say~ The savory beef topping with cheddar gives a salty, deep flavor, and the richness of the cheese goes really well with the meat. The dough is chewy, and the toppings and cheese are generous, so after one slice you keep reaching for another!

Plate Dunsan Branch: final verdict

At Plate Dunsan Branch you can feel the care put into every plate, from the handmade fresh noodles and pizza dough to cooking after you order. Being able to choose your noodle was fun, and although pasta is the main, the pizza and steak widen the choices, which makes ordering fun too. Above all, a separate meat fridge makes it feel less like a place that is just good at pasta and more like one that really cares about handling good ingredients!

The atmosphere is clean, and with rooms and window seats it works for dates, blind dates, anniversary meals, gatherings and company dinners in Dunsan-dong. It's right next to Galleria Timeworld, so access is easy, and with 2 hours of free underground parking it's a good one to visit! If you're looking for fresh pasta in Daejeon, how about Plate Dunsan Branch, where you can enjoy pasta, pizza and steak all in one place?