Western restaurant in Ilsan for a family meal: Garlic Cook & Story

A great pick if you're heading to Western Dome or Lafesta in Ilsan with your parents. A Western-style restaurant with pizza, pasta, and doria that even parents enjoy.

• A review after eating pasta, pizza, bbaechae, doria, and more together
• A good pizza-and-pasta spot in Western Dome for taking your parents
• An honest review of Garlic Cook & Story's most popular signature pane dish

What four adults ordered at Garlic Cook & Story in Ilsan

On a day off, we took our parents to a favorite Western-style spot in Ilsan's Western Dome and Lafesta — 🍝Garlic Cook & Story🕕🍕. Quality you can tell just from the photos — see for yourself the Western dishes that even adults love!

On top of that, we went with our parents so there were 4 adults total — and we ended up ordering a whopping 5 dishes! It was so good that we just kept ordering more and more, and we were absolutely stuffed by the end.

Garlic Cook & Story has already been a popular spot in Lafesta for 10 years. At first glance it looks like just another pasta-and-pizza place, but it actually appeals to a wide range of ages, which is why I'd recommend it to parents too.

Honestly, my parents were like "this is the kind of thing you young people eat, why bring us along~" but I still wanted them to try some dishes they hadn't had before and experience something new. And after the meal, their reaction was so much better than expected — I thought, this really is a great place to bring your parents to.

There were 4 of us total, and we ordered 5 dishes and stuffed ourselves silly. On top of that, it was 4 main-level dishes plus 1 pizza! Let's take a closer look at the portions and the quality.

Self bar and the vitamin drink served after the meal

Reason #1 this Ilsan Lafesta spot is good to visit with parents — they give you a complimentary <vitamin> as service! A trace-nutrient vitamin C that's nice to take after a meal — since it can upset an empty stomach, it's best taken after eating.

There's also a self bar where you can help yourself to pickles, parmesan cheese, hot sauce, and various seasonings.

What does the signature shrimp bomb pane taste like?

Here comes Garlic Cook & Story's unrivaled No.1 signature dish, the shrimp bomb pane! Made with their own secret sauce, this dish is actually the most reordered item on the menu, and comes in two versions: shrimp bomb ver / spicy cream ver.

As you'd expect from pane, the biggest strength is that there's a lot of portion and a lot of sauce. With so much shrimp packed in, each bite pops with a plump, springy texture, and the shrimp's naturally sweet umami spreads through your whole mouth. The spicy cream sauce clings to the shrimp rather than sliding off, and true to being made with their signature secret sauce, you first taste the rich, thick savoriness of cheese and cream, followed by a sharp, spicy kick from cheongyang chili or pepperoncino.

Why the margherita pizza is easy for parents to enjoy

A traditional pizza where the savoriness of cheese and the tang of tomato come together in harmony. Garlic Cook & Story uses 100% natural cheese only.

The margherita pizza fresh out of the oven. White mozzarella melts thickly over the red tomato sauce — a classic yet mouthwatering visual.

Garlic Cook & Story's margherita pizza charms with the bright, juicy tang of tomato sauce and the salty, deeply savory mozzarella. There's no artificial sweetness — the tomato's clean natural acidity shines through and gently wraps around the richness of the cheese. It's a flavor that pairs especially well when eaten alongside other pasta dishes.

Reason #2 this is a good place to bring your parents. The margherita pizza is fresh and clean while also sitting somewhere between a side dish and a main, making it something even adults can enjoy without feeling weighed down.

Toowoomba doria at 11,900 won: how big is the portion?

A meeting of spicy seasoned sauce and plump shrimp, topped with plenty of soft cheese. Here comes the toowoomba doria, blanketed in golden-baked cheese! Sizzling fresh out of the oven, the visual alone gets your mouth watering. The cheese melts down smoothly and stretches endlessly, and the rich, spicy aroma of toowoomba sauce wafts up from inside. It's hard to believe it's only ₩11,900 — the big bowl was heavily packed with cheese and rice, and the portion was generous.

There's just so much sauce and cheese that the creamy, rich flavor really shines. The spicy toowoomba seasoning soaks into every grain of rice. It's not just heavy cream either — a sharp, spicy kick backs it up at the end, giving a perfect balance with the deep savoriness of the cheese. And with every spoonful, the plump shrimp bursts with a springy texture and sweet umami!

The spicy sauce cuts right through the richness that could otherwise get cloying, making this an addictive dish that has you scraping up every last grain of rice and even the lightly crisped cheese stuck to the bottom of the bowl, haha.

Hamburg steak with a 200g patty, the table favourite

The undisputed best-seller among hamburg steaks! With a house-made secret sauce and a hearty 200g portion, it's a crowd-pleasing flavor loved by kids and adults alike.

A patty topped with a fried egg! The moment you cut into it with a knife, the trapped, glossy juices come rushing out. Pop the yolk and let it richly coat the cut surface of the meat, then dip it generously in the thick sauce — it's ridiculously good. The meat isn't ground too finely, so there's a satisfying bite to it, chewy yet melting away smoothly after just a few chews.

No gamey aftertaste — just savory hamburg steak flavor filling your mouth, backed by a salty-sweet, classic demi-glace sauce that deepens the meat's flavor even further. A hearty, no-frills hamburg steak that has everyone, young and old, reaching for their spoon nonstop.

Pesce, the spicy seafood soup pasta: how the parents reacted

A spicy sauce loaded with fresh seafood (squid, shrimp, mussels, clams)! A refreshing soup pasta not unlike jjamppong.

Bbaechae has exactly the kind of spicy broth parents love. Behind the bright, deep tang of tomato comes a rich, refreshing broth drawn deep out of the seafood! Then a sharp spiciness hits in waves, scraping your insides clean. The broth is never heavy — it's spicy and has real depth, and eating it alongside the toowoomba doria and creamy pane pasta instantly washes away the slight richness in your mouth. Even though it's pasta, it's spicy enough to make you go 'ahh~' out loud — perfect even as a hangover cure!

Rolling up the chewy squid and tender mussel meat together with the noodles, then taking a big bite — the textures come together perfectly.

How the five dishes balanced each other

The combination of five dishes spread across the table was, in terms of flavor balance, truly perfect. The rich, creamy spicy cream shrimp-loaded pane and the cheese-heavy toowoomba doria handle the heavy, savory side. And the fresh, light margherita pizza gently balances out the richness.

On top of that, the juice-bursting hamburg steak adds heartiness, and the spicy, sharp bbaechae broth finishes things off by clearing your palate completely — each dish lifting up the others so there wasn't a single moment we got tired of it, right up to the last bite. It was the perfect combination of Western-style richness and the spicy, sharp kick Koreans love. This is exactly why it's such a good place to bring your parents!

We ate so well today! Garlic Cook & Story in Western Dome, Ilsan is a place that can satisfy everyone's tastes without a single complaint, so I know I'll be back without hesitation whenever I'm craving a good Western-style spread. My parents also said they were completely satisfied with the toowoomba doria, pizza, bbaechae, and everything else, which made me happy. We all finished the meal with a pleasant, satisfying fullness :)