Two-story restaurant in Wonju: garlic pasta and caprese set at Yolk

On a trip to Wonju, I wanted a restaurant with a nice atmosphere, so I visited Yolk Wonju Musil (욜크 원주무실점), a well-known pasta spot. The place was much bigger than I expected and has two floors, so the space was impressive from the moment I walked in. The menu is wide, from pasta and risotto to steak, burgers, coffee and wine, so it looked good for dates, family meals and get-togethers too.

Yolk Wonju Musil location, hours and parking

Yolk Wonju Musil is at 50 Mandaegongwon-gil, Wonju-si, Gangwon, on the 1st floor. It is open 11:00–21:00 (break time 15:00–17:00, last order 20:15). If you use the Nice parking lot behind the building, parking is free for 2 hours.

• 📍 50 Mandaegongwon-gil, Wonju-si, Gangwon, 1st floor
• ⏰ 11:00–21:00 / break time 15:00–17:00 / last order 20:15
• 🚗 2 hours free at the Nice parking lot behind the building
• 🍽️ Set for two ₩49,000
• 🥗 Caprese salad + mushroom risotto + whole garlic oil pasta
• 🥤 Lemonade upgrade +₩2,000 + Coke Zero
• 💰 Total ₩51,000
• ✨ Two floors and wide windows, a great mood for dates, family meals and gatherings

Exterior

📍 50 Mandaegongwon-gil, Wonju-si, Gangwon, 1st floor

How long has Yolk been a Wonju restaurant?

Yolk has been running in Wonju since 2013, so it is older than I expected. The restaurant's introduction says it has operated since 2013, and one corner of the shop displays a photo from when it was featured on SBS's Live Today on March 17, 2014. It has clearly been established in Wonju for quite a while.

Yolk Wonju Musil 1st floor atmosphere: high ceilings and big windows

The high ceiling catches your eye as soon as you walk into Yolk Wonju Musil. The exterior is all glass, so you can see inside from outside. But once I was in, the space was much bigger than it looked in photos.

Above all, the 1st and 2nd floors are connected, so the ceiling is high and it feels open. Huge windows, long white curtains, and wood-toned floors and tables make the whole place warm and comfortable. A long orange pendant light hanging down the middle is the focal point, and it really adds to Yolk's mood.

Is there plenty of seating on the 2nd floor?

Yes, Yolk Wonju Musil has plenty of seats up to the 2nd floor. Climb the curved wooden staircase and there are quite a lot of seats upstairs too. You can look down over the whole 1st floor from the 2nd, and from there the restaurant feels even bigger.

By the windows there are tables good for 2–4 people, and on the 1st floor there is a long table where a bigger group can sit together. The seats aren't cramped, so it looked suitable for all kinds of occasions like these:

• Dates
• Family meals
• Meetups with friends
• Group meals

Personally, I liked the 2nd-floor window seats best. In the daytime light pours in through the big windows and the whole place is bright, which is great for taking photos.

The 1st floor seen from the 2nd floor

Isn't the atmosphere amazing? Total Wonju hot spot vibes!

Can you have coffee and wine at Yolk?

Yolk is less a pure dining restaurant and more a mix of café and pub. Besides coffee and other drinks, it sells beer and wine, and one side of the shop is lined with wine bottles. It seemed like a good fit for brunch or lunch in the daytime, and for a glass of wine with steak in the evening.

What's in Yolk's ₩49,000 set for two?

The set for two at Yolk Wonju Musil is ₩49,000, and instead of ordering various à la carte dishes we went with this set. We changed the drink to lemonade, which added ₩2,000, so the final total came to ₩51,000.

• Tomato caprese salad
• Garlic pasta
• Mushroom risotto
• Drink: changed to lemonade (+₩2,000)

You get salad, pasta and risotto all at once, so the set was a good fit for two people sharing several dishes.

A dessert event for receipt reviews

When I visited, Yolk Wonju Musil was also running a receipt review event. If you search for Yolk on Naver and write a receipt review with photos of the food or the shop, you get a dessert. If you want dessert after your meal, check whether the event is still running when you visit.

Refreshing lemonade and Coke Zero, yum yum

Bread before the meal

First came bread, pickles and jalapeños. The bread is already sliced for easy eating, and it comes with strawberry jam to go with it. It's been a while since I got strawberry jam with bread, haha.

How is Yolk's tomato caprese salad?

For the salad in Yolk's set for two, we chose the tomato caprese. When it arrived, the plate was bigger than I expected and the greens were generous, which made me happy. Big cut tomatoes and cheese sit on top of assorted vegetables, with plenty of balsamic sauce drizzled over.

The tomatoes are really chunky, so one bite gives you a juicy, fresh taste. It whets the appetite before the creamy pasta and risotto, and eating it in between cuts the richness, so the combination of dishes worked well.

Yolk's mushroom risotto, loaded with mushrooms

Yolk's mushroom risotto looked like the most generous dish we ate that day.

Grilled mushrooms are piled on top, and there are plenty inside too. The sauce soaks into the rice, so it's soft and thick overall.

The grilled mushrooms on top have a slightly chewy texture, which pairs nicely with the creamy risotto. Mushroom lovers should enjoy it without trouble. The taste sits on the blurry line between risotto and porridge, but it was totally my thing, haha.

Is Yolk's garlic pasta an oil pasta?

Despite the name, Yolk's garlic pasta felt much softer and creamier than an oil pasta. Just the look of it was exactly my style!!

It has plenty of whole and sliced garlic, and the sauce is loose and saucy, so you eat it moist. From the name alone I first expected something closer to an oil pasta, but it was actually much softer and creamier than that.

The sauce clings well to the noodles and the garlic aroma is strong enough, so it suited my taste as a garlic lover.

Garlic pasta plus mushroom risotto: too rich?

Both the garlic pasta and the mushroom risotto we chose at Yolk are creamy and soft, so at first I worried it might get a bit heavy. But eating the tomato caprese salad in between made the combination work quite well. The fresh tomato and balsamic cleared my palate now and then, so I never got tired of it until the end.

So if you're choosing a set, I personally recommend including one refreshing type of salad.

One-line review

Big windows and a two-story layout give it a great mood, and the set for two was a good way to enjoy salad, pasta and risotto all together: Yolk in Wonju.