Italian dinner in Gwangjin, Seoul: shrimp rose pasta at Osteria Hyeon

Osteria Hyeon — the Italian restaurant you've probably heard of if you're near Gunja / Children's Grand Park / Sejong University / Konkuk — and I'm back again. Last time I came for a weekend lunch, but this time I stopped by for a relaxed dinner after work on a Friday. Once again it didn't disappoint — actually it was even more satisfying this time ♡

How to get to Osteria Hyeon: 3 minutes from Children's Grand Park Station

It's a 3-minute walk from Exit 1 or 6 of Children's Grand Park Station on Line 7, right next to Sejong University.

What Osteria Hyeon looks like from the street

Osteria Hyeon has an overwhelming atmosphere that catches your eye from far away. The orange lighting makes it feel like a European restaurant.

The terrace seating is gorgeous every time I see it. Since it's a restaurant with a terrace, sitting outside would be wonderful in the cool autumn weather these days. I had reserved ahead, so I was seated indoors right next to the terrace.

Inside Osteria Hyeon: seating for family meals, dates and wedding-invite gatherings

With plenty of indoor and outdoor tables, this seems like a suitable spot for wedding invitation gatherings, blind dates, family meals — pretty much everything. What I loved most was that the tables are spaced generously apart. Places packed with people can drain your energy... but even though Osteria Hyeon isn't far from the main streets of Konkuk or Gunja, the atmosphere here is totally different. Sincerely hoping you'll visit haha.

If you reserve ahead, they seat you at a table with your name displayed — and the table setting itself already feels great. This is the number one spot I'd recommend to my little brother if he's looking for a date restaurant near Konkuk or Gunja.

Osteria Hyeon menu: wood-fired pizza, fresh pasta, risotto and steak

As an Italian restaurant, Osteria Hyeon serves wood-fired pizza, fresh pasta, risotto, and steak. Satisfaction goes up a lot if you pair the menu items well. Last time, every dish was tasty on its own, but the combination felt slightly off — like it was 2% short of great. This time, the combination I ordered was also great, making for a 200% satisfying meal. If this is your first visit to Osteria Hyeon, or you're having trouble deciding, just order what I ordered. You won't regret it!

Osteria Hyeon even tells you the country of origin for ingredients in detail — a Children's Grand Park restaurant you can trust even when dining with kids.

I don't think I saw a wine list when I visited for lunch, but maybe because it was evening this time, I got to see the wine list. They carry a really wide variety, so asking the staff for a recommendation would be great too.

The three-dish menu combination ordered at Osteria Hyeon

• Gorgonzola mushroom salad (₩28,000)
• Grilled black pork garlic pizza (₩38,000)
• Shrimp rose pasta (₩35,000)

You know a restaurant is a keeper when they serve warm, delicious bread before the meal, right? After the pre-meal bread at Osteria Hyeon, I was already excited for the pizza baked in that huge wood-fired oven.

Gorgonzola mushroom salad, 28,000 won

I used to be a mushroom-hater, but for some reason the mushroom + gorgonzola combination had me curious.

It passes on visuals alone, and Osteria Hyeon's Reggiano cheese is practically the signature — it's sprinkled over almost every dish and it's delicious.

The gorgonzola cheese comes out as generously as a cream sauce, so I recommend loading up the mushrooms with it. The grilled mushrooms made for a tasty salad too.

Shrimp rose pasta with more than 10 shrimp, 35,000 won

The best shrimp rose pasta I've ever had, out of every rose pasta I've eaten so far.

What sets Osteria Hyeon's shrimp rose pasta apart is that it's topped with over 10 shrimp. And the shrimp were so big I thought they were seasonal jumbo prawns. Plus they're grilled crispy, which was the kicker — it brings out both texture and flavor ★

The rose sauce is thick and smooth like Outback's Toowoomba pasta, but Osteria Hyeon's fresh pasta gives it a slightly lighter feel, which made it my all-time favorite pasta.

Grilled black pork garlic pizza: a white-base wood-fired pizza, 38,000 won

If you're at Osteria Hyeon, ordering the wood-fired pizza is a must (not officially required — I just decided it is). Since I already ordered the rose pasta, I went with the white-base grilled black pork garlic pizza.

The pizza comes with three sauces/toppings on the side: cheese, piccante oil, and basil pesto.

How could you not order pizza after seeing this wood-fired oven?

The black pork garlic pizza feels like fusion food at first glance, but once you taste it, it actually feels like a classic Italian pizza. Having now tried both white-base pizzas — porcini mushroom pizza and black pork garlic pizza — I'll have to try a tomato-base pizza next visit.

I love the piccante oil and basil pesto, so I kept dipping the pizza in them the whole time.

Dipping the pizza crust ends into the rose pasta sauce ♡

Is Osteria Hyeon worth it? Final verdict

Osteria Hyeon has been receiving Blue Ribbon and Red Ribbon recognition since 2024, and it's a standout restaurant near Children's Grand Park. The staff are all friendly, and with both the atmosphere and the food on point, this is a place I want to keep coming back to.

Who should book a table at Osteria Hyeon

• ✔️A Children's Grand Park restaurant good to visit with kids
• ✔️A Gunja / Konkuk date restaurant
• ✔️A restaurant with parking available near Sejong University
• ✔️A Seoul restaurant with terrace seating
• ✔️A textbook example of a Seoul Italian restaurant