Seoul Forest Italian for aligot cheese lasagna: Billadeubeulleu

The blue exterior in a Seoul Forest side street

Seongsu has been the hot neighborhood lately, but right alongside it, Seoul Forest keeps coming up too. If you walk down the main street in Seongsu past all the famous brands, cafés, and pop-ups, it naturally leads you to Seoul Forest. And lately the alley next to Seoul Forest has filled up with pretty new cafés, which makes for fun wandering. Today I visited a place I'd recommend as a Seoul Forest brunch spot: Billadeubeulleu Seongsu (빌라드블루 성수).

Billadeubeulleu Seongsu location and opening hours

• 46-10 Seoulsup 2-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 1st floor
• About a 5-minute walk (309m) from Exit 5 of Seoul Forest Station
• Tue–Fri 11:00–21:00, Sat–Sun 11:00–22:00
• Break time 15:30–17:00 / Closed every Monday
• Last order Tue–Fri 20:00, Sat–Sun 21:00

Billadeubeulleu Seongsu is about a 5-minute walk from Exit 5 of Seoul Forest Station on the Suin-Bundang Line. You can also take Line 2 to Ttukseom Station Exit 8, also about a 5-minute walk, so use whichever line is more convenient. Head into the alley between the Seongdong-gu Community Sports Center and the Seongsu 1-ga 2-dong Community Center — not far in, turn left and you'll see Billadeubeulleu Seongsu.

The exterior alone made a strong impression — the building's blue color scheme felt like stepping into Santorini, Greece.

Terrace seats on a clear day

We'd made a reservation ahead of time, and when booking you could choose between indoor hall seating or terrace seating. We'd reserved indoor seats, but the weather that day was so clear and breezy that we asked the staff if we could switch to the terrace instead.

There was just a single lamp on the table, probably set out for evening guests. On a nice day, eating out on the terrace seemed like a pretty great idea.

We ordered through a QR code the staff pointed us to.

This is roughly what the order screen looked like. After some deliberation, we ordered three dishes: aligot cheese lasagna, gorgonzola truffle cream gnocchi, and Sicilian puttanesca pasta. Once we placed the order on our phones, we took a bit more time to look around the hall before the food arrived.

The interior was decorated with blue and white tiles too, giving off that same Santorini or Italy feel as outside. Going further in, there seemed to be seating inside as well.

Billadeubeulleu Seongsu clearly put thought into every piece of tableware, not just the overall interior. The water glasses were especially pretty, so I snapped a photo! Between the time of day, the atmosphere, and the pretty dishware, it felt like a leisurely resort-style brunch right in the middle of Seoul Forest. As we looked around and waited, the food started arriving one by one.

Sicilian puttanesca pasta with olives and tomato

The first dish to arrive was the Sicilian puttanesca pasta.

Sicilian puttanesca pasta, apparently, is a southern Italian tomato-oil pasta with olives, capers, anchovies, and tomato. It's not a pasta you see often in Korea. Just looking at it, there were quite a lot of olives and tomato, but it wasn't drenched in sauce the way we typically picture a tomato pasta.

I twirled the noodles up nicely and took a bite — the tangy tomato flavor came through along with a salty note. Even though the noodles were a bit thicker than standard pasta, the seasoning had soaked in well so the noodles and sauce never felt separate. I'm honestly not a huge fan of tomato pasta, but this Sicilian puttanesca had tomato and oil working together in a way that felt different from your typical tomato-sauce pasta. The tanginess of the tomato and the richness of the oil came through together, and I ended up enjoying it more than I expected.

Gorgonzola truffle cream gnocchi

The second dish out was the gorgonzola truffle cream gnocchi.

This is gnocchi in a gorgonzola cream sauce with truffle aroma. The moment it arrived, the savory cream scent mingled with a subtle truffle aroma rising off the plate — quite lovely. Being potato gnocchi, it had a satisfying chewy-yet-fluffy texture that paired well with the savory, salty cream sauce. And at the very end, the truffle scent lingered faintly at the back of my nose. Truffle can be a bit divisive because of its aroma, but if you're someone who already likes truffle, this is a dish worth trying.

Aligot cheese lasagna poured at the table

And finally, the last dish arrived — the aligot cheese lasagna.

The aligot cheese lasagna seems to be one of Billadeubeulleu Seongsu's signature dishes. It apparently goes into the oven in its own dish, because as soon as it arrived, the staff warned us the dish was hot and not to touch it. And this isn't just a lasagna served as-is — the staff performs a little tableside show, pouring the cheese over it right in front of you.

They mash mashed potato into the cheese, stir it into a thick, gooey mixture, and gently pour it over the lasagna. It felt like watching a mini performance, which was fun — though I did start to worry a little about the forearms of the staff member stirring the cheese so vigorously, haha. Anyway, we took a spoonful of the lasagna with the cheese poured on top and dug in.

The lasagna noodles had a nice chew, and the combination of the pasta, tomato sauce, and ground beef worked really well together. The ground beef in the tomato sauce gave it a satisfying bite, and on top of everything, the soft cheese poured over the top added even more richness. Because the cheese was mixed with mashed potato, it had this soft, almost cloud-like texture.

I think this was actually the first time I'd properly eaten lasagna at Billadeubeulleu Seongsu. Before this, whenever I thought of lasagna, I'd think, 'Hmm... isn't that just pizza you eat with a spoon?' But after actually trying it, it's definitely closer to a spoon-eaten pasta than a pizza. This meal genuinely taught me that lasagna is delicious.

Orange juice now, Aperol spritz next time

Partway through the meal I wanted something refreshing besides water, so I ordered an orange juice too.

The orange juice glass was pretty too, so I took another photo! With even these small details taken care of so nicely, it felt like I was there not just for the food but for the atmosphere too.

I don't drink much, so I skipped alcohol this time, but Billadeubeulleu Seongsu also serves brunch cocktails. The one I'd recommend is the Aperol spritz. I first learned about Aperol spritz from a TV show years ago — one where a singer went to Italy to work as a guesthouse staff member and experience someone else's life, and she drank an Aperol spritz as an aperitif. Ever since then I'd been curious what it actually tastes like. This time, again, I couldn't drink, so I still haven't managed to try it. But if I come back, I'd like to give it a go. If you're someone who drinks, please try it for me!

Was the food and resort-like mood worth it?

Overall, Billadeubeulleu Seongsu was a place where the store atmosphere and interior were just as enjoyable as the food. Thanks especially to the blue-and-white interior, it felt like a brief trip to Italy or Santorini right in the middle of Seoul Forest. If you're looking for a Seoul Forest date restaurant, a Seoul Forest pasta spot, or a Seoul Forest brunch place, I'd recommend Billadeubeulleu Seongsu!