Pasta restaurant in Ilsan's Western Dome: garlic shrimp aglio olio

This is my self-paid favorite, Garlic Cook & Story! (See my June '25 review.) Their pasta is genuinely delicious and I kept thinking about it... so after a while I finally went back!

How to find Garlic Cook & Story in Ilsan's Western Dome

Garlic Cook & Story is close to Exit 1 of Jeongbalsan Station on Line 3! It's on the 2nd floor, so take the escalator at the Western Dome entrance and keep going straight.

Compared to other shopping centers, I feel like Western Dome is easier to navigate!

There are so many pasta menu items, tons I still haven't tried,,, don't they all look delicious haha

What the restaurant looks like inside

The interior has a bright, clean wood-and-white vibe haha. When I went there were couples and also lots of families. This spot has been in Western Dome for over 10 years — isn't that proof enough...! A trusted favorite, Garlic Cook & Story.

You order by kiosk, or by reservation if you booked ahead. Parking is available too, so super convenient.

What's on the menu at Garlic Cook & Story

• Shrimp bomb pane, pane, shrimp rosé pane, shrimp rosé pasta
• Truffle shrimp olio, garlic shrimp olio, garlic aglio olio, pesce (hangover pasta)
• Beef brisket aged-kimchi tomato pasta, seafood tomato pasta, pomodoro, cream seafood pasta
• Chili shrimp pasta, shrimp cream pasta, spicy carbonara, carbonara
• Gorgonzola pizza, chilled flank steak, toowoomba hamburg steak, truffle cheongyang cream hamburg steak
• Original hamburg steak, spicy chili hamburg steak, cream risotto, kimchi bacon pilaf, spicy rosé shrimp risotto

As a Western-food specialist, the menu is huge! Now you see why I still have so many untried dishes,,, and there's also doria and gratin not even listed here.

At the self-serve bar there's homemade pickles, parmesan cheese, hot sauce, and pepper, so you can add as much as you want! Extra plates too, however many you need...! The homemade pickles are honestly the highlight.

Garlic shrimp aglio olio and 6 buffalo wings: how they tasted

Garlic shrimp aglio olio · 6 buffalo wings

Pane is probably their most famous dish, and I was torn since there's also cold pasta, pesce, and hamburg steak I haven't tried, but I was craving a flavor I knew, so I ordered aglio olio >< Last time I came with a friend we did pane + aglio olio, but eating it on its own like this is delicious too.

The visuals are amazing right,, I also got aglio olio loaded with plump shrimp and garlic, plus wings. Between wings and drumsticks, I'm team wings!

The garlic shrimp olio lives up to its name. There's genuinely tons of garlic and shrimp, and with olives, onion, and spicy peppers mixed in it's not very spicy — just a gentle heat! Just enough to keep it from getting boring. The noodle texture and seasoning were seriously perfect,,,

The wings seemed bigger than the ones I've had at chicken places. Lots of meat too, nice and plump! Can you see how rich and glossy that aglio olio sauce is.. you'd never get that flavor making it at home.

Since I was eating wings, they also gave me wet wipes ><

The tips of the wings were crispy, nutty, and full of umami with that satisfying chewy pull! My tongue is happy,,, they also sell highballs here and I bet they'd pair perfectly!

Finished it all happily so here's my proof shot haha. It was truly delicious. Next time I want to try the pane and the dishes I haven't had yet ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

You can register your parking easily on your way out! Delicious food, good accessibility, and friendly service — Garlic Cook & Story... S2 it's no accident this place has been loved for over 10 years. Stay open forever.