Euljiro date restaurant: peanut butter porter, mackerel pasta at Pyu

I recently had a date in Euljiro with my fiancé for the first time in a while! Honestly, I'm a 1000% Korean-food person, so I'm not a huge pasta fan, haha. But when it's date night, there are times you want to skip the usual food and have a relaxed, atmospheric dinner somewhere nice, right!?

So I went looking for a place with pretty interiors and food you can properly enjoy, and ended up at Pyu Euljiro, a date-night favorite in Euljiro. In person, the warm wood tones, the big space and the high ceilings made it super comfortable. Best of all, a few tables around us looked like blind dates, heh (hehe). I could really see Pyu Euljiro being a popular spot for dates and blind dates. The food was better than expected too, and the signature mackerel pasta is what stuck with me,,,

Pyu Euljiro location, opening hours and parking

Pyu Euljiro is at 27 Mareunnae-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul (Unit 102, ground floor) and is open daily 11:00–21:00 (last order 20:20). Table time is up to 2 hours, and at dinner you have to order an alcoholic drink. Corkage is free for 1 bottle, then ₩20,000.

• Parking available: the building's underground car park, first 60 minutes free, then paid
• Group seating, reservations and Wi-Fi available
• Separate men's/women's restrooms, high chairs

Pyu Euljiro is near Euljiro 3-ga Station. By subway, take Exit 9 and walk straight toward Myeongbo intersection and Myeongbo Art Hall. The building says Tower107, so look for that sign and it gets easier! The restaurant is at the very back of the Tower107 ground floor.

We went by public transport, but if you're driving, I hear they offer 1 hour of free parking in the Tower107 underground car park. Stressing about parking on a date would make for a tiring start, ugh! So it felt convenient that, even in the middle of Euljiro, there's proper parking.

Is Pyu Euljiro's atmosphere right for dates and blind dates?

Pyu Euljiro is a space with wood-toned interiors and warm indirect lighting. The first thing I noticed when I opened the door was that warm indirect lighting. It's decorated mostly in wood tones, so it felt clean yet cozy. The pretty artificial flowers here and there and even the menu fit the space, so I liked the mood before the food even arrived, haha.

What impressed me most was how big the space is! The ceilings are high so it barely felt stuffy, and the openness is more like a lounge than a typical restaurant! On the left of the entrance is the basic dining area, and in the middle there's a huge table that seats about 10 people.

When we visited, a few tables had that,,, blind-date vibe,,, hahaha. When you're eating with someone you've just met, atmosphere matters as much as the food, right? If it's loud or the tables are packed together, it's hard to focus on talking, but Pyu Euljiro feels roomy and relaxed, so it seemed like a good restaurant for a date or blind date.

Head right and a large hall continues, with space for group gatherings or private hire. It seemed good for everyone from two people on a date to bigger groups. The restaurant describes itself as a contemporary dining space of about 70 pyeong, and having visited, I understand why they emphasize the spacious lounge feel.

Pyu Euljiro menu and what we ordered

When we sat down, I noticed the cutlery already set out. Even small details like this are neatly done, which made me think again that this is a classic good date restaurant, haha.

The Pyu Euljiro menu covers pasta and risotto as well as main dishes, small dishes and desserts. It looked good for a simple meal, or for a leisurely meal followed by dessert. We debated for a while and decided to order one pasta and one risotto! Here's what we ordered that day.

• Mackerel pasta ₩30,000
• Truffle mushroom risotto ₩26,000
• (Beer) First Love Scent ₩9,000
• (Beer) Love Mess ₩9,000

Reading the menu, the mackerel pasta was listed as the signature dish, introduced as "Euljiro's hidden pasta spot, mackerel pasta." If it's the signature,,, we have to try it,, don't we, hahaha.

By the way, if you visit Pyu Euljiro in the evening, you have to order an alcoholic drink. There's a wide range from wine to beer, and we picked beer after some deliberation.

First Love Scent and Love Mess: how were the beers?

The beers came out first! The one I chose, First Love Scent (첫사랑의 향기), was a Belgian wheat beer, refreshing with a rich banana aroma that I loved. It has that fragrant wheat-beer quality, so it was nice to sip lightly before the food arrived, haha.

Love Mess (사랑범벅), on the other hand, was a peanut butter porter ale with a different charm from First Love Scent. It was rich and heavy like a dark beer with a sweet flavor on top, and the aroma itself was pretty memorable.

First impressions of the mackerel pasta and truffle mushroom risotto

The mackerel pasta was an oil pasta topped with big pieces of mackerel and loads of arugula, and the truffle mushroom risotto gave off truffle scent from close to the bowl. We were chatting over beer when the food we'd been waiting for arrived, and both dishes had distinct personalities from the look alone,,,💫 The truffle mushroom risotto even had thinly grated mushrooms mixed in, so the ingredients looked generous. The two dishes looked so different that I thought they'd be good to alternate between.

Truffle mushroom risotto: a barley-like bite

The menu describes the Pyu Euljiro truffle mushroom risotto as using three kinds of mushrooms and three cooking methods. I tried the risotto first, and the mushrooms really came through and the truffle aroma was rich, which I liked. Most of all, I loved how the rice was cooked!

It wasn't overcooked and mushy; it kept some firmness when chewed, like barley. So it wasn't just soft risotto, and you really got the fun of chewing! The cream had plenty of truffle aroma and the creamy richness flowed naturally, so I kept going back for spoonful after spoonful, haha. If you like mushroom aroma and creamy nuttiness, you'd probably like this one a lot.

Mackerel pasta: crisp mackerel and arugula oil pasta

The Pyu Euljiro mackerel pasta (₩30,000) was the dish I was most looking forward to that day, hahaha. I normally like oil pasta, and with plenty of arugula on top, I liked it the moment it arrived. Adding arugula to oil pasta brings out a fragrant freshness that makes the whole thing taste fuller.

I tried the mackerel first and wow, it was honestly really good! The outside was crisp and the inside moist, with the mild, clean flavor of mackerel coming through. A fish-topped pasta can easily feel like the fish and noodles are doing their own thing, but the mild mackerel blended naturally with the oil pasta. While eating, I suddenly thought it would be good over rice too, haha.

Next, the noodles! How the pasta is cooked is something I care about a lot. The mackerel pasta noodles weren't overcooked and had that al dente texture. With a nice springiness, they didn't feel heavy even with the oil sauce, and with the fragrant arugula I kept slurping away. A bite of mackerel, then noodles, then noodles with arugula, so mixing up the combinations was fun too, haha.

Personally, I also liked that the mackerel was big, so the fish flavor was the real thing. The flavor wasn't filled by noodles alone: the mild mackerel, arugula aroma and oil sauce came together. I could see why it's introduced as the signature dish. If you usually like oil pasta or want to try a different kind of pasta, I think it's worth picking! Of the two dishes that day, the mackerel pasta stuck with me most💕

A Korean-food fan's verdict on Pyu Euljiro: would I go back?

Pyu Euljiro, which I visited with my fiancé, won me over with the space's atmosphere as well as the food, haha. With the wood-toned interior, it would suit a date, blind date or any occasion where you want to focus on conversation. The food was better than expected too: in the mackerel pasta I liked the combination of crisp, moist mackerel and fragrant arugula, and in the truffle mushroom risotto the balance of mushroom aroma and cream was impressive.

It seemed great for a lovely dinner for two, and also for gatherings of several people, like a blind date or a company get-together. Next time I visit, I'm ordering the mackerel pasta again, haha