Ilgwang seaside restaurant: weekday dinner for two at Riverside

What is Riverside in Gijang like?

Riverside is an ocean-view pasta and pizza restaurant in Ilgwang, Gijang. Today I visited this Gijang pasta spot with a sea view, and the place is big and spacious, so it felt perfect for group get-togethers. The menu is varied and the value is good, so I was happy with it.

Riverside sits right in front of Sinpyeong Small Park, and it's right on the shore, so the view is great too!

How do parking and reservations work at Riverside?

Riverside has a large parking lot in front of the restaurant, so parking is no problem! You can reserve through Naver Reservation or CatchTable. I booked ahead and visited on a weekday evening.

Riverside atmosphere and seating

The entrance has a prettily kept garden, and you can see the 2025 and 2026 Blue Ribbon signs in front of the shop! The folding doors were wide open, so it felt like sitting outdoors. The 1st floor is the restaurant, and floors 3 and 4 are a pension (guesthouse) where every room has an ocean view.

Dog-friendly outdoor terrace

Across from Riverside there are outdoor terrace seats, a space that would be lovely for a lunch on a nice day. Dogs are allowed, so you can bring your pup, and you can see the sea right from there, a total prime spot!

Wood-toned interior and the 8-person group room

The inside of Riverside has a cozy wood-toned interior, and the 4-person tables are spaced widely, so it feels comfortable. At the back there's a private 8-person group room, and I recommend booking ahead for groups!

Since I had reserved, our seats were already set up.

What's on the Riverside menu, and how much is it?

Riverside offers a wide range of dishes: pizza, steak, salad, pasta, risotto, French toast and desserts, and drinks are discounted too! These are the three dishes we ordered that day.

• Scallop aglio e olio ₩19,500
• Margherita ₩19,500
• Sirloin-cap risotto ₩19,500

Riverside also has baby chairs, so families can come along, and the view out the window from our seats was just so good. After ordering, complimentary bread came out, a piping hot baguette.

The dishes came out one by one, and the looks of them... don't they look so delicious?! T_T Let me go through them in detail. The house-made pickles served alongside were crunchy and so good too!

Sirloin-cap risotto (₩19,500)

Riverside's sirloin-cap risotto is, they say, a risotto (Italian rice) with prime-grade sirloin-cap steak in a tomato sauce. The sauce is properly thick and rich, and see how big the pieces of beef are? It was tender to chew, easy to eat, and not spicy, which was just right!

Scallop aglio e olio (₩19,500)

Riverside's scallop aglio e olio is, they say, an oil pasta made by infusing olive oil with garlic and cooking it with domestic Tongyeong scallops.

Ingredients like scallops and garlic were packed in generously, and the noodles were cooked just right, not mushy at all!

With the pizza out at last, the table looked full and the look of tonight's dinner was just great...

Margherita (₩19,500)

Riverside's margherita is, they say, a pizza on house-made dough kneaded daily, topped with tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil.

I sprinkled lots of the Parmesan on the table over it, and the dough was crispy and the basil aroma was so good! It was big, with plenty of food, and a dish I really enjoyed!

Two people, three mains: is Riverside good value?

Two of us ordered three mains at Riverside and finished every bite, and I thought the value was good. The food tasted great, and eating in a clean, comfortable restaurant left me totally satisfied. I'd love to visit again, and I'd recommend Riverside in Gijang for brunch too.