Gwangju Italian restaurant for calzone and lemon oil pasta: Camel Orzo

A Seo-gu restaurant where you can enjoy the atmosphere, too

From easygoing dishes like pasta and pizza to restaurant-worthy meals for anniversaries or dates, Camel Orzo is well known as a Gwangju date spot. It is perfect for visiting with a group and choosing different dishes to share, and more than simply a place to eat and leave, it is somewhere to enjoy the atmosphere too—so I came back for my nth visit.

Camel Orzo opens at 11 AM and closes at 11 PM. There is a break from 4 PM to 5 PM, and last orders are at 9 PM.

• You can use the Switzen commercial parking lot, Nice Park Gwangju Chipyeong Parking Lot, or Pyeonghwa Park Underground Parking Lot.
• Don't forget: you must register your parking at the counter before leaving!

Friday wait times and the restaurant atmosphere

If there is a wait, register first and wait outside; guests are admitted in order. We waited around 20 minutes on a Friday, and I definitely recommend making a reservation for dinner.

Even though it was a weekday, Camel Orzo, a popular Seo-gu restaurant, was absolutely full. Its warm lighting and European-inspired interior were filled with everyone from families out for a meal to couples on a Gwangju date.

I think this was my fifth visit to Camel Orzo, and one thing I love every time is how kind the staff are. You can order easily from a tablet at each table, and use the call button to get refills of pickles and anything else you need.

A varied menu made for sharing

Another advantage of Camel Orzo is its pretty extensive menu. There are plenty of choices, from salads and pasta to risotto, pizza, and steak. When several people visit together, it is great for everyone to choose what they want—steak, pizza, and more—and share it all 💛

Basil calzone and cuttlefish aglio pasta

Camel Orzo's menu. We ordered the Basil Calzone & Tomato Caprese for ₩23,000 and the Bottarga Cuttlefish Aglio Pasta for ₩18,800.

Calzone means a folded pizza, and Camel Orzo uses authentic Neapolitan dough made with 100% Italian flour and cold-fermented for a long time. It fills the dough with basil sauce and mozzarella, then bakes it into a half-moon shape...!

Italian fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and Korean jambon came alongside it, so you tuck them into the dough and eat them together, almost like making wraps.

And then there was the Bottarga Cuttlefish Aglio Pasta: an oil pasta with chewy cuttlefish, fresh garlic, and the flavor of extra-virgin oil, finished with the freshness of lemon.

At typical Italian restaurants, oil pasta can taste strongly of oil and garlic, but this one has citrusy lemon notes too. I should say it feels less heavy from the oil? Such a different flavor.

And the cuttlefish was not tough at all—just completely tender. I notice this every time I visit: the ingredients in every dish at Camel Orzo are so fresh, which makes everything even tastier and better.

My favorite calzone, filled with ingredients

My favorite menu item = Camel Orzo's calzone ❤️🔥 They even provide disposable gloves, so it is even easier to put this and that into the dough and enjoy it like pizza.

Cut the deliciously wood-fired-looking dough into easy-to-eat pieces with scissors, then tuck in cheese, tomato, and arugula and nom nom. With so many dishes that are great to share on a date, Camel Orzo is a wonderful Gwangju date restaurant in Seo-gu. There is an outdoor terrace too, so it would be lovely to eat outside on cool days like these. I always leave without regrets—highly recommended.