Pocheon Italian date restaurant with blueberry pizza: From Italy

Today I visited From Italy (프롬이태리) in Pocheon, a well-known restaurant near Gwangneung Arboretum! Isn't it so pretty, haha? It looks like a house from a fairy tale!

Is parking easy at From Italy?

You can park right in front of the restaurant, and there's plenty of room, so no parking worries, haha. I heard From Italy serves fusion dishes developed by an owner-chef who came from a five-star hotel in Seoul!

There are so many Blue Ribbon stickers at the entrance! I went in with high hopes, my heart pounding, haha.

Interior and 2nd floor seating at From Italy

The inside of From Italy is decorated in a European style, with famous paintings hanging all around for a classic, antique feel. I was told the 2nd floor is open on weekends only! I followed a staff member further in and this is what I saw, haha. Shall we head up to the 2nd floor?

The 2nd floor has a warm feel overall, with roomy seats and plenty of space between tables, so it looks great for a quiet meal. It's perfect for a date or a family meal out. As you can see, there's also a photo zone on the 2nd floor, haha.

Can you eat in the outdoor garden?

The garden is for looking around only, and sadly you can't eat there, T_T. The garden looked so lovely from the 2nd floor that I went out, and I was amazed at how beautifully it's decorated. It feels like being on a day trip somewhere!

What did we order at From Italy?

At From Italy I ordered a half-and-half pizza (blueberry pizza and arugula smoked salmon pizza), gebawi pasta (게바위파스타), red wine and green grape ade. Even Mount Kumgang is better after a meal, as the saying goes?! Here's the menu.

Starter bread: squid-ink ciabatta

From Italy gives you squid-ink ciabatta as the starter bread, haha. They make it in-house, and I was told it takes a whole 14 hours.

What is the gebawi pasta?

Ta-da~ the gebawi pasta has arrived, haha. How do you like my fancy camera moves?

The gebawi pasta at From Italy is a cream pasta with baby crabs sitting on a squid-ink puffed bread (gongal-ppang, a hollow puffed bread). They told me to cut the bread open and mix it well into the sauce, haha. Inside there was bacon, mushrooms, mussels and webfoot octopus.

Does blueberry go with pizza?

The half-and-half pizza at From Italy is half blueberry pizza, half arugula smoked salmon pizza~! At first I wondered whether blueberries and pizza would work, but after one bite the combination was better than I expected! You first taste the sweet-tart blueberries on the thin, crispy dough, then the savory cheese blends in naturally. It never got boring and I kept reaching for more, haha. Eating it, I could see why it's a popular menu item!

Wow.. right after tasting the gebawi pasta I thought, this is a real pasta place. It didn't taste like store-bought cream sauce but like something carefully cooked from scratch. It wasn't too thick, just nicely smooth, and eating it with the puffed bread made it even better!

Facilities and other notes at From Italy

There was a circulator right next to our seat, so we could eat comfortably cool, and there's a separate coat rack too, which looks handy for hanging jackets, haha. On the way out I saw that they've been on the TV shows Live Today (생방송 투데이) and Morning Wide (모닝와이드)! The kitchen area inside also looked clean and pleasant.

From Italy opening hours and closing days

• Sat–Sun 11:00–20:40 (last order 20:00)
• Wed–Fri 11:30–20:40
• Break time 15:30–17:00
• Last order 20:00
• Closed every Monday and Tuesday

I recommend double-checking that they're open before you go 😊

A good stop on a Gwangneung Arboretum outing?

I'd recommend From Italy as a Pocheon outing spot for a meal after visiting the Korea National Arboretum (Gwangneung Arboretum)~ A place this good in Pocheon?! If you go to Pocheon, do stop by, haha. Next time I'd love to come back and try other dishes.