Gangnam Station Italian restaurant packed at 11:30 opening: Brivit

Brivit Gangnam Station: lunch for two near Gangnam Station

Brivit Gangnam is an Italian restaurant at 31 Gangnam-daero 102-gil near Gangnam Station, and this time I went for a lunch date with a friend. The pink-pink exterior catches your eye from far away.

Ever since I moved to southern Gyeonggi, getting to Gangnam has become so much easier. When I lived up north it was such a hassle haha, so now I set most meetups near Sinnonhyeon Station or Gangnam Station.

Today I finally made time for a one-on-one lunch with a friend I hadn't seen in a while. She's not the type to spill nonstop chatter when we meet, but she's also the type I never feel awkward around even in silence, haha.

< Traits of my lunch buddy today >

• Eats well
• Eats a lot
• Hates filling up on food that isn't tasty

So after a ton of searching, we ended up at Brivit Gangnam. The pink-pink exterior is exactly my princess taste, haha.

Seating and atmosphere at Brivit Gangnam Station

The lush, greenhouse-like tables at Brivit Gangnam seemed to be reservation-only. If you're on a date in that kind of atmosphere, even a lukewarm mood could turn romantic, haha. The window seats, built so you can see outside, looked so relaxing, maybe because the weather was nice.

What comes with the 70,200 won Briset?

We ordered the Brivit Gangnam Briset for ₩70,200. Since I was treating today, I told my friend to pick whatever she wanted freely — and without hesitation she went for the most expensive menu item, ugh.

<Today's order> Briset ₩70,200

• Brivit steak
• Green onion cream corn gnocchi (+₩1,000)
• Spicy fried eggplant
• Sparkling water, Pepsi Zero

A neatly arranged self-service bar.

Still a wait, even right at the 11:30 opening

We drank our drinks while waiting for the food. They said they open at 11:30, and we arrived around 11:35, but the tables were already almost full, ugh. They said orders were backed up, so we waited a bit.

Spicy fried eggplant with chipotle sauce

The first thing out from the Briset was the spicy fried eggplant. Spicy fried food? Totally excited already, right???

They sprinkled a bit of grilled lemon on top, and I dipped it into the chipotle sauce that came with it. The batter was crispy and the eggplant inside was so soft — really delicious. The batter had a spicy kick that cut through the greasiness of the fried coating. It also paired really well with the spicy chipotle sauce.

The signature green onion cream corn gnocchi

Next up was Brivit's signature dish, the green onion cream corn gnocchi. Gnocchi is the food more famous by that spelling, haha. I usually pictured gnocchi as being like sujebi (hand-torn dough soup), but that image totally disappeared thanks to the green onion cream. The cream sauce, with its subtle green onion aroma, paired amazingly with the gnocchi. I even dipped the fried eggplant into this cream sauce.

I don't usually post pics of an empty plate, but this cream sauce was so good we scraped it clean, haha. To be clear, we didn't literally lick it!

The pop of the corn kernels paired so well with the chewiness of the gnocchi. The corn was incredibly nutty and sweet.

Brivit steak and its cheese waterfall

The final main dish of the day — the Brivit steak! Where'd the meat go, haha.

They pour the cheese right at the table like this — the so-called 'cheese waterfall.' Wow, it looks delicious just watching it.

Sous-vide flap steak comes with a red wine sauce. The tender steak pairs so well with the cheese. The side vegetables came in variety too, so they went well alongside the steak. Especially those roasted garlic bulbs!!! I want to try making those at home, though it probably won't taste the same, ugh.

The bread that came with it was moist too, great for dipping in the sauce.

Because the meat was sous-vide, it was so moist there wasn't a single tough part. Above all, the wine sauce and cheese melded together and just melted in your mouth.

It was so interesting that the cheese didn't harden even after a while of eating. I won't be able to forget that cheese visual, ugh.

Is the Briset enough for two, and does it suit a blind date or group meetup?

Honestly, the Brivit Gangnam Briset was a lot of food for two people to finish, haha. My friend eats a lot, so we managed to finish it all.

It was such a fun time catching up over good food with a friend I hadn't seen in a while. The restaurant's bright, warm atmosphere made it really comfortable to eat and chat with a friend. It also seems like a fitting spot for a blind date or a group meetup near Gangnam Station.

Having eaten something delicious today, I feel recharged for another day tomorrow! I hope my friend who ate with me today also got to forget her stress for a little while.