Porcini gnocchi lunch at a Gwangju Suwan brunch restaurant: Bueokgan

📍 37 Suwan-ro 106beon-gil, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, South Korea, 1st floor 🕖 Daily 11:30-21:00 (break time 15:00-17:00 / last order 20:20) 🅿️ Alley parking

If you've ever gone looking for brunch or Western food in the Suwan district, you've probably heard of Bueokgan. The food and the vibe are both great, so I've always liked this place — and this time I finally went back after a while..💗

Where is Bueokgan Suwan Branch, and where do you park?

If you're driving, you can park on the road right in front of the restaurant. It's a bit away from the main food-alley strip in Suwan, so alley parking was easier than I expected. Group seating is available, and there are high chairs too, so it looked comfortable for both group gatherings and visits with kids :)

Brick exterior and window seats: inside Bueokgan Suwan Branch

Bueokgan Suwan Branch has a brick exterior with green outdoor tables set up, so on a nice day it'd probably feel great to sit out on the terrace and eat.🌿

Inside, it's wood-toned with pink seats as an accent, and since the windows are so big, sunlight poured in nicely when I visited during the day.☀️

I personally love restaurants with big windows like this, so this space really won me over..💗

Tablet ordering and what's on the Bueokgan menu

At Bueokgan Suwan Branch, once you sit down you can browse the menu and order right from the tablet at your table. Besides set menus and à la carte pasta and pizza, there was also salad, gnocchi, and more — haha, the menu had more variety than I expected, so I spent ages deciding what to get.

There were several kinds of pasta, and dishes like pizza and gnocchi are great for sharing, so it'd work well for two people ordering a bunch of different things. We split everything one dish at a time so we could taste a bit of each, which was nice. After going back and forth, I ordered <pastry soup, arugula pizza, porcini mushroom gnocchi>!

Pastry soup

The plate comes topped with a pastry dome, with sweet pumpkin soup underneath. It had that distinct sweet pumpkin flavor, and I ended up enjoying it more than I expected. You tear off pieces of the pastry and dip them into the pumpkin soup underneath... the pastry and the sweet soup go together so well... 🎃🧡

Porcini mushroom gnocchi in mushroom cream sauce

The gnocchi wasn't just soft — the outside was lightly seared, which gave it great texture. It's topped generously with a mushroom cream sauce that's thick and savory, and it went so well with the gnocchi..👍 There's plenty of mushroom in there too, so if you like mushrooms, this will really suit your taste :)

Arugula pizza

The pizza is piled high with arugula, so it never felt greasy, and it paired really well with the salty prosciutto! The crust edges were baked crispy, so I enjoyed it all the way to the end, haha.

Trying each dish one by one, I felt like I understood why Bueokgan has stuck around in Suwan for so long, haha. Rather than strong, punchy flavors, the food lets the ingredients' natural taste come through, which made it easy to eat without feeling heavy. I especially loved the pumpkin soup and the gnocchi. I usually like dishes with cream or mushrooms anyway, and the gnocchi paired so well with the sauce that I kept going back for more, haha. I'm curious about the pasta I didn't get to try this time, so next visit I think I'll order something different ☺️!

Why Bueokgan Suwan Branch works for brunch in Suwan

Overall, the food at Bueokgan Suwan Branch was delicious, and the atmosphere was great too, so I had a really pleasant meal. With the big windows, the place is bright during the day and makes for good photos. The tables were spaced comfortably too, so it was nice to eat and chat without feeling cramped. If you're looking for brunch or Western food in Suwan, I'd recommend Bueokgan Suwan Branch! I'm planning to go back for pasta next time ☺️