Abalone cream risotto at Bueokgan Suwan, a Gwangju Suwan restaurant

I wanted somewhere with good vibes and good food for a weekend date with my mom, so we went to Bueokgan Suwan Branch!

If you're looking for pasta, risotto, or brunch in the Suwan district, this is a place worth keeping an eye on. The atmosphere was cozy and it was a great spot for a relaxed meal for two — a real brunch find in Suwan.

We ordered seafood tomato pasta, abalone cream risotto, an extra baguette, and lemonade, and the abalone cream risotto in particular was so good I have to strongly recommend it! Let's get into the review~

Where Bueokgan Suwan is and what hours it keeps

• Address: 37 Suwan-ro 106beon-gil, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, South Korea, 1st floor
• Hours: 11:30 - 21:00
• Break time: 15:00 - 17:00
• Last order: Lunch 14:30, Dinner 20:20
• Parking: Street parking in the alleys around the restaurant

It's tucked inside the Suwan district, so it's a good spot for a weekend date with your mom, or

a good location for brunch with a friend or a couple's date.

Is Bueokgan Suwan a good brunch spot in Gwangju's Suwan district?

Bueokgan's pasta and risotto are tasty, but the overall atmosphere of the place is also great, so it suits anyone looking for a brunch spot in the Suwan district.

Rather than being a heavy, overly formal restaurant, it's a place where you can eat comfortably while still enjoying

a nicely put-together atmosphere, so it works well for a date or a family meal out.

I visited on a weekend with my mom, and it was a great place to eat good food and chat at ease haha

If just going to a café with your mom feels a bit lacking,

enjoying pasta and risotto like a brunch outing is a nice option too.

Bueokgan Suwan menu and what we ordered for two

Bueokgan Suwan Branch isn't just about one type of pasta — it's a place where you can enjoy a variety of Western dishes together, including pasta, risotto, pilaf, and pizza.

That day we ordered seafood tomato pasta, abalone cream risotto, an extra basket of bread, and lemonade. Ordering one pasta and one risotto meant the sauces were completely different flavors, which made it great to eat back and forth. Personally, going with one cream dish and one tomato dish also turned out to be a nice combination.

Seafood tomato pasta: plenty of shrimp and baby clams

First up, the seafood tomato pasta! It's a dish with shrimp and baby clams in a tomato sauce simmered for a long time.

Compared to a simple tomato-only pasta, having seafood mixed in made it fun to enjoy shrimp and clams with every bite.

Above all, the generous amount of seafood kept the overall flavor from being one-note, and the umami from the seafood paired well with the tomato sauce — really tasty.

Switching back and forth with the cream dish kept our palates refreshed along the way, so it was easy to eat all the way through without getting tired of it.

If you're hunting for good pasta in the Suwan district and you like tomato pasta, I'd recommend this dish too.

Abalone cream risotto, the pick of the day at Bueokgan Suwan

And now, the best dish of the day! I really want to recommend the abalone cream risotto.

The rich abalone innard sauce is blended with soft cream, and with abalone and clam meat mixed in too, the seafood flavor came through strong.

A risotto with just cream can start to feel a bit heavy after a while, but the deep flavor from the abalone innards added a savory, umami-rich depth.

Fried enoki mushroom is piled on top, adding a crunchy texture in contrast to the soft risotto. One bite in and I thought, "good call ordering this" lol. If it's your first time visiting Bueokgan Suwan Branch, I'd personally push you hard toward the abalone cream risotto!

How much bread do you get? 5 baguette slices

We added bread on the side too, and got 5 slices of baguette. It's nice to nibble on one before the food arrives, like a pre-meal bread, and it also works well for scooping up leftover pasta or risotto sauce.

Rather than just eating pasta and risotto, having bread in between made the whole meal feel more filling and satisfying.

Lemonade with the abalone cream risotto

For a drink we ordered lemonade. When eating rich Western dishes like pasta and cream risotto, sipping on refreshing lemonade in between cleaned up the palate nicely, so the combination worked well. Especially after some cream risotto, a sip of lemonade felt like it brought my appetite right back haha

Final verdict on pasta brunch at Bueokgan Suwan

Bueokgan Suwan Branch was a great place to visit when you want to enjoy pasta or risotto at a leisurely pace in a place with a nice atmosphere.

It's great for a weekend date with your mom like I had, and it'd suit a couple's date or brunch with a friend just as well.

Of everything we ate that day, the abalone cream risotto was my pick! The rich abalone innard sauce blended with cream, abalone, and clam meat was truly delicious.

The seafood tomato pasta, loaded with seafood, was tasty too, and with refreshing lemonade and baguette on the side, it made for a great meal for two.

If you're in Gwangju looking for good pasta or a great brunch spot in the Suwan district, I'd recommend Bueokgan Suwan Branch :)