Kid-friendly non-spicy pasta and risotto at Ciment, Yuseong, Daejeon

While looking for good restaurants in Gung-dong, Daejeon, I visited Ciment Chungnam National University Branch near the campus. It's a place that sells a variety of Western dishes like pasta, risotto, and pizza. If you're searching for good pasta near the university, I really want to recommend this spot — great value and delicious.

Ciment Chungnam National University Branch hours

Ciment Chungnam National University Branch is open weekdays (Mon–Fri) 10:40–21:40 and weekends (Sat–Sun) 11:00–21:40. Last order is every day at 21:00, so keep that in mind when planning your visit.

Location, parking, and exterior

The address is 131 Daehak-ro, 1st floor, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon — close to Chungnam National University, so it was easy to find.

There's no dedicated parking lot for the restaurant, so if you're driving, I'd recommend checking nearby parking options in advance. Parking in the alley behind the shop is possible but can be tricky depending on the situation, so taking public transit is also a good option, or you could use a nearby public or private parking lot.

The exterior had a trendy vibe — the red "CEMENT" English signage and the bright pink entrance door stood out, so even on my first visit, it was easy to spot.

A clean, stylish interior

Stepping inside, a modern yet clean interior caught my eye.

The seats and tables were neatly arranged, making it comfortable to eat, and the whole space felt well organized.

The walls were decorated with stylish artwork.

There was a self-bar set up on one side. It was convenient to help yourself to pickles, jalapeños, hot sauce, cheese powder, and water as needed. A water purifier was also available.

Menu and ordering

Ordering was convenient via the tablet installed at the table.

They had a variety of menu items ready, like pasta, risotto, and pizza, and since we were eating with kids, we ordered the following:

• Salchi garlic oil pasta ₩14,500
• Spicy cream bulgogi risotto ₩9,500
• Plum ade ₩4,500
• Pepsi Zero Lime ₩2,500

Since we visited with a child, we asked when ordering for the dishes to be made without spice, and they happily accommodated us — which was great.

Salchi garlic oil pasta, loaded with beef

The first dish we tried was the salchi garlic oil pasta.

First off, the amount of salchisal (chuck flap steak) on top was more generous than I expected, which I loved.

The salchisal wasn't tough at all — it was tender and really savory!

Beef is delicious but hard to eat often because of the price, yet here it's piled generously on the pasta, so the value for money was really great! This is my favorite dish, highly recommend.

The pasta noodles were well infused with the flavor of oil and garlic, and the texture of the noodles was great too!

We had specifically asked for it to be made non-spicy so the kids could eat it too, and they ate way more than I expected.

There were also softly cooked whole garlic cloves and cherry tomatoes mixed in, adding variety in flavor and some nutrition too.

What was also satisfying was the portion size. Not only was there a lot of beef, but the amount of noodles was substantial too. At restaurants, if the portion is small, you don't feel like you've really eaten, but here we got to eat heartily. As a good-value pasta spot near the university, it was really satisfying.

Spicy cream bulgogi risotto, made non-spicy on request

The second dish was the spicy cream bulgogi risotto.

Even though the name includes the word 'spicy,' since we'd be eating with the kids, we asked for it to be made without spice when ordering.

Thanks to that, we could enjoy the creamy flavor and well-balanced seasoning without any spiciness, and the texture of the rice grains was just right, making it easy to eat without feeling heavy.

This dish also had a generous amount of risotto plus plenty of meat, along with ingredients like mushrooms, bacon, and onion — really nice.

For an adult palate, adding jalapeños from the self-bar made it even more to my taste. The creamy risotto paired with the sharp, clean kick of jalapeño cut through the richness — personally, it went really well together.

The plum ade and zero-sugar cola we ordered to drink were sweet and refreshing too.

Ciment Chungnam National University Branch, great for visiting with kids

This time, visiting with my child, we asked for the dishes to be made non-spicy, and the kind staff accommodated us — very satisfying.

The salchi garlic oil pasta was loaded with meat and had great flavor overall, and the risotto was smooth and creamy too — good for sharing with kids. The portions were generous and packed with ingredients, making it a good-value pasta restaurant.

If you're near Chungnam National University looking for Western food like pasta or risotto, be sure to check out Ciment Chungnam National University Branch too.