Pocheon Italian restaurant with rich blue crab risotto: Eoneu Dal

Living in Cheorwon lately has made me realize there are seriously way more pretty places in Pocheon than I expected, haha. It is not far from Cheorwon either, so whenever I have a reason to go to Pocheon these days, I have fun looking up a café or restaurant to try. This time, I went because of the atmosphere, then remembered it even more because of the food. It is Eoneu Dal, an Italian restaurant in Pocheon.

We ordered mushroom cream risotto, garlic shrimp pasta, blue crab risotto, and Sprite that day… Usually, when you order three things, there is one where you go, “This one is just okay,” right? Here, all three were delicious haha. Especially the blue crab risotto—one bite in, I was like, “Huh? Why is the blue crab flavor so rich?”

Eoneu Dal in Pocheon at a glance

• 54 Jeongmundong-gil, Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea (경기 포천시 정문동길 54 단독상가)
• Spacious dedicated parking
• High chairs available; children welcome
• Group dining available; corkage-free notice available
• Tue–Fri 11:30–21:30, break 16:00–17:00 / Sat 11:30–21:30 / Sun 11:30–21:00 / Closed Mon

The parking lot is especially roomy, both in front of and behind the restaurant. Since you pretty much get around Pocheon by car, this is low-key important too haha.

An easy atmosphere for dates and family meals

The moment we walked in, I thought, “This would be nice for a date.”

First of all, Eoneu Dal had such a nice atmosphere. From the outside, it does not feel like a typical pasta place in a strip mall; it occupies its own standalone space, so it stands out. Inside, it is bright and clean overall, with flowers and plants adding cheerful little accents. It is not a restaurant where you have to be overly formal, but it also does not feel like an ordinary family restaurant—the perfect middle ground for a date or a family meal with your parents. I love places like this haha. Pretty, but not the kind of place where you feel self-conscious for bringing your child.

There are high chairs and group tables, so it works well for a family meal.

Since we have a baby too, when we look for pretty restaurants now, the things we always check are: Do they have a high chair? Is parking easy? Haha. Eoneu Dal had both. They had high chairs ready, and apparently provide children’s tableware, cups, and even scissors separately?? There was also a large group table farther inside where several people could sit together. So while eating, I thought, “A whole family could come here and it would be totally fine.” It would probably work for moms’ get-togethers, family meals, or occasions when a lot of people gather, like a parent’s birthday. The staff were kind too, so we could eat comfortably with our child.

Even the water was pretty •.*•*•••

QR ordering and three dishes

You can order by QR code, which is super convenient haha. We tried the mushroom cream risotto, garlic shrimp, blue crab risotto, and Sprite, like this hehe.

First up were the warm bread, drinks, and pickles. The bread was tasty because it came out warm!

A Pocheon restaurant with generous portions

And when the food arrived, the portions surprised me again.

Sometimes when you go to a restaurant with a nice atmosphere… the plate is as big as a washbasin, but there is this tiny little bit of pasta in the center, you know? ^^ Hahahaha. This is not that kind of place. The pasta portions are on the larger side compared with other restaurants. It seemed great for a group to order a few dishes and share. And the three dishes we chose… every single one was delicious without overlapping at all.

Would the mushroom cream risotto be too rich?

The mushroom cream risotto is creamy but not heavy.

Starting with the mushroom cream risotto. I like cream sauces, but I cannot eat a lot of cream that is too thick and rich. The first two or three bites are delicious, then suddenly I start looking for kimchi, haha. But Eoneu Dal’s mushroom cream risotto was exactly my style.

It was creamy, yet light. The seasoning was just right for me, and it had plenty of that savory cream flavor without leaving a greasy taste in your mouth, so I kept reaching for more than I expected.

There was also a subtle truffle aroma coming through: mushrooms + cream + truffle… that is a combination that is hard to make bad, haha. The truffle was not so strong that it covered the other flavors; it just came through gently with each bite, which I liked. If you love cream but dislike overly rich food, this menu would probably suit you!

Why garlic shrimp pasta should be eaten with minari

With the garlic shrimp pasta, there was something that surprised me even more than the king prawns.

Then there was the garlic shrimp pasta. Right when it came out, it passed the visual test with its huge king prawns. But after trying it, something stayed with me more than the shrimp: minari (Korean water celery). Hahahaha. There was minari underneath the pasta, and at first I thought, “Why is there minari here?” But you absolutely should not eat it separately.

You have to eat the noodles + sauce + shrimp + minari all together. The savory garlic sauce comes in with the bouncy texture of the king prawns, then the distinctive fragrant freshness of the minari rises right at the end—actual heaven, haha. The minari seemed to cut right through what could have been a rich pasta, so the person who first said, “Minari in pasta?” ends up hunting for minari to eat with it later, haha.

And look at the size of those shrimp. So plump, seriously.

Personally, I would order this one again if I came back to Eoneu Dal.

How was the blue crab flavor in the risotto?

But the dish that surprised me most that day was the blue crab risotto.

And finally, the blue crab risotto. This was the biggest surprise of the day. Honestly, with pasta or risotto containing blue crab, it can look like blue crab but not actually taste very crabby, right? But with this one, my first bite made me think, “Huh? Why is the blue crab flavor so rich?” The distinct nutty, deeply savory flavor of crab was unmistakable.

To me, it was clearly different from the bland taste I sometimes get from frozen blue crab, enough that while eating I genuinely wondered, “Are they using seasonal blue crab right now?” But I did not personally confirm whether the restaurant uses live or frozen crab, or where it comes from! So I am not saying for certain that they use seasonal live blue crab—it is just that the rich, deeply savory blue crab flavor tasted that intense to me. I do not want to exaggerate something unverified just to call it a great restaurant, haha. Anyway, for a blue-crab lover like me, this was number one that day.

Why it felt worthwhile for the price

Looking at Eoneu Dal’s menu prices, it is not an outright cheap restaurant. Original carbonara is ₩18,000; vongole pasta, mushroom cream pasta, shrimp rosé pasta, and basil tomato pasta are ₩19,000; garlic shrimp pasta and white ragù gnocchi are ₩20,000; and chicken risotto is around ₩22,000. But I do not think it makes sense to call something good value based on price alone. Taking the portions, ingredients, taste, atmosphere, parking, and service all together, it felt pretty worthwhile for the price ••• 🩷

A good lunch stop to pair with Pocheon Art Valley

And if you are traveling in Pocheon, it would be fine to include this as a restaurant near Pocheon Art Valley. It takes about 15 minutes by car from Pocheon Art Valley to Eoneu Dal! So if I were planning a day, I would probably do Pocheon Art Valley → lunch at Eoneu Dal → a Pocheon café → a drive.

For a date, you can look around Art Valley and have pasta somewhere with a nice atmosphere afterward. If you are with a child, you can go from Art Valley straight to a restaurant with roomy parking and high chairs, so the route is easy too. A nice course for families visiting Pocheon who do not want their meal to be a miss.

That day, the mushroom cream risotto was delicious, the garlic shrimp pasta was delicious, and the blue crab risotto was delicious, so I think we chose our menu really well haha. If I had to choose just one, I would pick the blue crab risotto. But if I revisit, I would probably order the garlic shrimp pasta again too… I want that minari + shrimp combination again, haha. Add the nice atmosphere, large parking lot, high chairs, and group tables, and it worked well for everything from a Pocheon date course to a family meal with children, a meal with parents, or a gathering. Above all, the staff were kind, so I felt good all the way until we left. I would revisit!