Jamsil Italian restaurant, 50,000 won corkage birthday dinner: Allegro

It was my boyfriend's birthday today and I wanted a dinner that felt different from usual, so after some searching I found 'Allegro'. It's an Italian dining restaurant, but if you go at the right time you can watch a live jazz performance right in front of you while you eat — such a special experience!!

Allegro's hours, jazz show times and admission price

Allegro is open Tue–Sun 12:00–23:00, with break time 15:00–18:00 and last order at 21:30. Parking is at a nearby public lot, no parking fee support.

• An Italian dining restaurant with live jazz performances
• Show times at 7:30 and 8:30 / check the website for lineup
• Reservations available through Catchtable
• Free lettering service for anniversary visits
• Recommended for a memorable date with a great atmosphere
• A Jamsil restaurant that nails atmosphere, fun, and taste all at once
• Show admission during performance hours: ₩10,000 weekdays / ₩15,000 weekends

Finding Allegro in the Bangi-dong alley near Songpanaru Station

Allegro is a new spot in a Bangi-dong alley near Songpanaru Station! You can check the menu from outside, but we'd already booked through Catchtable so we went straight in.

The jazz performance lineup is posted right by the entrance! We've never really watched jazz before so we didn't know much, but I think it's a nice reference for anyone who's into it haha.

Inside Allegro: which seat to pick for the stage

Inside Allegro, there are window-side seats along the wall with a Lotte Tower view, a space next to the stage, and seats right in front of the stage.

Since it was our first time and we wanted to enjoy it up close, we sat right in front of the stage!

Bringing your own wine to Allegro: 50,000 won corkage

For reference, this Jamsil-area Italian restaurant, Allegro, curates their own wines that pair well with the food, and at pretty reasonable prices too, so it'd be great to enjoy wine here even without bringing your own. We wanted to drink a specific Australian wine we'd been craving, so we brought it in as corkage. The corkage fee is ₩50,000.

What's on Allegro's menu and what we ordered

We ordered seafood salad (₩20,000), sous-vide pork neck steak (₩33,000), and amatriciana (₩19,000). You order via tablet, and the show started almost right away.

Live jazz from the front row at Allegro

Piano and bass started the show first. I'd never watched jazz this close before, so I paid extra attention, and the musicians' expressions, their focus, the music itself — it all hit differently.

Then the vocalist started singing too. Between songs the vocalist gave us tips on how to enjoy it, when to clap or respond, which made it even more fun!!

The other two breads were soft and chewy, so we ended up dipping them in the pasta sauce later too, haha.

How Allegro's seafood salad, amatriciana and sous-vide pork steak tasted

The seafood salad felt like a Mediterranean-style salad! Cherry tomatoes, shrimp, mussels, octopus, bell peppers, onion — all piled in with the sauce, giving off this ocean scent, refreshing and a little tangy, I guess you'd call it.

At first we ate slowly because we were so focused on the performance, but by the end I was completely won over by how fresh it tasted with zero fishiness, scraping the bowl clean with my spoon.

The combo of guanciale and tomato sauce was amazing!! When it first came out the noodles were perfectly cooked and it was seriously delicious, but we couldn't finish it in time and it went cold... a bit of a shame. Next time I'll come earlier so I can eat and enjoy the show properly. But even cold, it was way too good, honestly.

The sous-vide pork neck steak was thick but incredibly tender!! Dipping the fries in the truffle sauce underneath was delicious too, and it paired so well with the corkage wine. We also dipped the fries in the pasta sauce and that was legit good too.

Between the first and second set: how to enjoy the jazz

The show is split into two sets, so we ate pretty diligently during this time, haha.

Following the vocalist's advice, we enjoyed the second set even more. Unlike classical music, they stretch out a single sheet of music into a long improvisation, so if you like a piano or bass solo, it's good manners to respond or clap!

Seeing all the expressions and emotions right in front of us was so moving that I almost teared up, honestly.

The birthday brownie and milk pudding Allegro prepared from a reservation note

When I made the reservation, I mentioned it was my boyfriend's birthday, and they prepared a brownie and milk pudding for us!! The pudding had such a rich milk flavor, and with dessert this perfect too, it became an even more memorable meal for a special day.

If you're looking for a restaurant with a different atmosphere for a special anniversary or birthday, omakase is great too, but I'd recommend Allegro, a Jamsil-area Italian dining restaurant where you can eat while watching a live jazz performance! For reference, only table seats allow you to watch the show, and terrace seats have a Lotte Tower view.