Italian food is very hit or miss in Seoul. While there’s lots of competant pasta and pizza places, there are few that strive for any real authenticity.

Giacomo in Gambyeon is a true treasure. An absolutely authentic Italian restaurant, run by CIA-trained Chef Lee Bong-shik, the food here stands head and shoulders above the typical Italian place found in Seoul. Although well off the beaten path in terms of location, Lee has turned this unconventional location into a lovely, well appointed space for casual dining. Everyone from business people at dinner meetings to families with children to couples on a romantic date can be found there, enjoying the delicious food, tasteful décor, and the entertainment of the open kitchen and projection-screen showing opera.

The decoration has been kept low key and minimal, with just a few touches like wine bottles, opera, and a few pictures as a nod towards the more cluttered style more typical of Italian places here in Seoul.

The menu is fairly short, running only a few pages and sticking to basics: Pizza, pasta, risotto, salads, and a few steaks. Chef Lee has committed himself to only using the best ingredients, and so keeps the menu similarly narrow, ensuring that what is on offer is always of high quality. Pastas here are presented nicely al dente, and a great deal of care has obviously gone into their preparation and presentation. The seafood pastas in particular deserve credit for the obvious care that has gone into obtaining and properly preparing the ingredients.

Additionally, the sauces are nicely balanced, with the bracing qualities of tomato, wine, and herbs shine through without being drowned out by too much sweetness. For those looking for a more vegetal aspect, the small salad menu is excellent, particularly the caprese, loaded with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil. Steaks are generous enough to please the most carnivorous (although there’s certainly enough vegetarian-friendly dishes to please those of other persuasions), and come richly seasoned.

Pizza, however, is the undoubted star at Giacomo. Miles away from the too-sweet sauces and over-laden breads of most pizzerias in Seoul, these harken back to a much more authentic Italian style. Thin crusts balance out with just enough chewiness and a needed touch of char to make for a delightfully toothy bite. Indeed, it’s rare to find this degree of respect for a crust in Korea, where it’s more often regarded as simply the most convenient way to get an excess of random toppings to the diner’s mouth. Here it is the centerpiece. Ingredients and combinations show a classical approach, from pizza marguerite to others, less familiar to Korean diners. The standout, and most popular according to the house, is a wonderful gorgonzola pizza. Here the kitchen shows off their pitch-perfect sense of balance, with the aforementioned crust being matched with the rich tang of gorgonzola, the pleasant slight bitterness of dandelion leaves, and honey for drizzling or dipping to round it out.

Giacomo serves a small selection of coffees, teas, sodas, and juices in addition to their alcoholic offerings of wine and beer. The dessert menu is similarly small, but encompasses classics like crème brule and tiramisu.

Meals are very reasonably priced between around 15-30,000 per entree.

To get to Giacomo, take a left from Exit 1 from Gambyeon Station (line 2) Cross at the first crosswalk, and continue walking in the same direction until the end of the block. Turn left, and keep walking until you reach a 3-way intersection. Giacomo will be across the street on the second floor of the CS Plaza. Tel : 02-453-1417

This review also appears in the October issue of Groove Magazine. As such, it follows slightly different format than our usual reviews, and we were invited by the restaurant to conduct the review (id est they knew we were coming and we didn’t shell out our own cash for multiple visits.)  Regardless, we have no qualms recommending this place to anyone, and can happily suggest Giacomo as one of the best places in Seoul for Italian food.