Cotto

Cotto’s pizzas with unusual toppings

By Chung Hyun-chae

For a long time, choosing a restaurant for lunch has been a headache for those working in Yeouido due to the lack of fine dining choices for the high earners of Seoul’s financial district. IFC Mall, which opened on Aug. 30, attempts to change that.

IFC Mall is a shopping center located on the three basement levels of One IFC Seoul, the first building to open within the International Finance Center (IFC) Seoul. The third basement level has many trendy restaurants, and Cotto, an Italian style pizzeria and restaurant operated by rising catering group SG Dinehill, is one of them.

The launch of Cotto was welcomed by office workers in their 20s and 30s as they can now enjoy Italian cuisine without having to line up and have casual business meetings in Yeouido.

Smoked Shrimp, Jalapeno, and Chorizo Oil Tagliatelle Pasta

The restaurant has a casual atmosphere — it consists of one big main hall, a private room and a pizza bar where pre-packaged salad and slices of pizzas are prepared for takeouts. One can also comfortably enjoy Italian wine in carafe. And the coziest part of the restaurant would be the reasonable prices — most pasta dishes are under 20,000 won excluding tax.

What sets Cotto apart from numerous Italian restaurants in Seoul is the authenticity of its food. Hyun Jeong, the chef of Cotto, an Italian word for a cook, often visits Italy to cook in genuinely Italian style.

Carbonara spaghetti, one of the most popular pastas among Koreans, for example, is different from those served in other Italian restaurants in Korea. It’s a bit dry because crushed egg yolk replaces some whipping cream, the quintessential ingredient in the Korean-style Carbonara while the thick-sliced bacon looking more like “samgyeopsal,” a Korean word for pork belly, is used.

Cotto’s braziers in which pizzas are baked at low temperature and develop sticky texture in the dough

While Cotto’s pizzas remain authentic, their dough is surely unique. The dough is baked in a brazier at a low temperature, and the technique makes the dough sticky like “injeolmi,” a traditional Korean rice cake. Three different kinds of sauces, olive oil, tomato sauce and honey, are served separately as dips for the dough.

The toppings come in a wide variety. Try to imagine what they would be like, judging by their names — Salami Diavolo (17,000 won), Provolone, Caramelized Walnut & Fennel (19,000 won), Porchetta, Crushed Pepper, Paprika & Leek (18,000 won). Trying them will be surely a new Italian experience in Seoul.

Address

IFC Mall, B3, 10 Kookjegeumyoong-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, or for an old address, IFC Mall, B3, 23-1, Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul

Direction

By bus — get off at Yeouido transfer center. By subway — transfer to subway line 5 or 9. Come out of exit No. 3 at Yeouido Station to find IFC Mall.

Phone number

02-6137-5260

Price

Pizza from 14,000 won to 22,000 won and spaghetti from 17,000 won to 40,000 won

Opening hour

Opens from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Parking

Basement parking lot of IFC Mall. Free parking for up to 4 hours depending on the bill. Valet parking is not available.

Private rooms

One private room that caters up to 10 people

Recommended by manager

Seafood spaghetti for 2 (Oil or Tomato) (40,000 won), Porchetta, Crushed Pepper, Paprika, & Leek (18,000 won)

Total seating

103 seats

Special features

Sticky pizza dough baked in the brazier at low temperature

The dining hall of Cotto / Courtesy of SG Dinehill