Loco Loca: Latin Pizzeria
By Kim Ji-soo
Staff Reporter
The main street in Itaewon wears much of the same look, even though changes in its culinary scene have overtaken the neighborhood in the past several years or so.
But if you take just one step deeper or go just one alley into the back street behind Hamilton Hotel, you can immediately see the changes.
The latest addition to the scene is a Latin pizzeria and bistro named Loco Loca. Situated in the alley where Gecko’s and Le Saint-Ex are located, the brightly-walled restaurant offers Latin pizza and several other main dishes.
The menu was not elaborate but the essentials were surely there: pizza, appetizers, main dishes and drinks. There was however a wide selection of pizzas and drinks, such as margarita, mojito as well as good old Budweiser.
From the appetizer section, we tried the Loco Loca Tabla (14,000 won), a plate akin to the sampler dishes at family restaurants.
Four different appetizers nicely occupied each corner of the rectangular tray; cheese-topped nachos, chicken, small calzone and fried cheeseballs.
It can serve as a delicious meal on its own. From the wide selection of pizzas, we tried the La Pizzadilla Muy Caliente. We were warned most appropriately that the pizza would be spicy.
Cooked in a stove the pizza was topped with spicy Mexican sausage, jalapeno peppers, cheese, black beans, corn and cheese, the pizza was chewy and tasty.
The toppings were a bit on the light side but, priced at 16,000 won before 10 percent VAT tax, the pizza was a worthy choice.
Other types of pizza were available including the classics such as the calzone to the specials such as La Pizzadilla Loca, La Pizzadilla Tequila and La Pizzadilla Caramba.
The selection on the grand plate, or the main dish, was limited but had the essentials of the steak, sea bream, hardshelled mussel and clam dishes.
We asked for the sea bream but the restaurant was already sold out, so we tried the next recommendation which was the Loco Loca Mejillon with Patatas Fritas, a pot of hard-shelled mussels cooked either in tomato sauce or sour cream sauce.
The mussels were cooked just right and marinated; the taste of tomatoes gently brushed the taste buds. The drink selection was plentiful, from wines to rum-based drinks to beers.
The house carried wine mainly from Chile and Argentina, with its red selection stronger than the white. We could not find any Rieslings that would go well with the spicy dishes.
The margarita and the mojito were both passable. The drinks are slightly on the expensive side with Budweiser priced at 5,000 won before tax.
The service was friendly, the interior exotic-looking, and there were outdoor tables to eat at as well. The Loco Loca is a welcome addition to this alley, known as the backdoor alley to Hamilton Hotel.
Loco Loca is open 365 days from 11:30 a.m. through 2 a.m. The last kitchen call is at midnight. For more information, call 02-796-1606.