By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
There are many Italian restaurants in town as well as a number of casual dining places with Italian cuisine. So it seems a risky decision for Seoul Plaza Hotel to have recently opened a new Italian restaurant.
But its head chef was undaunted saying the restaurant's competitive edge lies in its high-class menus.
``People tend to think that Italian cuisine is all about pizza and pasta,'' Maurizio Ceccato, chef at Tuscany, said during the interview with The Korea Times. ``But we'll be a fine dining place serving top quality Italian dishes.''
The restaurant aims to offer quality services and dishes, equivalent to those of Michelin Guide starred restaurants in Italy. It only houses 56 seats and four private rooms to offer more exclusive services in the cozy atmosphere.
``Most Italian restaurants tend to offer a large potion of dishes, which only allows guests to have just one or two dishes at a time. But there are a range of Italian dishes from different regions of the country that you can enjoy,'' Ceccato said.
The restaurant offers only three course menus and one seasonal special for lunch instead of having many La Carte menus to help diners enjoy a variety of Italian cuisine. Although the course menus can be a bit expensive with prices ranging from 50,000 won to 120,000 won, the course menus can be enjoyed within an hour so that businessmen can have them at lunchtime.
In the evening, guests can also enjoy their own course menus, which they can make from five appetizers, three soups, six pastas, seven main dishes and seven desserts. Also, the chef creates a special dish on the request of a guest with the day's best ingredients.
To produce and maintain the quality of dishes, the restaurant imports many ingredients from Italy including flour, spices and fruits.
Besides the ingredients, he is very confident to offer authentic Italian dishes in a contemporary manner thanks to his experiences in a Michelin Guide starred restaurant in Italy.
As he has only lived in Italy before he came in Seoul in 1996, he also said his cooking has not been affected by other cultures like other chefs who tend to work in many countries.
The chef also believes that the location of the restaurant is one of the biggest advantages.
Located on the second floor of the hotel, the restaurant faces the Seoul Plaza, which now offers an even greater view thanks to Lucevista, festival of lights, as well as the opening of an outdoor ice skate rink.
The restaurant serves as a wine bar during the nighttime from 10 p.m. to 2 p.m. It holds over 300 different wines not only from France, Italy, and Spain but also from the United States, Chile, Australia and Argentina with a professional sommelier on hand.
For more information, call (02) 310-7349 or visit www.seoulplaza.co.kr.