Oven Baked Pizza at Il Farina
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
The fashionable Garosu-gil (Tree-lined Street) in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul, endlessly changes to reflect the whims of the young and hip consumers. One of the newest franchises in the neighborhood is Il Farina, an antique shop-turned-bistro that serves oven-baked pizzas.
Situated on the central main road of the slim block, the bistro has a huge open fire, clay oven that's hard to miss as you walk by. The chef greets customers while rolling out pizza dough behind the cash register, along with the pleasant fumes of what's cooking inside the oven.
The spacious lounge-style interior is furnished with dainty Western antique pieces, remnants of the furniture business the venue once catered. It feels cozy and warm despite the open space.
The menu is quite diverse and includes lunch and dinner set menus: the former is priced 13,000 won to 16,000 won and the latter costs around 60,000 won for a party of two. The wine list, neither big nor small, boasted a standard variation ranging from French to Chilean and Australian, marked 40,000 won and up. They usually have the listed bottles in stock.
We decided to order a la carte, including something popular, ``Tecktonik'' pasta (17,000 won); something standard, Margheritta pizza (16,000 won); and something unique, curry ``Kko Kko'' pizza (20,000 won).
Tecktonik pasta, which we could hear other customers order without referring to the menu, was tasty. The spicy cream spaghetti, served with shrimps and minced onions, seemed well suited for the Korean palette. The piquant tang complemented the heavy cream, but those with delicate taste buds might find it bit hot.
Next came the Margheritta pizza, which would measure out the pizzeria's style and standard. Remaining true to its name, the pizza boasted good ``il farina'' but a less satisfying ``il formaggio.'' Fresh from the wood fired oven, the dough was crispy but the cheese on top was too thick, making the meal feel rather heavy. But the generous amount of parsley and basil and thin tomato slices made up for it.
At last, a mouthwatering whiff of curry announced the arrival of the ``Kko Kko'' pizza. Topped with chicken, onions and black olives, it wasn't yellow and looked like normal pizza since the cheese hid the curry sauce. Biting into it, however, betrayed expectations. Saltiness, rather than savory curry, was the dominating taste. It was just a salty, overly cheesy pizza that only smelled like a hint of India, coming to show that, once again, crossovers are tricky.
Il Farina was strictly standard at best, and there was nothing magical about their oven-baked pizzas. It's worth stopping by if you're desperately craving the stuff and happen to be in Garosu-gil. The charming ambiance makes it, nevertheless, a good venue to share wine with friends.
Il Farina is located between Sinsa and Apgujeong Stations on subway line 3. It's a 15-munute walk or one bus stop away from either station. It's open everyday from 1 p.m. to 2 a.m. and until 4 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Call (02) 548-0564.