The Table: Best Italian Near Korea University
I've lived in Jongam-dong (a neighborhood in Seoul) for quite a while now, but there are only two restaurants around here I consider decent: 'Jongamgol Saenggogi' (a Korean BBQ spot) and 'Sushi Wada'. For some reason, the northeastern part of Seoul is practically a wasteland when it comes to the Michelin Guide, Baek Jong-won's Top 3 Chef, or even the recently popular Young-ja Road. Still, good places always manage to stand out, and the restaurant I visited today is exactly that. This Italian restaurant called 'The Table' is a place my family often visits for celebrations like birthdays. The yellow building and beautifully maintained flower beds catch your eye, but the pasta noodles at the entrance and the large cheese you see right as you walk in give it a very unique and exotic feel.
Today, something unfortunate happened to one of my family members, so we stopped by for a change of pace. On days like this, proper service is important, but unfortunately, we found a hair in our food. Luckily, we spotted it before eating, so they just replaced the dish. This is already my third visit, but for some reason, it's been hard to write a post about this place. My laziness is the biggest reason, but whenever I try to snap some quick photos and eat, an accident always happens. From my very first visit, there's always been an issue with finding a hair or getting the order wrong. Out of my three visits, I've ended up feeling sorry for suggesting we come here all three times. The food is quite delicious, but I think their operations are a bit amateurish. I've also seen the male server practically toss plates onto the table a few times.
Since they aim to be a high-end restaurant, the food prices are generally on the expensive side. Pizza and pasta are just under 20,000 KRW, and the steak is in the 40,000 KRW range. The price point is high, but the food is just as good. Considering this neighborhood mainly caters to university students, it's a place that shows ridiculously high quality despite being really expensive.
When you taste the food, you can't help but think, "Oh~ they're pretty good at this?" It's a bit funny for me to evaluate the taste of pizza, pasta, and steak since I'm happy just putting them in my mouth, but personally, I think the chef's cooking skills here are quite solid. I figure their operational skills will improve with time, and the hair issue could probably be solved if the person who looks like the chef just wore a hat. If that doesn't work out, maybe they should hire a manager to take care of the dining room. Honestly, I highly recommend hiring a manager.
If you're spending an anniversary with your girlfriend or an important person near Korea University, I highly recommend The Table. The service isn't necessarily unkind (though this can feel different depending on the person), but they do tend to make mistakes often, so you just have to not let it bother you too much. However, if your girlfriend is already angry, an order mistake might make her explode with rage, so I recommend avoiding it when their service is still unstable.
