Such a shame this restaurant only opened a couple of weeks before our departure from Gunsan. La Chiave is a cute Italian restaurant near Lotte Mart. The food is as delightful as the decor.

We went there on two separate occasions: one was a double date, the second a lunch date. Both times, the chef impressed us with his culinary skills. As I patiently watched him perform from my table, I could see the meticulousness he puts into his presentation. Every ingredient has its proper placement and complimented each other in perfect harmony. If he had told me he trained in Europe, I would’ve believed him.

The lunch course went as such: Clint and I each had a Caesar salad – which had actual bacon (a rarity in Korea), bread of the day croutons, and fresh tomatoes all tossed together perfectly. Then we shared a steak fillet pasta – the steak fillets were cooked so tenderly, each bite was tastier than the last. A lot of Korean food is either bland or spicy, but this wasn’t he case here. Finally, we shared a chocolate molten lava cake with a scoop of Häagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream. I’m not well-versed in culinary terms, so I couldn’t tell you what he did with the creative caramel addition. But I can say this: we finished the whole thing!

Trattoria La Chiave
Korean Name: 트라토리아라끼아베
Phone: 063-466-6027
Address: 862-13 Susong-dong, Gunsan