Lunch with “Mr. JJO’s”
Written and photographed by Sarah Pittman
Over by the Megabox downtown, hidden in a mint green stairwell, is an unassuming restaurant named Mr. JJO’s. Or is it Prima Neve? One thing that happens quite often in Korea, it seems, is that there is a confusing mix of names for certain places, this tasty restaurant included. The signs outside and the dishes say Prima Neve, whereas the menu says Mr. JJO’s. All I want to say, though, is that it is very, very tasty.
Inside the restaurant, the decor is a mix of warm woods and black cast iron, making for a cozy atmosphere perfect for enjoying fall or winter weather. All of the tables are either for four people or more, so do not feel embarrassed about taking the swings next to the window; it is my new favorite spot.
Their menu ranges from around 9,000 won for a variety of pasta or pizza dishes, to 18,000 won for beef tenderloin delivered hissing and searing in a pan. I decided to try their pasta pomodoro, a tasty vegetarian option, and their pan-seared beef tenderloin. At Prima Neve, if you order two entrees, they will add a free personal-sized pizza for free, so I also tried their Margherita pizza.
The dishes were delivered to the table in quick succession, each piping hot. The pasta was delivered to the table first, twirled into a delicious mountain with steam floating above it. The pomodoro sauce was quite oily, mixed with a little bit of cheese, steamed broccoli, and cooked grape tomato halves, with the pasta just past al dente.
The next dish was the beef tenderloin. It was served with a wilted lettuce salad, kimchi rice with laver, and 150 grams of wet-aged beef tenderloin. When a meat is wet-aged, it can be quite difficult to tell the doneness of the meat by color alone. My guess would be that it was somewhere between medium rare and medium. The wilted lettuce salad with mushrooms was quite nice, adding a much needed contrast to the meat. However, I could not stomach the kimchi rice with laver. The laver made the side dish extremely salty and things would have been much better without it.
The Margherita pizza was the last dish to the table, and it was amazing, especially considering the price tag! It definitely was not a traditional Margherita with mozzarella and basil, unfortunately. The cheese was still mozzarella, with shredded instead of round slices, and instead of basil, it came with slices of tomatoes on top. It was about eight inches (20 centimeters) around, with a crispy thin crust. The dough was obviously handmade, with air bubbles that had popped and charred on the crust while it baked.
Because I had so much food in front of me, I ate half of the pizza in the restaurant and took the other half home. Prima Neve charges 1,000 won for a pizza take-out box, and they do not have any boxes for other entrees! Therefore, if you order a dish at Prima Neve, you should be ready to finish it at the table.
Overall, the restaurant is quite cute and the food is well made. It is a great spot to relax on a Saturday afternoon and enjoy some Italian comfort food.
MR. JJO’S PASTA 쪼아저씨네파스타
Address: 15-8 Jungang-ro 160 beon-gil, Chungjang-dong, Dong-gu, Gwangju (next to Paik’s Coffee)
광주 동구 중앙로160번길 15-8
Telephone: 062-234-8786
The Author
Sarah lives in Gwangju with her boyfriend and her dog. She enjoys long Netflix binges of cooking shows and documentaries. She also dabbles in drawing, painting, knitting, sewing, and the odd Pinterest craft of the month.