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Taste of europe
Trattoria & Bar VILLA DE LA VINO
May 4, 2023
Trattoria & Bar VILLA DE LA VINO, a restaurant serving authentic Italian cuisine, is located in Itaewon area. It is a place where you can taste and enjoy the scrumptious Italian dish made with premium ingredients whilst feeling like as if you were in Italy. Italian wine, made by local farmers, offered at the restaurant is a bonus!
The ECCK met with Mr. Minwoo Kim, representative of Trattoria & Bar VILLA DE LA VINO, to talk about the restaurants he is running, their concepts and his philosophy in food and wine.
Tell us about yourself
My name is Minwoo Kim, and I am the representative of Trattoria & Bar VILLA DE LA VINO. In 2005, I got to know wine for the first time while working with wine divisions of various domestic companies and affiliated organizations. Later in 2012, I started my own restaurant business with the desire of introducing wine from various countries and providing Korean consumers with a place where they can feel and taste the local vibe.
Trattoria & Bar VILLA DE LA VINO. Courtesy Minwoo Kim
Tell us about Trattoria & Bar VILLA DE LA VINO
What I wanted was to let consumers find a restaurant in the alleys of Seoul, where they could feel like as if they were in Europe. With that in mind, in 2016, opened Trattoria & Bar VILLA DE LA VINO. Together with Chef Gye-kwon Lee, I have been operating the restaurant with 100% Italian wine and menus using seasonal ingredients.
Herbs, vegetables, olive oil, and all ingredients used for cooking are of the highest quality. In addition, the wine list and menu are updated on a monthly basis. A great advantage of Trattoria & Bar VILLA DE LA VINO is that you can taste a variety of high-quality Italian wines and food.
Trattoria & Bar VILLA DE LA VINO is an Italian restaurant located in Itaewon. Courtesy Minwoo Kim
Trattoria & Bar VILLA DE LA VINO was listed in the Blue Ribbon Survey for 6 consecutive years! How do you feel about that?
These achievements made me feel a sense of responsibility to work harder. As we have been receiving good reviews for 6 consecutive years, we will work harder to provide services and menus that can further satisfy the public.
Trattoria & Bar VILLA DE LA VINO was listed in the Blue Ribbon Survey for 6 consecutive years. Courtesy Minwoo Kim
With business partner Mr. Ko Chang Hyun (in charge of strategic planning and financial management). Courtesy Minwoo Kim
Trattoria & Bar VILLA DE LA VINO sells a wide range of Italian wines. Where do you get your wines?
When you listen to the philosophy of local winery owners and talk to them, there are many people who are great enough to build respect. Maybe that's why I love 'Contadino', that is, wine made by vineyard farmers rather than wine from large producers.
One example is the recently imported Carlo Ferragu Amarono wine from Italy's Veneto region. This guy Carlo, producer of that wine, is a rough and rugged person, but deep down, has a wholesome heart. Plus, his dedication and love for wine is huge that we can even feel it through wine. Harvested only by hands, with genuine methods in making, and aging the goods, the quality of wine, is without doubt superb.
With local wine maker inItaly's Veneto region. . Courtesy Minwoo Kim
How do you select wines? Any standards?
Winemakers’ philosophy is paramount. For example, it rained a lot in 2018. When there are external difficulties such as weather, it is important to ensure that there is no compromise in quality even if production is drastically reduced. I think it's also important to respect terroir and put the stories of the natives who were born in the neighborhood or lived in the area for several generations into the wine.
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With local wine makers . Courtesy Minwoo Kim
If you were to introduce one of Trattoria & Bar VILLA DE LA VINO's menus
I recommend trying our T-Bone Steak (Bistecca alla Fiorentina) and wine made from the local Sangiovese variety. Additionally, pasta is a signature menu.
Trattoria & Bar VILLA DE LA VINO 's menu Courtesy Minwoo Kim
You are running a few other restaurants aside from Trattoria & Bar VILLA DE LA VINO. What is your philosophy in doing a restaurant business?
“Real Recognize Real” without compromise is my philosophy in running a restaurant business. In addition to Trattoria & Bar VILLA DE LA VINO, I am running a few other restaurants with various concepts. First, at Trattoria & Bar VILLA DE LA VINO, courses are organized monthly with seasonal ingredients. We also offer 100% Italian wines at very reasonable prices. If any of the readers of this article are wine lovers, we highly recommend a visit to our restaurant. Visitors will feel as if they are in an alley in Florence, Italy.
Opened in 2016, Socialok is a restaurant that combines Spanish food with Korean culture. Consumers can enjoy various cultures here, such as Korean charcoal, Spanish Iberico pork, and Spanish wine.
➡ Check Socialok's Instagram account: @socialok_info
Socialok is a restaurant visitors can experience both Spanish and Korean food culture. Courtesy Minwoo Kim
VITICOLE, a wine shop, operates in a special way in line with the characteristics of Korea, where online sales of alcoholic beverages are prohibited. Through Naver Café, we introduced a variety of wines for wine lovers and allowed them to purchase and pay at VITICOLE. The advantage is that one can get various information about wine in advance before visiting the shop. In addition, we provide products at reasonable prices, perfectly control the most important humidity and temperature in wine storage, and open and communicate with customers in this area.
➡ Check VITICOLE's Instagram account: @viticole_official
VITICOLE is a wine shop that would be a great place for wine lovers to visit. Courtesy Minwoo Kim
Last is NO MERCY BURGER which has been operating since 2021. There, customers can taste and enjoy the hearty, and juicy American style burgers, feeling like as if they were in Hawaii.
➡ Check NO MERCY BURGER's Instagram account: @nomercy_burger
NO MERCY BURGER is a place where visitors can taste American style burgers. Courtesy Minwoo Kim
Most of your restaurants are located in Itaewon area. Any particular reasons on that?
Location of all of the restaurants mentioned above. Courtesy Minwoo Kim
Yes, most of them are located in Itaewon, but for no particular reason. I thought that the concept and target customer base of the restaurants I planned would suit Itaewon well. In my personal opinion, when I thought of a place in Korea that is free, tolerant, and has unique characteristics with various people visiting, Itaewon, seemed to be the perfect location.
Monthly team meeting to discuss about ways to better run business and provide pleasant services to customers . Courtesy Minwoo Kim
Any message to ECCK Connect readers?
I want Trattoria & Bar VILLA DE LA VINO to be remembered as a comfortable restaurant that serves ordinary food every day in our unique style.
