On February 27, Grazioso, the much-anticipated Italian restaurant, had its grand opening. With its cafeteria-style area filled with colorful chairs and neon lighting, the restaurant resembles a fusion of Gran K and the KAI Lounge. Grazioso, a branch franchise under Il Mare corporation, is run under the supervision of Manager Jong Hyun Gil.

The menu consists of a wide variety of Italian cuisine, subdivided into four main corners (salad and dessert, pizza, pasta and rice, and steak) that are each headed by specialized chefs. Students place their order at the counter, receive a number, wait for their number to ring and pick up their meals at the respective corners. According to the manager, their most popular dishes are the pizza, pasta and, quite unexpectedly, rice. The costs range from an average of 4,000 Korean Won to 7,000 Korean Won while some of their set menus, along with the more ambitious steak menus, range from as cheap as 5,000 Korean Won to 26,000 Korean Won.

“We wanted to keep in consideration the financial state of our students. We are perhaps not as professional as some of the restaurants outside campus but our aim is to satisfy both the taste buds and the pockets of the students,” said Mr. Gil.

During the opening week, Grazioso held a free drinks event (normally 2000 Korean Won for unlimited refills of soda and coffee) and reached approximately 300 orders on the first day. They currently average about 400 students per day. Grazioso also keeps to the promise of fresh food by acquiring new ingredients every morning and keeping only the bare minimum in storage.

“We have already heard complaints that students had long waits for their food, especially during the busier hours. We want to guarantee fresh food that is cooked on the spot at demand and to do so, it clearly takes some time,” commented Mr. Gil. “Being new, we still need some time to get things going but we are getting there. We are open to criticism and opinions and hopefully, we can satisfy all the customers’ needs soon enough.”

Located on the second floor of the West Building (W2) just above the cafeteria, the restaurant begins operations at 11 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m. with their last order at 9 p.m.