I was embarassed as soon as we walked into Tremare. There were three tables occupied by couples that were looking, well, not like bums. Unfortunately, WE were looking like bums, and I imagined a record scratching and everyone staring as we walked into the place.

Having spent a (hung-over) day on the beach, we were on a wild goose chase looking for a new place that we had heard about that was sadly not even open yet. We wandered around for a bit more, and after the first few pasta places we passed (Gwangalli seems to have about 40 of them), we finally settled on Tremare.

photo by Alex Roche

We didn’t realize that it was such a nice place. It’s not formal by any means, but I wished that I was wearing jeans and a decent shirt, rather than electric blue Adidas pants and a sweatshirt. Once we got over feeling a little strange, however, we could relax.

Tremare would be a great place for a date. It’s on the second floor looking out over the beach and at the Diamond Bridge. When it gets a little warmer, I’m guessing they’ll open up the floor-to-ceiling windows to make it ‘open air.’ The interior is classy, with brick walls and worn wood trim.

What we really liked was the affordability of the wine. 21,000 will get you a nice bottle of red, which is a bit cheaper than other places we’ve tried recently.*** They have other wines on the list going upwards in price.

I usually don’t bother with the water on the table, but this water was either disgusting or delicious, depending on who you asked (4 of us loved it; 3 of us (including me) hated it). The water had what appeared to be a dissolving breath mint in it that made it all taste like Listerine. So beware of spit-takes if you’re caught off guard.

Food-wise, we were all surprised by the quality. The pastas and risotto were delicious and cooked well, and the salads especially exceeded expectations.

There is also a steak set on the menu for 39,000 that, at first, got everyone pretty excited. It included garlic bread, shrimp salad, a steak, a glass of wine, and then dessert. The bread and the shrimp salad were awesome, however, it went slightly downhill from there. Our beef with the steak (HA!) was that it was a little small. The steak was cooked correctly (i.e. “medium” actually meant medium), and the flavors were good, but it left a little to be desired in the hunger department. We ordered bottles of wine, so I guess they thought we didn’t want the glass of wine that came with the set. We had to ask for it specially. Then “dessert” was only a coffee or tea, which was… so-so.

photo by Alex Roche

So go to Tremare on a date. Enjoy the wine and some of the salads and pastas, but don’t get too excited over the steak set (although it is pretty good overall).

Menu:
Pastas with cream sauce: 15-22k
Pastas with tomato sauce: 15-20k
Pastas with olive sauce: 14-16k
Risotto 16-18k
Oven pizza: 15-16 for ‘regular’ pizzas; 18 for shrimp; 20 for steak pizza
Steak course: 39k
Couple course (same as steak course, but also includes pasta… but oddly, only one glass of wine): 59k
Salads: 4-8k

There is also a lunch menu available where everything is discounted.

***Aiola in Kyungsung holds the award for the cheapest wine – 3,500 a glass.

Directions: From Gwangan metro, take exit 3, do an about-face and turn right and walk all the way down to the beach. Turn left at the beach (at the Lotteria) and Tremare is a couple buildings down on the second floor. It’s in the same building as Breeze Burn’s.
If you’re already on the beach, find Lotteria on the big corner. Facing Lotteria, you’ll see Breeze Burns a couple buildings to your right. Tremare is on the second floor.