Zooza, Seomyeon

Come hungry, leave happy?

Well, in any case, that the slogan of Zooza's, a new American-themed bar/restaurant. I don't think "leave happy" is quite correct... my feeling was more "leave wishing you'd ate somewhere else". This is Seomyeon after all. Unfortunately they've chosen to put Zooza's in Judie's Taehwa, which means you don't even have to leave the building to get better fare. Let me show you what I mean....

Ho-hum. Is this supposed to be carbonara? Make an effort next time, please.

OK, now what is this supposed to be. It looks kind of like a pizza. Well, not really. There are some toppings, most of which are onion, and some rather lost looking black olives. However, the real disgrace here is the crust. It's some sort of sweet pastry crust, like what you'd use it an apple tart or something like that. Seriously, I will happily eat pizza (even Dominoes) for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day of the week but I couldn't finish more than a slice of this rubbish. What were they thinking?

Well, the pizza was not the worst pizza I've has in Korea, but it was bad enough for me to say, don't risk it. Don't eat their food. Just eat somewhere else.

Some readers might think I'm being too harsh, but obviously they have not tried this crappy pizza. If you want me to say something nice about the place, well, they had some thick-cut french fries service that did not suck. There is a nice view from the windows and they have several TVs with different stations on them. And they have done a pretty good job of making it look like an Applebees or something.

Also, the staff smile alot, but they are really dim. They aren't even familiar with what's on their own menu. And service is painfully slow. You could order, get up, leave and order some real food, eat it and come back before your order arrived here. And that's what I'd recommend you do.

I suppose you could just come here to drink beer, if you were willing to wait for it.

Location: 4th floor, Judies Taehwa Building, Seomyeon.

Phone: 051-667-7666 (That explains the pizza!)

Vegetarian Option: Yes

English menu: Yes. Some of the staff speak English.

Prices:

Pasta and Hof food from 7,000

Pizza from 13,800

Set: (2 pasta, 1 pizza and beer) 28,500

There is steak too.... um... yeah.. good luck with that.

Sono Pizza, Hadan

So a little while back I was a bit harsh on Benpiatto, and given that they do (for the most part) passable pizza and pasta. So now I think its time to look at a much better alternative for pizza lovers in Hadan, Sono.

Sono has a quite tasteful and very modern setting, which makes it a popular place for Dong A university students to go on date. Their service is excellent and the staff are really attentive. As you can see here, you can actually watch as your pizza cooks in the open oven, from the comfort of your chair. So there's no "did they forget my order?" moments here.

The pizza itself is delicious, made from quality ingredients on a thin crust. Not only is there no corn, but quality cheese! There is a good variety of pizzas on the menu and the cheapest, the garlic & bacon, is one of the best (below with wineglasses). The gorgonzolla pizza, which we also tried (14,000), is not quite as flavoursome but good enough that we almost devoured the whole thing before I remembered to take a photo.
















Sono is also very popular as a cafe (perhaps due to their awesome teaspoons) and offers great coffee and hot chocolate as well as a selection of teas.

Next time you are in Hadan, stop by Sono for some of the best quality pizza you're likely to find in Busan. They have points cards for both the cafe and pizzas and with food this good, you'll be eating a free pizza in no time at all.

Location: Diagonally opposite the Hadan Mcdonalds, next to Wa Bar.
English Menu: Yes . Staff speak English as well.
Vegetarian Option: Yes
Open 11.00-24.00
Phone: 051-204-2443

Prices :
Pasta: 8,000+
Pizzas: 10,000+
House Wine: 4,000
Coffee: 3,000+

Benepiatto Italian Restaurant

Benepiatto, sometimes friend, sometimes enemy of the hungry foreigner.

On one hand, Benepiatto offers a selection of reasonably priced and edible italian cusine, in a fashion that brings to mind the excellent Japanese chain Sizzeria (unfortunately, no branches in Korea). Most of their food is just fine. The mozzarella & tomato salad looks just the way it should, and they have a selection of pizzas which do not suffer from corn-infestation. Overall, it almost tastes as good as the italian food you cook at home, and you don't have to cook it.

However...

The first rule of Benepiatto is you must never, ever order the pizza known as "Primavero". It is, without a doubt, the worst pizza I have ever seen or tried - and once I ate a slice of custard pizza in Kyoto (don't do that either). One victim of the Primavero described her experience thus:

"When I saw it I just wanted to cry."

And I must say my experience with the Primavero caused me to feel the same way. The pizza itself was a horror to behold. How does one even describe the atrocity that was committed in that kitchen? I had night terrors for a week afterwards. Sometimes the cabbage still haunts my dreams. Sometimes I wake in a cold sweat, the laughter of the mad chef and his hunchbacked assistant still ringing in my ears, as he gives life to this unholy fusion of salad and pizza. The earth itself seems to cry out in torment, and the heavens angrily hurl thunderbolts and sleet. The creation itself sobs quietly, knowing even from the moment of its unnatural birth that a corn and cabbage pizza violates the laws of god and man, laid down from time immemorial....

*Ahem*

Suffice to say, avoid the Primavero pizza, its not worth it. Also not worth it is the house wine, which is both lousy and served in thimble sized amounts. I have it on good authority that their coffee sucks too.

Finally, I must warn potential diners about Benepiatto's extremely poor service. The first time I went there the waitress poured half a jug of water on me, and then ran away. Outside of "refilling" your glass, the staff are loathe to do anything other than play with their phones, so avoid any extravagant demands for a menu, some food, or to pay the bill so you can leave this place. In the unlikely event that you do have contact with a staff member they are rude and sullen, not to mention slow, at best.

Obviously I can't really recommend this place. Some of their menu is worth eating, but there are so many better options in Hadan.


Phone:
Location: From Hadan subway station, take the Dong A University exit and continue walking toward the university. Look for the big lime green sign and fake garden out front.

English Menu: Dish names are in English, ingredients in Korean.

Vegetarian Option: Yes.

Prices :
Pizza/Pasta: 7,000+
Wine: 5,000