The Booth – Pizza n Beer

Today I’m very excited to introduce a newer restaurant in the Kyunglidan scene – The Booth. They’ve also very recently opened a location in Gangnam. I’m always a fan of simplified menus – it’s better to get a couple things right than to get many things wrong. The Booth takes this philosophy to it’s purest form, serving only two types of pizza and two types of beer. So in total there are only 4 things on the menu. I suppose a salad might be nice, but simple is great, pizza and beer. And man… the pizza and beer here are amazing.

It’s a moderately small place with seating for about 20-25. The interior is uniquely decorated with packaging crates as tables and odd boxes and other things for chairs. The walls are painted corner to corner by someone with a wild artistic hand. It’s gaudy, but tasteful. It can take a few moments to figure out your seating arrangement and I could see how it could make some uncomfortable, but overall I approve. Typical Korean places tend to keep people separated as much as possible. Even in drinking spots, parties are  separated as much as possible by dividers, booths, screens, and whatnot. This is to create a feeling of intimacy within groups. But the Booth throws this tradition and forces people to acknowledge each other by putting seats in hard to reach places or directly next to each other. Many of the tables are large and by necessity people have to sit next to strangers. I went here for the first time exactly one week ago on Monday and went back two more times, and the people and workers have been very nice. It also helps that I brought Toby and only heartless heathens can refrain from rubbing his goofy face.

Bills Pale Ale 5,000w

I don’t know who Bill is, but I want to meet and thank him profusely. This is the best Pale Ale I’ve ever had in Korea. Apparently Bill makes it himself. It reminds me of an old favorite of mine in San Diego, Stone Pale Ale. The flavor is full, robust, and crisp. And at 5,000w for a pint, it’s priced perfectly. Thank you, The Booth, and Bill, seriously, thank you. This is what exactly what Korea needs.

Pepperoni Pizza 3,500w

The Booth serves two kinds of pizza, Pepperoni and Cheese. They try to keep inventory to a minimum, so I’ve had to wait 5 or 10 minutes a couple times. But that’s normal for a restaurant anyhow and fresh pizza is the best pizza. Yesterday I was a bit low of time and so opted for a Cheese pizza which was already prepared rather than wait 10 minutes for a pepperoni. I should have just waited. The cheese was good, but straight-out-of-the-oven is always better. Anyway, and again at 3,500w it’s priced just fine. Full pies are 18,000w.

For condiments there are red pepper, hot sauce, and parmesan cheese. Sorry, forgot to get a photo of the others. But, red pepper… that’s all I really need. And its served in the correct bottle size. :) For those who know me, I’m a hot sauce / pepper freak. When I was young my dad would ask me if I wanted some taco with my hot sauce.

Toby was very happy when one of the workers said I could bring him inside.

Mike was happy too. By the way, this is at ISO 6400 with my Fuji x100s… love this camera.

Hefeweizen 6,000w

Even though I don’t typically like Hefes I had to try it. And yeah, I didn’t like it. But that may not be the beer’s fault. I just don’t like sweet drinks.

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The Booth – Kyunglidan

705 Itaewon-dong Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea
서울시 용산구 이태원동 705
Everyday Noon-1am

The Booth – Gangnam

1330 2F Seocho-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea
서울시 서초구 서초동 1330 2층
Everyday 11:30am-1am

drink@theboothpub.com
02.1544.4723
http://theboothpub.com/