Gyeongju pizza place with bacon-crisp pepperoni: Midam Kitchen

What is Midam Kitchen on Hwangnidang-gil like?

• Slightly off Hwangnidang-gil's main drag, so it's relaxed for a meal
• A unique house-conversion layout with big picture windows, a great date spot in Gyeongju

Midam Kitchen (미담키친) is a Western restaurant just off the busiest stretch of Hwangnidang-gil in Gyeongju. My husband and I left for Gyeongju in a rush, and this was the place I picked for our first meal.

Being just a little off the busiest part of Hwangnidang-gil made it nicer for a relaxed meal. This trip was a short getaway and a date with my husband, and Midam Kitchen really suited that mood. If you want a good Hwangnidang-gil restaurant but would rather avoid the crowds, the location should work well for you.

Where to park for Midam Kitchen

Midam Kitchen has no private parking lot; you use the Hwangnidang-gil public parking lot, about 500 meters away on foot. Very kindly, the restaurant's Naver listing names the closest public lot, so we parked easily and strolled over.

• Hwangnidang-gil public parking lot
• About 500 meters on foot
• We visited on a Sunday and there was no parking fee

Midam Kitchen's converted-house interior and large windows

The building itself is memorable. It looks like an ordinary house converted into a restaurant, and the inside isn't something you take in at a glance, so it was fun to wander around and look.

Each space has a different feel, which makes exploring fun, and the big picture windows facing the street make it feel open.

Sitting by the window, you can casually watch the scene outside, which suited our Hwangnidang-gil date mood. Gyeongju has lots of hanok (traditional Korean house) themed restaurants, but Midam Kitchen goes in a slightly different direction, which made it more memorable.

The staff were really kind too. It was the first meal of our hurried Gyeongju trip, and being welcomed so warmly from the start made it feel like the trip was already a success.

Midam Kitchen menu and prices

The Midam Kitchen menu is split into salads, pizza, pasta, risotto and pork cutlet (donkatsu). Prices at the time of our visit were as follows.

• Ricotta salad ₩12,900
• Chicken salad ₩13,900
• Beef salad ₩14,900
• Arugula tomato pizza ₩21,900
• Bulgogi pizza ₩21,900
• Quattro cheese pizza ₩20,900
• Kkokkio pizza ₩20,900
• Pepperoni pizza ₩19,900
• Cream chicken rigatoni ₩15,900
• Toowoomba pasta ₩15,900
• Basil cream pasta ₩15,900
• Basil oil pasta ₩15,900
• Brisket oil pasta ₩15,900
• Bacon cream pasta ₩15,900
• Beef risotto ₩15,900
• Basil shrimp risotto ₩16,900
• Sirloin pork cutlet ₩14,900
• Kkanpung pork cutlet (sweet-spicy fried cutlet) ₩15,900
• Cheese roll cutlet ₩15,900

What makes Midam Kitchen's pepperoni pizza different?

Midam Kitchen's pepperoni pizza (₩19,900) comes with very thin pepperoni whose edges are baked crisp like bacon. Honestly, I didn't expect much when I ordered. I always figured pepperoni pizza tastes more or less the same wherever you eat it. But from the very first bite, my expectations were wrong in the best way.

It wasn't the thick, soft pepperoni I'm used to; it was sliced super thin, with edges baked crisp like bacon.

The crispy pepperoni chewed together with the pizza dough made the texture come alive. It was fun to see how one cooking choice can change a familiar menu item so much.

Midam Kitchen beef risotto: cream seasoning and firm rice grains

Midam Kitchen's beef risotto (₩15,900) made me exclaim from the first bite. Maybe it's partly because I was starving that day, but the seasoning of the cream sauce was incredibly good. Not bland, not too salty, it was the kind of taste that gets an instant gasp with one bite.

What I especially liked was the texture of the rice grains. With cream risotto, the soft texture can get a bit cloying as you keep eating, but here the grains stay firm and distinct (gosol-gosol, in Korean), so it stayed fun to the end. I liked the contrast between the smooth cream sauce and the lively grains.

They also gave us plenty of jalapeños and pickled radish, which I appreciated. Having them between bites of pizza or cream risotto cleanses the palate so you can enjoy the food again. Seeing that even small touches like this aren't skimped on made it feel like a meal made with care.

Pepperoni pizza and beef risotto: the order for two

Ordering the pepperoni pizza and beef risotto together was a good combination too. The crispy, salty pizza and the smooth, nutty risotto don't overlap, so they're perfect for sharing between two.

Midam Kitchen wasn't just about tasty food; the space and service were satisfying too, making it a great Western restaurant in Gyeongju. It's a bit away from the crowded center of Hwangnidang-gil, so it's relatively calm, and I liked being able to eat slowly in a unique space with picture windows.

We chose it for our first meal of the Gyeongju trip with my husband, and from the atmosphere to the food to the kind service, it left a happy memory. If you're looking for a Hwangnidang-gil or Gyeongju date restaurant where you can enjoy pizza and risotto together, I'd recommend Midam Kitchen.

Midam Kitchen visitor information

• Address: 33 Cheomseong-ro 49beon-gil, Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk (경북 경주시 첨성로49번길 33 미담키친)
• Hours: 10:30–21:00, closed every Wednesday
• Parking: no parking lot
• Nearest public parking: Hwangnidang-gil public parking lot