Ikseon-dong pizza restaurant, cola instead of beer: Backstreet Pizza

Jongno pub alley and Ikseon-dong hanok street, right outside Jongno 3-ga Station

Today we headed to the Jongno pub alley, the spot everyone who's been there knows is the hottest outdoor drinking scene around right now. It's right outside Jongno 3-ga Station, packed with people, buzzing with the energy of a proper hot spot. Ikseon-dong hanok street is right next door too — a perfect collab between the hanok neighborhood and outdoor pub culture.

Where is Backstreet Pizza in Jongno?

If you had to pick one pizza spot in the Jongno pub alley, today's star, Backstreet Pizza, is the answer. It's a famous pizza place even in the Ikseon-dong hanok street area, known for letting you enjoy four flavors at once. It's on the basement level, and even walking down the stairs you could hear loud laughter — I honestly thought there was a show going on. This place is a hot Jongno date spot right now.

That slightly dim, moody vibe. Water, hot sauce, and parmesan cheese powder already set on the table — a proper old-school Jongno pizza place.

The interior has its own unique feel, and it's the kind of place where pizza and a beer taste amazing together. We drove though, so no beer for us — but next time we're at the Jongno pub alley, doing pi-maek (pizza and beer) here and then heading out for anju (drinking food) with soju sounds like the perfect Ikseon-dong date.

The Quarter Street pizza and draft beer set, and the driver's cola

The menu shows this is a real Jongno pizza spot with all kinds of pizzas. The most famous one is the Quarter Street pizza, letting you try shrimp, bulgogi, sausage, and potato all at once. Pair it with the set that includes two draft beers, Hoegaarden and Stella, and you've got the perfect Jongno outdoor-drinking vibe. No wonder this place is famous as a Jongno date spot.

A sad couple who drove here. Still, for my wife who loves carbonated drinks, we ordered a cola and a cider. Pizza and soda is a classic combo too, after all.

One pizza for two: how much food is it?

Here comes the signature menu of Ikseon-dong hanok street favorite Backstreet Pizza — the Quarter Street pizza. As befits a real Jongno pizza spot, it's a huge pie. We'd planned to finish it and head straight to the Jongno pub alley for round two, but after eating we were so full we just decided to walk around instead lol. We had no idea the portion would be this big. We always dream of being mukbang YouTubers, but reality is just a couple with normal-sized stomachs.

Looking at the crispy dough and the toppings piled on top, it was hard to decide what to eat first at this Ikseon-dong favorite. The owner was really kind too, and even though he's a foreigner, his Korean sounded better than a lot of Koreans'.

Catching up over good food after a while, we lost track of time enjoying our fun Jongno date. We talked about everything from my promotion in about a month to stories from teaching life.

One small downside — the food looks so good, but the lighting made it slightly tricky to photograph lol. It looks way more appetizing in person. Here's a shot of the bulgogi pizza first.

Which of the four flavors to eat first

We each like different pizzas so we had to decide who eats what first — my wife always goes for shrimp first, I go for potato first. Since this Jongno pizza spot lets you try four flavors, it made picking so much easier. The difficulty of choosing just one from that lineup lol. My order of preference is potato, ham, shrimp, then bulgogi.

The cheese stretched out perfectly, the dough was delicious, and the toppings on top were exactly my style — I really enjoyed this Jongno favorite, Backstreet Pizza. It would go so well with beer, and soju was on my mind too, but calling a designated driver felt like too much, so I held back and held back, promising myself I'd come back again.

A couple born to be bloggers, picking up each slice one by one and photographing it lol. That day we'd gone on a whole marathon — IPARK Mall, then Yongridan-gil, then a place called Flomant that sells guest outfits, then Gwangjang Market, and finally the Jongno pub alley and Ikseon-dong. So even starving, we still did our duty as bloggers before digging in.

The shrimp were really big and delicious too, and there were so many piled onto one pizza — you could really feel the owner's generous mindset. It's not for nothing that this place is becoming known as an Ikseon-dong favorite.

Looking at the mountain of sausage piled on a single slice, today was truly a feast day. And the dough was crispy yet light — genuinely delicious. Backstreet Pizza isn't rising in popularity for no reason. This Jongno pizza spot, hah hah hah hah.

Adding hot sauce and grated parmesan

Couldn't skip the hot sauce and parmesan cheese powder, so they brought it right over and set it up nicely for photos, and now it's time to really dig in.

I sprinkled it on eagerly, though it felt a bit too shy of an amount at first — I added more later and ate happily. Every single slice brought so much happiness. It really was a successful Jongno date on a rare weekend in Seoul. Walking around checking out the hot spots in the Jongno pub alley afterward was great too. A place where even just eating pizza and taking a walk makes you feel young. One small regret — we both dressed way too casually, so we decided to come back again properly next week lol.

Taking one slice at a time onto our plates, chatting, talking about what to do next, debating which part was tastiest and which topping was best. A happy date in the Jongno pub alley, letting ourselves get swept up in the lively atmosphere and soaking in that hot-spot energy again after a while.

Who should visit Backstreet Pizza?

Today we really enjoyed this Jongno pizza favorite, Backstreet Pizza. As a Jongno 3-ga Station spot, it's a place I'd recommend to anyone looking for that outdoor-drinking vibe, hot-spot energy, and four flavors of pizza all in one Ikseon-dong favorite. It's the perfect Jongno date spot to pair with a stroll through the Jongno pub alley and a trip down Seosullo-gil afterward.