Gyeongju courtyard-room pasta, 8 minutes from free parking: Midam

I visited Midam Kitchen, a well-loved restaurant on Hwangnidang-gil in Gyeongju. I got pulled in by the pretty courtyard-shaped hanok, was blown away by the atmosphere, and fell hard for the spicy, addictive pasta. Here's my review of the room vibe at this stylish hanok Western restaurant on Hwangnidang-gil, plus what to order!

Where is Midam Kitchen, and what are its hours?

Midam Kitchen is a great pick for a Gyeongju pasta date.

• 📌Location. 33 Cheomseong-ro 49beon-gil, Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk
• ⏰Hours. 10:30 AM–9:00 PM (last order 8:30 PM)
• 🚗Parking. Nearby public parking lot
• ✅ A Hwangnidang-gil pasta favorite
• ✅ Great-atmosphere Western restaurant, recommended for a date

Free public parking near Hwangnidang-gil

Have you ever circled around Hwangnidang-gil in Gyeongju unable to find parking? As more tourists — including more and more foreign visitors — pour in, the parking lots have always felt too small. But I found a big, free public lot near Hwangnidang-gil. There's talk it might switch to paid parking, but as of my September visit it was still free, and I saw no signage about fees anywhere!

It's a 5-minute walk from Hwangnidang-gil, so access is easy — you can park, then walk about 20 minutes through Hwangnidang-gil past Daereungwon all the way to Bonghwangdae, taking in everything along the way.

The 8-minute walk to Midam Kitchen

Midam Kitchen is an 8-minute walk from the free public lot toward Hwangnidang-gil. On Hwangnidang-gil itself, it sits in a quiet alley across from Daereungwon.

The alley is a bit calmer than Hwangnidang-gil itself, and this Western restaurant, with its gorgeous tiled roof, has a charming ㄷ-shaped courtyard layout. You can look out over the courtyard from the room.

Inside the hanok courtyard room

Once you step inside, the courtyard and hanok scenery visible from the table give the room an open, airy feel — it's quite something.

I liked that the cozy nooks are spread throughout, giving each spot a private feel. I visited for an early lunch on a holiday, and even though the place hadn't been open long, seats filled up fast.

Midam Kitchen menu and prices

Midam Kitchen's menu:

• Pizza – Arugula tomato pizza ₩18,900
• Pizza – Kokkio pizza ₩17,900
• Pizza – Quattro cheese pizza ₩18,900
• Pasta – Toowoomba pasta ₩15,900
• Pasta – Beef brisket oil pasta ₩15,900
• Pasta – Basil oil pasta ₩15,900
• Risotto – Beef risotto ₩15,900
• Risotto – Basil shrimp risotto ₩16,900

How the pasta and cutlet tasted

Main dishes: beef brisket oil pasta ₩15,900, Toowoomba pasta ₩15,900, pork loin cutlet ₩14,900. I came on a date with my partner and ordered three different dishes to try a bit of everything.

Pork loin cutlet, 14,900 won

The pork loin cutlet my partner had been wanting came out first — a genuinely giant cutlet with a huge slab of loin!! Everything from the sauce on down is handmade in-house, and the owner clearly takes real pride in it.

After the salad woke up our appetite, we cut into the cutlet right away, and just as they'd said, the sauce was the real kicker. It wasn't overpoweringly Worcestershire, wasn't salty, and struck a nice balance between smooth and rich. The breading was crispy but never hard — it broke apart gently and softly in the mouth.

Thanks to how good the sauce was, I never got sick of it even after finishing the whole cutlet, and it paired really well with the pasta — I was glad I'd ordered it.

Toowoomba pasta, 15,900 won

This one has rosé and cream in it, and it's practically Midam Kitchen's signature dish. There's a big shrimp right in the center, along with zucchini and various other ingredients packed in, giving it a rich range of flavors — I really liked that.

Even with the cream in the rosé sauce, the spicy peperoncino cut through all the richness completely, so it never felt heavy. The thick, spicy sauce clung nicely to the flat fettuccine noodles, and the harmony between sauce and noodle was great. I personally love a cream sauce, so this dish was very satisfying! Beyond the big shrimp in the center, there were also tiny shrimp roe throughout, which made every bite fun.

That rosé sauce is honestly pretty addictive!!

Beef brisket oil pasta, 15,900 won

The first thing that struck me was the sheer amount of beef brisket — I was genuinely shocked. Seeing it piled so high the noodles were completely hidden underneath was honestly moving!!

The garlic scapes and zucchini kept it from tasting flat, and the beef brisket had a nice nutty chew — this was the dish I enjoyed most.

It's not overly oily, and the pepper really pulls its weight, giving it a clean yet fairly spicy kick. Pair it with a drink, or eat it alongside the cutlet, and it's delicious.

Is Midam Kitchen worth a Gyeongju date stop?

I tried three dishes at Midam Kitchen, a hanok pasta restaurant with real character on Hwangnidang-gil in Gyeongju, and the pasta quality exceeded my expectations — I left very satisfied. The cutlet with its handmade sauce is a crowd-pleaser with no downside, and both the thick rosé Toowoomba pasta and the oil pasta loaded with beef brisket were wins, so overall it was a great date. It was a good weekend discovering a hidden gem in Gyeongju. If you're traveling to Gyeongju, I'd recommend this stylish Western restaurant as a date spot 🤩