Crispy chicken and frozen draft at Konkuk pizza spot Pizza E Michida

Pizza, chicken, and a cold draft beer all at once — that's the basic formula. This time I visited Pizza E Michida Konkuk. Right outside the entrance, a big sign announcing an opening event caught my eye, and true to its name, this is a place where pizza takes center stage alongside all kinds of combinations.

Where is Pizza E Michida Konkuk University Branch, and what are the hours?

• Address: 1F, 34 Achasan-ro 29-gil, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• 230m from Exit 1 of Konkuk University Station
• Hours: 16:00 – 02:00 the next day
• Closed: every Monday
• Amenities: takeout, reservations, WiFi, group seating, easy payment

The first thing that caught my eye was the ₩1,900 draft beer promotion — an ice-cold beer for 1,900 won is hard to call anything but a steal. But since I eat light, I went with the 500cc!

This time I couldn't decide on just one flavor, so I ordered a half-and-half pizza. I chose rucola garlic shrimp and Philly cheese barbecue steak. On top of that I added crispy boneless fried chicken, thick wedge potatoes, sauces and pickles, plus a 500cc draft beer with a mug frozen solid even at the handle — the table got pretty full.

A bite of pizza, a sip of icy draft beer, then back to the crispy chicken — the combo works so well it's the kind of setup you'll want to remember on days you feel like piemaek (pizza and beer) or chimaek (chicken and beer) near Konkuk Station.

Inside Pizza E Michida, a pizza restaurant near Konkuk University Station

Pizza E Michida Konkuk clearly announces itself as a pizza restaurant from the entrance. When I visited, a big banner for the opening event was posted too, naturally catching the eye of passersby.

There are so many restaurants around Konkuk Station that picking just one menu is hard enough on its own, but that day I wanted both pizza and chicken, so I decided on the half-and-half pizza set.

Pizza is great for sharing, but when everyone has different tastes, choosing just one flavor gets surprisingly tricky. That's where the half-and-half setup really helps. You get to compare two different toppings and flavors within one pie, so it stays interesting down to the last slice.

Rucola garlic shrimp: fresh greens over savory cheese

One half of the half-and-half pizza was rucola garlic shrimp.

A generous pile of green rucola sat on top, making it visually distinct from the other half right away. Fresh rucola over melted cheese lightens up the usually heavy feel of pizza.

The savory cheese flavor is joined by garlic and shrimp, while rucola's fragrant, slightly bitter edge ties it all together at the end. It's a completely different vibe from a meat-heavy pizza.

Especially across several slices, eating a rucola-topped bite every so often made the whole meal feel much fresher.

To finish, the cheese sprinkled on top added plenty of savoriness too. If you like relatively light toppings like shrimp and rucola, this is a solid half to choose.

Philly cheese barbecue steak: heavy on the toppings

The other half was Philly cheese barbecue steak.

Where rucola garlic shrimp looked fresh with its green topping, Philly cheese barbecue steak was clearly heavier. Meat and cheese take the lead, with mushrooms, corn, olives and more toppings catching the eye, plus the color of the barbecue sauce.

The first bite brings a deep hit of cheese and meat flavor, followed by the barbecue sauce's signature sweet-salty taste.

Mushrooms and olives add texture as you chew through, so it's never monotonous. With such generous toppings, even one slice feels quite filling.

Personally, I found it worked well to follow this rich pizza with a bite of rucola garlic shrimp. The two halves have such different characters that choosing half-and-half really paid off.

Crispy boneless fried chicken at Pizza E Michida

Alongside the pizza, the crispy boneless fried chicken we ordered is hard to skip.

It arrived on a big plate together with the wedge potatoes, and the portion looked generous from the moment it landed on the table. The coating had a bumpy texture that looked crispy just to look at.

The first bite delivered that crispy-outside, juicy-inside boneless chicken texture. No bones to pick around meant it was easy to grab a piece between bites of pizza.

A sweet-and-tangy red house sauce came served in the center, so you could enjoy it plain or dipped for a different flavor each way.

If pizza alone feels a little lacking, adding chicken makes the meal much more filling. It's the kind of menu that turns a piemaek night into a chimaek night without you even noticing.

Thick wedge potatoes, dipped deep in the sauce

The wedge potatoes served alongside the boneless chicken got more attention than I expected.

Rather than thin fries, these were thick-cut potato wedges, golden and crispy outside with a fluffy inside. They're seasoned enough to eat plain, but dipping them in sauce made them much softer and richer.

Dipping the wedges deep into the creamy sauce that came with them, the potato's mild flavor paired nicely with the sauce's savoriness.

Among the bold flavors of pizza and chicken, picking up a potato wedge now and then was its own kind of fun — and a great match for draft beer too.

Pickles and two sauces to change up the flavor

Pickles and sauces were served neatly alongside the pizza.

Pickles feel like they'd be missed if left off a pizza order. After a rich bite of cheese-and-barbecue-sauce pizza, one crunchy, tangy pickle cleans the palate right up.

Two sauces were ready — a smooth, creamy one and a darker, richer one — good for dabbing onto the pizza, chicken, or wedge potatoes.

Even the same potato tastes different depending on which sauce you dip into, and the boneless chicken feels different too once you add sauce instead of eating it plain.

Working through a whole pizza plus chicken can get heavy toward the end, but the pickles and sauces kept things varied along the way.

A light crunchy snack on the side

On the table there was also a crispy snack to nibble on.

Thin and crunchy, it's easy to pick at before the pizza arrives or in between other dishes. Unlike the heavier pizza and chicken, this light crunch adds a different kind of enjoyment.

With a cold draft beer beside it, this salty, crispy snack is easy to keep reaching for.

Rather than just the main dishes, having variety on the side — pickles, sauces, potatoes, snacks — made the table feel much richer.

The table warmer that keeps the pizza hot

One thing that caught my eye was the table device for holding the pizza.

Pizza tastes best right when it arrives, with soft cheese and warm dough, but it cools quickly once conversation takes over.

That day, there was a mini stove set into the table to keep the pizza on top and stay warm, so it tasted good all the way to the end.

Especially with a half-and-half pizza, where you go back and forth between two flavors slowly, this setup helped reduce the letdown of the pizza cooling too quickly.

There was no need to rush and eat it hot right away — we could take our time, sipping draft beer between bites.

How generous does a whole Pizza E Michida pie look?

Looking at the finished half-and-half pizza as a whole, the difference between the two menus is obvious at a glance.

On one side, a generous pile of green rucola looks fresh; on the other, meat, mushrooms, olives and more toppings pack the surface densely.

The strength of half-and-half pizza is exactly this contrast.

With rucola garlic shrimp, shrimp and rucola take the lead for a fresher bite; with Philly cheese barbecue steak, cheese and meat lead for a rich, hearty bite.

Eating through one pizza feels like ordering two completely different pies, which makes menu choices much easier when visiting with a group.

500cc draft beer in a mug frozen down to the handle

What stuck with me that day as much as the food was the draft beer.

The 500cc draft beer arrives not in a regular glass mug but in one that's entirely white with frost. Even the handle is frozen solid, so you feel the chill the moment you see it.

A soft head of foam sits on top of the beer, and the chill lingers visibly on the cold mug's surface.

After a bite of warm pizza, taking a sip of this icy draft beer creates a clear contrast in temperature. Especially after a rich, cheesy, meaty bite of Philly cheese barbecue steak, the carbonation and chill clean the palate right up.

It pairs perfectly with the crispy boneless chicken too, of course. It's the kind of combo where you come for piemaek and naturally end up enjoying chimaek as well.

Verdict: half-and-half pizza, chicken and draft beer in one spread

If you're looking for a good spot near Konkuk Station and find it hard to choose between pizza and chicken, it's not a bad idea to do both at one table like at Pizza E Michida Konkuk.

Rucola garlic shrimp was relatively light, its rucola freshness balanced by shrimp and garlic flavor, while Philly cheese barbecue steak was far richer and heartier thanks to its cheese, meat, and varied toppings.

Add in the crispy boneless chicken, thick wedge potatoes, pickles and multiple sauces, and you get to enjoy a much wider range of flavors than just one pizza alone.

The finishing touch, of course, is the 500cc draft beer in a mug frozen solid down to the handle. Alternating between the icy beer, warm pizza, and crispy chicken completes a full spread of both piemaek and chimaek.

If you're looking for a pizza restaurant near Konkuk Station, or want to share several dishes with friends, pairing half-and-half pizza with boneless chicken and a frozen mug of draft beer makes for a pretty satisfying meal.

At Pizza E Michida Konkuk, I enjoyed a half-and-half pizza made of rucola garlic shrimp and Philly cheese barbecue steak, alongside crispy boneless chicken and wedge potatoes. It was fun alternating between the fresh rucola pizza and the rich barbecue steak pizza, and the crispy chicken, various sauces, and pickles made the table feel generous. Most memorable of all was the 500cc draft beer served in a mug frozen white all the way to the handle. Pairing warm pizza and crispy chicken with that icy draft beer made for a great way to enjoy both piemaek and chimaek near Konkuk Station.