Pizza-and-beer date pub in Bangi-dong with outdoor tables: Hope So

As a born-and-bred Seoulite, I wanted an outdoor-drinking-vibe date before it gets any hotter, but the crowds in Jongno scared me, haha (I'm not a big fan of crowded places..). Then I found Hope So, a great Bangi-dong spot! The pizza and pasta are tasty and it's perfect for a glass of beer, so I especially recommend it if you want somewhere for a date : )

Where is Hope So, and what about parking and hours?

Hope So is at 21 Wiryeseong-daero 18-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, a short walk from Bangi Station. It's open from 4 PM to 1 AM and closed every Sunday.

If you're driving, you can park right in front of Hope So (like the car in the photo above, right at the front). If there's no spot, you'll have to use a nearby paid parking lot!

Inside Hope So: atmosphere and seating

Hope So uses an entire building, so the ceilings are high, and there are 1st and 2nd floor seats plus tables that stick out slightly onto the street. I fell for the high ceiling the moment I walked in : )

A whole building as a Bangi-dong hotspot was exactly my taste T_T

The seats on the 1st and 2nd floors each had their own charm, but we wanted that outdoor-drinking feel, so we took a table slightly out on the street, heh heh

Is Hope So crowded on weekend evenings?

It was a weekend, but we came in the early evening, so at first there was a moderate number of customers and later it was almost full! (If you're coming for a gathering or company dinner, definitely book ahead, haha) Even so, thanks to the large space and high ceiling, it didn't feel loud at all, which was great!

What we ordered at Hope So and the prices

We ordered the four items below at Hope So. They came out without a long wait, and I was full of excitement over today's menu, yay!

• Margherita ₩22,000
• Gambas pasta ₩19,000
• Stella Artois 400ml ₩8,000
• Kozel Dark (cinnamon) 500ml ₩8,000

That's roughly the price range overall, so keep it in mind!

The point here is that we sipped our beers before the mains arrived ^.^ The staff were all so kind and the beer tasted great, so we kept wondering how much better it would be with the mains, hehe

How is the Hope So margherita?

The Hope So margherita (₩22,000) has an amazing tomato and cheese collaboration! The dough was fluffy with a nice medium thickness, and above all, as someone who loves pizza and beer T.T I thought, this is truly the Bangi-dong pizza place. If you're coming on a date like us, please order a pizza. It's a must ^.^

If you ask the staff at Hope So, they'll also bring Tabasco hot sauce and Parmesan cheese, so top it to your taste and it gets even more delicious~!

What style is the Hope So gambas pasta?

The Hope So gambas pasta (₩19,000) is an oil pasta generously loaded with seafood and finished slightly dry. As an oil pasta lover, I had a happy dilemma over what to order and settled on the gambas! I like this style better than the soupy-oil kind, so I ate it with heart eyes, hehe

Beer at Hope So: cinnamon Kozel Dark and the complimentary snack

Hope So is open from 4 PM to 1 AM, so it's also a perfect spot for all kinds of gatherings and company dinners. And it'd be a shame to go without good beer, right?! What I picked first was the Kozel Dark!

They sprinkle on plenty of cinnamon, which adds a sweetness to the dark beer flavor. Yay!

Hope So also gives you pretzels as a complimentary snack, so they're great to nibble on with your beer, om nom nom, until the mains arrive.

Who I'd recommend Hope So to

My husband and I had our date at Hope So, then headed to Olympic Park for a walk. We plan to go again.

• People looking for a place with pizza, pasta and pizza-and-beer
• People looking for a date spot that pairs well with Olympic Park
• People who also want that outdoor-drinking vibe