Weekday lunch pizza and pasta combo at Extra Mile, Gwangalli, Busan

A new pizza and pasta restaurant in Gwangalli: Extra Mile

After hearing about Free Will Pizza and Pickles, both famous in Jeonpo-dong, I heard a new Western-style restaurant had opened in Gwangalli too, so I went to check it out — Extra Mile! It's a brand-new spot that's only just opened but already seems to have built up some buzz. There's apparently a wait on weekends, and even though I went on an early weekday lunch, customers kept streaming in the whole time I was eating.

Wood-toned interior and seating

The exterior already looked stylish and pretty, and the inside was just as clean, built mainly around wood tones. The overall vibe was warm yet sophisticated — it would suit a date or a first meeting in Gwangalli really well.

There's a bar table as well as seating for larger groups, so it looked good whether you're coming as a couple or with a bigger crowd.

It felt clean and unpretentious enough to work well for a weekday lunch appointment, gathering, or even a young professionals' meetup in Gwangalli.

The menu and ordering the Classic Combo

The table was already neatly set when we arrived! And they had crayons and paper ready for coloring while waiting for food, which was so cute haha.

The menu was mostly pizza, pasta, and sides, and there were set menus too. There were two of us, so we ordered the Classic Combo. You can get the pizza half-and-half, so we picked birria taco + potato, and for pasta we went with the bisque cream pasta. Being able to get pizza and pasta together made the set perfect for two people!

The pickles came out first, and instead of the usual sour, heavily brined style, they were light and refreshing! Eating one between bites of pizza or pasta cleaned up my palate nicely.

Can't forget the beer and cola haha. The Budweiser draft was ₩5,000 in particular, which made it easy to order alongside the pizza without worrying about the bill!

Birria taco + potato half-and-half pizza

The pizza arrived looking delicious from the first glance! The size was just right for two of us to share alongside the pasta too.

I really love pizza and have tried a lot of different kinds, but I'd never seen a potato pizza like this one! The potato pizza apparently uses dubaek potatoes from Gangwon-do. Thin potato slices are laid underneath, and crispy, almost fried-looking potato shreds are piled on top. Eating the soft potato and crunchy shreds together made for a really great texture.

There was also a savory quality, almost like eating a cream pasta in pizza form. The crunch of the potato shreds on top was especially my thing! Since it's far from a typical potato pizza, I'd especially recommend it to anyone looking for a standout pizza spot in Gwangalli.

The birria taco pizza was also a really unique dish — it felt like a mashup of tacos and pizza, with nacho chips piled on top adding even more crunch! I'm honestly not a big cilantro fan, but the amount here wasn't overdone, so it actually added a nice savory depth instead. If you like cilantro or Mexican food in general, you'd love this one!

Bisque cream pasta topped with gamtae

The bisque cream pasta came out too! Honestly, bisque sauce plus cream pasta is a combo that's hard to make taste bad haha.

There were plump shrimp in it, and gamtae (dried seaweed flakes) on top added a subtle ocean scent! With the rich shrimp flavor of the bisque plus the gamtae aroma, eating it in Gwangalli somehow made it feel even more like the sea haha.

Even though it's a cream sauce, it wasn't too heavy or greasy, so it was easy to eat alongside the pizza without feeling weighed down. It was thick yet the shrimp's savory flavor really came through, making the pasta satisfying too!

How was it as a lunch or date spot in Gwangalli?

Extra Mile isn't just a new spot with a pretty interior — the pizza and pasta menu itself has real character, which made it stick in my memory even more. The pizzas especially weren't the usual kind I know, but some kind of different, delicious combination, which I loved. The clean atmosphere also makes it great for a date or a first meeting, and it worked well for a weekday lunch in Gwangalli too! Above all, the staff were kind, so I had a pleasant time the whole meal.

There are also plenty of cafés and things to see nearby, so the flow works well for eating here and then heading on to other hot spots or cafés. If you're looking for a Gwangalli Western-food spot with a good atmosphere, or a slightly different pizza spot in Gwangalli, I'd recommend Extra Mile!