Yongin weekday lunch pizzeria: Extra Margherita at Bonaricetta

I was looking for somewhere to have lunch with my parents when I heard about a wood-fired pizza spot in Cheoin-gu, Yongin, so I rushed right over. I love pizza in general and tend to seek out places that are supposed to be good, and this time, since I was eating with my parents, I picked a spot known for the real deal in wood-fired pizza!

From the freshly baked, chewy-dough pizza to the pasta, everything was exactly my style, and I ate really well. Even though I went on a weekday lunch, the seats filled up fast — it's clearly a popular place. Let me introduce Bonaricetta (보나리체타).

Where is Bonaricetta, and how long is the weekday lunch wait?

Bonaricetta is a Cheoin-gu, Yongin restaurant located near HUFS (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies). Thanks to the red lettering on a black background, it was easy to spot from far away and easy to find. Parking is right in front of the building, so it was convenient to drive there too.

Inside, the space was decorated with brick and wood tones, split into table seats and bar seats. We went right at weekday lunch opening time, but by the time we were eating, the tables had already filled up. By the time we finished and left, there were even people waiting — so I realized this is a well-known place with a wait even on weekdays.

Ordering is done via kiosk, and I ordered the extra margherita pizza with basil and the shrimp aglio e olio.

Third place nationally in a Naples pizza competition, and the 72-hour dough

Near the entrance there was a banner and trophy showing the restaurant placed third nationally at a Naples pizza competition. I'd been searching around for somewhere to eat lunch with my parents and got curious when I saw this, which is how I ended up here — seeing it in person made me look forward to the pizza even more.

Off to one side, I could also see the Italian flour used to make the wood-fired pizzas. Bonaricetta in Yongin says it uses only Italian flour, hand-kneaded fresh every day and then cold-fermented for 72 hours to make the dough.

Once an order comes in, they start making it right away, and since it's an open space, I could watch the whole kneading process.

Watching them stretch the dough out right in front of me, I was surprised at how quickly the pizza dough came together. Their hands were seriously fast! Something about their movements just looked different — no wonder they placed third nationally at the pizza competition.

Onto the freshly rounded dough, they spread tomato sauce, piled on plenty of cheese and toppings, then put it straight into the wood-fired oven. Watching the whole process — from kneading to topping to baking, not just eating the finished pizza — made my expectations even bigger that I'd found the real deal in wood-fired pizza.

Shrimp aglio e olio at Bonaricetta: big, plump shrimp

Bonaricetta's shrimp aglio e olio came out first while the wood-fired pizza was baking. It looked pretty piled high on the plate, but what caught my eye most were the big, chunky shrimp!

I love oil-based pasta in general and always order it if it's on the menu. This Cheoin-gu, Yongin restaurant's aglio e olio was pretty generous in portion, and it had plenty of sliced garlic too.

It's best eaten warm right away, so I twirled some onto my fork the moment it arrived and took a bite. Even though it's an oil-based sauce, it wasn't greasy at all — the garlic came through with a real savory punch, so good. Mixed in with the cherry tomatoes here and there, it added a fresh touch that worked really well together.

And the shrimp were genuinely huge. Not fried shrimp or small cocktail shrimp, but several plump, thick shrimp packed in, so the texture was great too.

Extra Margherita pizza: the dough is the real star

While we were eating the pasta, the extra margherita pizza arrived too. Fresh out of the wood-fired oven, it had appetizingly charred edges and a center piled generously with cheese and basil. The smell that hit as soon as it arrived made me think, this place is really the real thing.

The dough itself had a lot of moisture, so instead of being dry or stiff, it was soft and moist. Combined with the soft cheese, the moistness came through even more with every bite.

I tried a slice of the freshly baked wood-fired pizza — the basil aroma really came through, along with savory cheese and tomato sauce, totally my style. Since it's not a pizza loaded with excessive toppings, the flavors of the dough and each individual ingredient came through even more clearly, which I personally loved.

What I liked most about the pizza at Bonaricetta in Yongin was the dough! I tore off a bite-sized piece by hand, and you could see the layers inside as it tore apart chewily — amazing. I usually don't eat the crust end of pizza, but here, maybe because the wood-fired pizza is the real deal, I ended up eating it all the way to the end.

Final verdict on lunch at Bonaricetta with my parents

Bonaricetta was a Cheoin-gu, Yongin restaurant I found in a rush to grab a meal with my parents, and it exceeded expectations! The pasta was solidly good, and the wood-fired pizza was truly the real deal — even now, days after visiting, I still keep thinking about the place. If you want chewy pizza near HUFS in Yongin, keep this one in mind and pay a visit!