Gwangalli pizzeria solo lunch, whole pizza & white ragu: Extra Mile

I went to Gwangalli because I wanted to stare at the sea (what Koreans call "mulmeong", zoning out at the water), and I had lunch at a pizza hotspot, Extra Mile (엑스트라마일). So why is the cover photo a pasta? There are tons of pasta shapes, but this one was an unusual noodle, and I wanted to show it off. I finished that and the pizza too, and I was honestly surprised by the size of my own stomach. Western food usually gets old fast for me and I eat very little, so I'm happy to have found a place where that doesn't happen.

Where is Extra Mile in Gwangalli, and what are its hours?

Extra Mile is an 8-minute walk from Gwangan Station Exit 5, open 11:00-21:00 (no break time, last order 20:00). You can reserve through Naver and Catch Table.

It's about the same distance from the nearest bus stops, and it's close to Gwangalli Beach, so it was easy to stop by on the way to the water. They're open from morning to night, and I heard the mood changes in the evening, but when I went at midday I liked the natural light and the wood-tone interior. It was a weekend and pretty crowded, so I took photos when people had left. A lot of couples seemed to come on dates. Oh, and there's no parking lot of its own, so use a nearby private or public lot.

Extra Mile's exterior and seating

Extra Mile is a clean, white-toned Western restaurant made from a converted house. I couldn't see a sign and went by the map. If you spot a suspiciously tidy place, that's it.

Only the first floor is in use right now, and you'll find a Catch Table waitlist at the entrance. If nobody's waiting, you can just walk in.

Seating is 5 bar seats plus plenty of 2-4 person tables, and they can be pushed together, so it looked good for groups too. There's a coat rack at the entrance, so people with jackets or bags can store them easily.

Open kitchen, coloring sheets and draft beer at Extra Mile

The kitchen is open and airy, yet oddly the food smell only starts to reach the front once the dishes are being served. Each seat is already set, and there are coloring sheets laid out so you don't get bored while waiting. They also pour draft beer, and even at lunchtime plenty of people ordered it. I hear it goes great with pizza, and this is when I regret not drinking.

The restroom is outside the restaurant, separate for men and women, and kept clean. When you lock it, use both the hook and the button.

Extra Mile menu: does half-and-half pizza cost extra?

I like that the menu is simple: sets, pizzas, pastas and sides. I ordered the Classic Combo, and I was glad there's no extra charge even if you split the pizza half-and-half.

Every ingredient is listed on the menu, so I could order without worrying about allergies. People call it a Gwangalli pizza hotspot, and some unusual items caught my eye, so I went half birria taco, half potato.

What kind of noodle comes with Extra Mile's white ragu pasta?

The white ragu pasta came out first, and it isn't the usual long thin noodle. It looks like a lasagna sheet cut into quarters. I was told to mix it up, and as I stirred and the steam rose, I thought, great choice of restaurant. The beef ragu sauce was really good, and I almost scraped up the leftovers but held myself back.

How does the birria taco and potato half-and-half pizza taste?

The pizza is Extra Mile's main dish, and I got one side birria taco pizza and the other potato. Half-and-half just looks nice.

The potato pizza is topped with potato chips and fried bits, so it's not your ordinary potato pizza, and the server recommended picking it up and eating it rather than cutting it. The birria taco pizza was unusual too and fun to eat, and maybe because the crust edge is crisp outside and chewy inside, it really did feel like a taco. Also, when I eat this much alone the pizza usually goes cold and the edges get bad, but that didn't happen here. I can see why it's a Gwangalli pizza hotspot.

A whole pizza and a pasta solo: where to next in Gwangalli?

So I cleanly finished a whole pizza and a pasta by myself at Extra Mile. There are also prop shops and a café street nearby, plus Gwangalli Beach, so it would work as a date course too. I ate, then sea-gazed, and next time I'd like to visit in the evening to see what the mood is like.