Hapjeong pizza: Beef vs Corn Brown half-and-half at Pizza Never Sleeps

Where is Pizza Never Sleeps Hapjeong-Sangsu?

Pizza Never Sleeps Hapjeong-Sangsu (피자네버슬립스 합정상수점) is a Hongdae-area pizza place on the 4th floor of a building between the two stations: a 5-minute walk from Hapjeong Station Exit 6 and a 7-minute walk from Sangsu Station Exit 1. It's very popular for its special pizzas you can't get anywhere else, so I waited in line before getting in.

What about parking if you drive?

There's no parking lot of its own, so you'll need to use the Hapjeong 1 or Hapjeong 2 public parking lots (₩6,000 per hour). Honestly, the paid lots are often full. So I recommend parking on the street in the nearby alleys. Around Hapjeong there are lots of wide alleys and closed-up buildings, so street parking is pretty easy.

Pizza Never Sleeps Hapjeong-Sangsu: atmosphere and opening hours

The inner part of the restaurant has a great vibe overall, and since it's on the 4th floor, the night view is nice too. Opening hours are Sun–Thu 12:00–23:00 and Fri–Sat 12:00–24:00, so keep that in mind.

What's special on the Pizza Never Sleeps menu?

Among the many pizzas on the menu, the highlights are signatures you can only get at Never Sleeps, like Chicken/Beef Never Sleeps, Minari Gochujang Pork Belly pizza and Corn Brown pizza. The drinks list is also pretty varied, with draft beer, bottled beer and liqueurs, so it's a great place to come just for a drink. Every pizza can be made half-and-half, and you can choose between regular and large.

• Beef Never Sleeps / Corn Brown (half-and-half, regular)
• Red Rock draft beer (with cream)
• Coke Zero

Jalapeño kimchi comes as a free side

The free sides were two dipping sauces for the pizza, hot sauce, and jalapeño kimchi. I'd always thought a pizza place should serve kimchi as a side, but this is the first place I've seen that actually does..!! There's a self-service bar too, but it has no sauces or sides, just water, wet wipes and hygiene gloves.

How is the Red Rock draft beer with added cream?

I added fresh cream (+₩1,000) to the Red Rock draft beer, and the cream comes out way better than I expected. The beer and drinks arrived before the main pizza, and since the beer's carbonation melts the cream, you eat the cream on top first. I wanted pizza and beer with draft too, but I drove again today, so I settled for a Coke Zero..

Beef Never Sleeps vs Corn Brown: half-and-half taste comparison

The pizza I ordered was a regular-size half-and-half of Beef Never Sleeps and Corn Brown. The pizza looks seriously impressive..

Corn Brown pizza: the ultimate mild pizza

Corn Brown pizza has corn as a topping, with brown cheese and cream cheese on top. It's kind of the ultimate mild pizza. These days it's trendy to eat pizza all dainty, cutting it with a knife like steak and dipping it in sauce.

Beef Never Sleeps: fire-grilled flavor, heat level 2

Beef Never Sleeps is a little spicy, and the meat on top has a fire-grilled flavor mixed in, so it's a pizza that hits my taste exactly. Its heat level is 2, so it counts as mildly spicy, and it's tastiest when you add hot sauce and put jalapeños on top for the ultimate spicy version. Anyway, forget being dainty, the best way to eat pizza is to chomp it down by hand in two bites. No time to cut it with a knife;; One slice of pizza is supposed to be finished in two bites.

Verdict: Beef Never Sleeps wins by a landslide

Eating pizza in a frenzy like that, my girlfriend and I finished it in 10 minutes flat. The waiting in line plus waiting for the pizza took about 20 minutes, and we inhaled it;; Corn Brown has brown cheese on top of cream cheese, so it was a little rich, but Beef Never Sleeps, with its strong fire-grilled flavor and mild heat, was personally a really delicious pizza.

Corn Brown vs Beef Never Sleeps: Beef Never Sleeps wins by a landslide

Pizza Never Sleeps Hapjeong-Sangsu has a great atmosphere and special pizzas, so I highly recommend it as a Hongdae pizza spot near Hapjeong Station and Sangsu Station that's also great for drinking.