Paldang pizza with mountain-and-river views: Pibing

I crossed Paldang Bridge on a weekday for a drive toward Namyangju, then had pizza and pasta in Paldang. This time I visited Pibing Paldang Branch (피빙 팔당점). With its exotic, surf-inspired atmosphere and both pizza and pasta on the menu, it made a nice stop on a drive just outside Seoul. Best of all, the weekday couples’ set means you can have pizza, pasta, and two drinks for ₩39,900, so it is great value too.

Pibing Paldang Branch location and parking

It is at 159 Paldang-ro, Wabu-eup, Namyangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. It is open daily from 12:00 to 23:00, until 22:00 on Sundays, and closed every Monday and Tuesday. Parking is available, the restrooms are separate for men and women, and pets are welcome.

Pibing is a pizza restaurant in Paldang where you can enjoy pizza along with pasta and drinks. It suits Paldang’s signature driving atmosphere perfectly.

Surf-inspired props and décor are dotted throughout, giving it a slightly different feel from an ordinary pizza place.

Make a reservation and visit by car

I recommend making a reservation before you visit. The set-menu options are explained clearly too, so it would be good to check them in advance.

Paldang is a popular driving destination, so you will probably be arriving by car. There was plenty of parking space beside the restaurant, which made visiting with a car convenient.

Surf-themed exterior and second-floor space

Follow Paldang-ro with your navigation on, and you will find Pibing. The exterior blends into the surrounding scenery, while surf- and bike-inspired details throughout give it a distinctive feeling right from the start.

A large sign for the new Surfers Pizza was posted by the stairs up to the entrance, so the menu caught my eye before I even went in. Since it was what I was about to try, I found myself looking forward to it even more.

It is a pet-friendly restaurant, so it is a good option for guests with pets. Just keep in mind that pets need to be in a carrier or stroller!

Once inside, surf-themed props immediately catch your eye. Paldang is a popular driving destination, and although I came for pizza, it also felt a little like I had arrived somewhere on a trip.

It felt like a space that would suit people who had driven to Paldang on their bikes, or anyone taking a casual outing for some fresh air outside Seoul.

After ordering on the first floor, I headed up to the second. Even the stairs and hallway were too atmospheric to just pass by. Framed surf illustrations hang here and there, making the restaurant concept flow naturally through the space.

The restrooms are also separated by gender, which was convenient. They were kept clean inside too, so they felt hygienic. The slightly dim lighting suited the overall atmosphere nicely.

Before going up to the second-floor dining room, I took a quick look at the rooftop. The Han River and mountains spread out in front of me, together with the road below, and it really made me feel like I was on a drive. Smoking is allowed on the rooftop, and on a nice day it would be lovely to eat there with the open view.

Up on the second floor, there was even a space styled like a DJ booth on one side, which gave it a slight pub-like feeling where you could enjoy music too.

Near the kitchen was an area for preparing and picking up or returning drinks and beer. A separate low-temperature beer cellar also caught my attention.

The interior was decorated in warm wood tones overall, making it feel comfortable. From the window seats, you could take in the river and mountains at a glance, so it was nice to enjoy the scenery while eating. Most tables seated four or six, but joining tables together looked like it could make group seating too.

True to its pet-friendly status, there were dedicated chairs for dogs as well. They were made to match table height, so they seemed useful when dining with your dog.

Weekday couples’ set menu and ordering

You can order and pay at the kiosk on the first floor. The two owners were so kind; when I was fumbling around in front of the kiosk, they kindly explained everything too.

Pibing has pizza, pasta, and a variety of drinks, and you can also order half-and-half pizza to choose flavors according to your taste. I especially recommend the weekday couples’ set if you visit on a weekday. It includes one pizza, one pasta, and two drinks for ₩39,900, which felt like a very good-value meal for two.

There was also quite a variety of beers to choose from. Pibing Maek, available only at Pibing, particularly stood out. They say it is a snow-beer style drink, with finely shaved frozen beer piled on top of draft beer, so it is a fun alternative to regular draft beer. Its unusual look made me want to try it next time.

They were also running a receipt-review event. Write a review and you can receive a drink or one glass of Red Rock draft beer, so it was easy enough to join in.

The self-service bar had tableware, hot sauce, Parmesan cheese powder, jalapeños, pickles, and more. It was handy to add sauces or sides to suit your taste while eating pizza.

We got ourselves ready to eat before the food came out.

Surfers Pizza and truffle mushroom cream pasta

For this visit, we ordered the Surfers Pizza, truffle button mushroom cream pasta, an iced Americano, and Zero Coke as the weekday couples’ set. The drinks came on a cute wooden tray. Even that small detail suited the restaurant atmosphere, so it was fun to look at.

This is the new Surfers Pizza. I was told it was inspired by a pizza Australian surfers often enjoy. After taking a surfing trip to Australia recently, they recreated a pizza they had enjoyed there with Pibing’s own special sauce.

It was generously topped with fresh arugula, making it look very appetizing too. The fragrant, pleasantly bitter flavor unique to arugula went well with the pizza, and the toppings and sauce made for an interesting combination.

Personally, the truffle button mushroom cream pasta was my favorite of everything I ate. Unlike ordinary spaghetti, the noodles were thick and curly, giving them an unusual texture. The rich, thick cream sauce with button mushrooms and truffle aroma came together for a full-bodied, refined flavor.

The owners also told us that it was delicious to dip the pizza in the pasta sauce, or to put the pasta on top of the pizza.

It reminded me of the pizza-with-pasta-on-top combination from Ipjjalbeun Haennim and Yoo Jae-suk, so I tried it right away. It worked better than I expected, and this combination was quite tasty too.

The Pibing weekday couples’ set I tried included pizza, pasta, and two drinks for ₩39,900, so I thought it was a good-value option for two. The mountain-and-river view outside and the exotic surf-inspired interior made it more than just a meal, so I recommend it if you are looking for a good Paldang restaurant to stop at during a drive outside Seoul. If you would like pizza and pasta together in Paldang, give Pibing a try.