Weekday lunch terrace brunch in Pangyo: ciabatta sandwich, Eight Years

The weather was so nice I decided to have a relaxed brunch at Eight Years. This is a place I always wanted to try whenever I walked past the kids' park nearby — already word-of-mouth famous in the neighborhood as a brunch spot. My partner, who loves brunch, has wanted to come, but their last order is 3pm, so we kept missing it. Finally had a reason to be in Pangyo on a weekday for lunch, so we went straight away.

Can you reserve a terrace seat at Eight Years Pangyo?

Terrace seating at Eight Years Pangyo can't be reserved on Naver — only indoor seats can. During weekday lunch peak hours, both indoor and terrace seating fill up almost completely, so if you want the terrace, you just have to show up early.

The space is bigger and roomier than it looks from outside, so both indoor and terrace seating are fairly generous, but during lunch peak it was nearly full. If you're the planning type, book indoor seating on Naver in advance. Terrace seats can't be reserved, so you just have to be quick. My partner barely snagged the last terrace table, haha.

Kiosk ordering, with water and pickles self-serve

At Eight Years Pangyo, you pick your menu at the table and then order at the kiosk. If you're seated on the terrace, you need to grab a buzzer separately, and food is picked up directly at the pickup counter.

I loved that the system lets you take your time picking a menu at the table and then order at the kiosk — perfect for people like us who like to read the whole menu carefully. Just remember terrace seats need to grab a buzzer separately!

Once the food's ready, you just grab it from the pickup counter, and water and pickles being self-serve was actually convenient. We ordered a lot so I expected a long wait, but everything came out faster than they told us, which was great. And best of all, everything arrived at once.

Even hastily snapped photos taken while starving came out looking this pretty — brunch spot, vibe spot, and photo spot all in one. Honestly I was so hungry I just took quick shots and dug in, but the table next to us was taking really composed, deliberate photos, and when I peeked, it basically looked like Coupang Eats menu photography. I almost asked them to AirDrop me the shots for the blog.

Pork mozzarella tomato rigatoni

The dish that looked most like the signature menu at Eight Years Pangyo was the pork mozzarella tomato rigatoni. It's rigatoni pasta with pork belly mixed in and a heap of cheese piled on top.

There were so many tempting items on the menu that I agonized for a while before landing on the rigatoni since it seemed like the signature dish — and with that much cheese piled on, how could it not be good? Rigatoni tubes with pork belly inside, topped with cheese. My partner doesn't usually eat carbs right after working out, but they ate this happily and said it was delicious, which made me weirdly proud. Highly recommend.

Chicken salad: why are there so many toppings?

The Eight Years chicken salad has more toppings than vegetables, which made it a great side to pair with the pasta and sandwich. The dressing was seasoned just right, and the vegetables were fresh.

I ordered the salad worried that pasta and sandwich alone might not be enough. Usually salads come with a small amount of topping and a lot of vegetables, but here they give you so much topping — thank you. I didn't expect much since a salad is a salad, right, but the vegetables were really fresh and the dressing was seasoned perfectly. The toppings were so generous that my partner now says they want to eat salad here every time after working out.

Ham bacon ciabatta sandwich, best cut in half

The Eight Years ham bacon ciabatta sandwich lets you choose between halves or quarters when ordering. The filling is so generous that halves actually seemed easier to eat.

My partner insisted before we even arrived that we had to try the sandwich, and once I saw the foreign visitors at the table across from us devouring theirs, I was convinced this was a sandwich spot — and yep, it truly is. I liked that you could choose halves or quarters from the start, but the filling was so hearty that halves seemed easier to manage. If this were near my office, I'd buy an Eight Years sandwich every lunch.

Who Eight Years Pangyo is best for

Eight Years Pangyo gives really generous portions for the price, making it especially good for big eaters. Last order is 3pm on both weekdays and weekends, so plan to go in the morning through lunch, and dogs are only allowed on the terrace.

Since the portions are so large relative to the price, I'd strongly recommend it to people like us who eat a lot and love food. I heard the owner sources ingredients from Garak Market daily, and the salad and sandwich in particular tasted especially fresh — thumbs up. On nice-weather days, I find myself coming back to Baekhyeon-dong more and more often. All the good brunch spots in Pangyo seem to be gathered right here. The terrace exists for weather like this, so head to Eight Years before it gets cold.