Suwon pizza restaurant, cream cheese and honey: The European Gwanggyo

I'm completely obsessed with wood-fired pizza these days, haha. I want to eat every wood-fired pizza in the world at this point. While wandering around Gwanggyo Lake Park, I heard there was a wood-fired pizza spot run by a chef who used to work at the Shilla Hotel, so off I went to The European Gwanggyo.

The European Gwanggyo: address and opening hours

• 📍 26 Centralpark-ro 128beon-gil, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Hours: 11:00–21:30
• Parking available — spaces in front of the restaurant plus street parking

Where to park near Gwanggyo Lake Park

I wondered where on earth I'd park, but it turns out there's space for about 3–4 cars right in front of the restaurant, and honestly everyone just parks along the street, so parking really isn't a big worry here.

Cars parked bumper to bumper, just like you'd expect at a well-known spot near Gwanggyo Lake Park. We couldn't park directly in front, so we went a little further back and parked there instead. The neighborhood has such a quiet vibe that the walk back to the car felt like a nice little stroll — loved it.

Inside The European Gwanggyo: is it good for a first date?

The interior of The European Gwanggyo. Wow, what even is this space. There's a spacious hall down a half-flight of stairs, and you can also go upstairs — the second floor seemed to be the main level, so we headed up. True to the name 'The European,' this place really does feel European. Even the staircase has a slightly curved feel, and with all the framed pictures on the walls, it felt like walking into some grand palace, haha.

And there it is — a grand, ornate interior with chandeliers scattered everywhere. It has such a restaurant-date atmosphere that I thought it'd be perfect for a blind date, and sure enough, the table behind us seemed to be on one too. We sat at a window seat, and it kept that same quiet, calm village feeling I'd noticed on the walk over, which made it even better.

The tableware is so pretty too, haha. The cups, plates, and even the spoons, forks, and knives are all gorgeous. I love this kind of detail so much.

The two dishes ordered at The European Gwanggyo

We ordered the quattro formaggi hamon pizza and the truffle cream homemade gnocchi. You order through the tablet at each table.

1. Quattro formaggi jamón pizza with cream cheese and honey

I genuinely agonized over the pizza choice, haha. Every name on the menu sounded delicious, so I kept deliberating the whole way there and even after we sat down, and this was the one I finally picked. I haven't tried the others, but I think I picked really well. It's seriously so good.

A cheese-based pizza topped with thinly sliced hamon (Spanish cured ham). On top of that is this fluffy-looking cream cheese-like topping, but it's actually really thick, so you need to scoop it up with a spoon. It's a bit sweet, making a sweet-and-salty combo with the pizza that's an absolute win. The dough is soft and chewy too — eating pizza + the cream cheese on top + honey together is pure bliss.

2. Truffle cream homemade gnocchi with a poached egg

I'd already decided on this one before we even arrived, because I've been craving cream gnocchi lately, haha. Cream gnocchi, but truffle? Say no more, I was in. And it turned out to be a great choice. Chewy gnocchi + button mushrooms + potato, and a poached egg right in the center.

Are you kidding me — how do they get the poached egg this good. Popping it and dipping into the runny yolk in the middle was so delicious. A lot of gnocchi dishes these days are just cream sauce and gnocchi and that's it, but this one is packed with extra ingredients too, which I loved. You can mix and match combinations as you eat! The truffle aroma was especially strong and the cream was thick, which made me so happy.

Is The European Gwanggyo worth a visit?

The wood-fired pizza at The European Gwanggyo really made me understand what that 'chef from the Shilla Hotel' title means. I think I'll be thinking about that cream cheese(?) forever, and the pizza dough was so soft that even the crust edges tasted amazing. We ate until we were full and then walked around Gwanggyo Lake Park — the perfect course for this kind of weather.