Review
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Awesome Original New York Pizza Baked In a Brick Oven Located in Gangnam
written by Pizzajunkie in July 2012
A short while ago I discovered this pizza parlor minutes away from the Gangnam subway station.
I’m a big fan of pizza and have put hundreds of pies in my face in the last 20 years or so.
I worked at several pizza joints and got to know how the good stuff is being made.
So I had my share of bad, mediocre and great pizza and thought nothing could surprise me anymore when it comes to the cheese pie, so I saw this place called Brick Oven Pizza and I thought “I might as well get a pie.”
Not knowing what to expect I ordered one of the, apparently, most popular pies called ‘The Godfather’ which is made with spicy sauce and jalapenos, a portion of buffalo hot wings and a Sprite to wash it down.
While waiting for my disc of delight I had a chat with the owner who explained to me how he invested years abroad to learn how to make pizza by some of the best in the business and only uses fresh, top quality and mostly imported products and brick oven to bake the pizza to pure perfection. His passionate way of speaking made me even more hungry (as if I wasn’t hungry enough ^^).
About 10 minutes later I warmed up my taste buds with the buffalo hot wings.
They were a very delectable appetizer and wouldn’t mind just having a few portions of them by themselves for lunch, but I had to save room for pizza.
So I finished my Sprite, had it refilled and then my pie arrived. It looked very promising.
It was served on a sizzling hot plate with a cup of marinara dipping sauce on the side to dip the crust in in order to enjoy every last bit. I usually leave the crust cuz it mostly just a dry piece of bread, but this crust is so good that it doesn’t deserve the trash bin. It deserves to be devoured.
The pie was topped richly and it was supported by the incredibly crispy crust and sprinkled with Parmesan and oregano.
The cheese and sauce were an equal match and both had a full, balanced flavor.
It was a 14 inch sized couple pie and just a little too much for one person.
They also serve an 18 inch party size good for 3-4 person which is huge and makes me happy just thinking about it.
I ended up taking home 2 left over slices for a quick and easy supper.
I now go back on a regular basis with friends and tried the ‘Rosso Vodka al dente’ that was recommended to me, a very tasty pasta dish and great alternative for those not in the mood for pizza or as a side order.
Oh,I noticed the crowd was mainly Korean-American, but I think that will change as others find out about it^^.
On weekends it’s pretty busy and it can take a little longer than usual before you get your order, but it’s worth waiting for.
The service is good and there are English and Korean speaking waiters.
The atmosphere is nice and cozy. The only thing I would change is the floor, but it’s just a minor detail that doesn’t make the pizza less enjoyable. Anyway I have my 6 senses focused on the food and that’s what it’s all about in my opinion.
Can’t wait for my next visit and try something new.”
***** 5 Stars: One of the finest eats in the city of Seoul (and possibly the world)
$$$ 20-80 USD
Brick Oven New York Pizzeria / 브릭 오븐 뉴역 비자
Yeoksam-dong 617-4, 2nd floor, Seoul
02-508-1325
http://www.facebook.com/BrickOvenPizzaSeoul
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This place has a decent pie, good sausage for the toppings, and they use fresh veggies. The crust and bottom of the pie is extra, extra crispy. The portions are big but they are charging Pizza Hut prices ( 20-30) which makes this place waay overpriced imho… the pizza is good but its no NYC pizza (too crispy). The calimari here is actually pretty good with the marinara dipping sauce and fairly priced. Didnt check out the wings but they look good. Did notice a traditional pizzeria oven, those big wide ones hehe. Overall its a decent pie and they have good appetizers, but overpriced considering there are places like AL Matto’s.
been to Al Matto’s? let me know your thoughts.
its me dkinsk hehe
dkinsk – u are right on bro.
ohhh~~~ what and how is Al Matto’s? ^^ i havent check out that place, but my brother and friends have mentioned Crow’s Nest(?)… but they said they’re never going back there since they found Brick Oven. haha.
as for price, on the first look, i thought the prices were a bit high too. keke.
but then again, when i did my calculation and compared BrickOven to what i get and what others charge (for ex: say, i love CPK, but their pies are really small and That price is waayy overpriced i think), it is actually a rather fair deal? ^^
typically, i go with a group of 4~6, and we order enough cheese pizza + 3~4 appetizers, and we each pay about $12~14 per person, and we’re stuffed. a coworker who came w/ 4 of his friends (korean koreans) said they order the new yorker large, and had 2~3 slices left (i guess their stomach are smaller)
so, on my personal note, i think for $12~14 a person for (1) great food and (2) coming out stuffed… is a decent deal in korea for non-korean food. keke. my 2cents~^^
Price to size ratio, it isn’t too bad of a price, but a little on the expensive side.
Toppings are top notch out of all the pizza joints.
Only opened 2 months ago. And is true to form pizza place in Korea for a NY pie. He uses the right ingredients. I don’t think he has been doing pizza as long as Grimaldi’s to compare. Would say he uses a Brooklyn sauce that is more towards a Sicilian style that may be a tad too sweet for his crust, which is good, but your explanation on the crust is dead on. I was wondering if he rested his dough enough because it was a little on the tough side aka – too crispy. His staff is not trained yet, but that will come later. For Korea though I would give it 4.25 for value vs taste to Al Matto.
Service would give a 1 star – waited over an hour for a take out pie and an order of buffalo wings. After I notified I would be rating the restaurant later. And there were still four empty tables when their staff said they were too busy. (When we walked in only one table was occupied.)
Would say it beats out Al Matto by a hair, but I like Al Matto’s menu better since it suits Korean tastes well so I don’t have to worry about it. But the fact he serves IPA’s and has 3 beer selections that is hard to find in Korea a very forgiving factor. The final beer choice was Bud, which spoke to me about the passion this NY pizzaiolo along with his selection of ingredients.
Service also forgot an order of buffalo wings. And not all the servers speak fluent Korean which is bad for Korean clientele.
I am going to visit. owner beware. too close to me to not visit, though I am annoyed that certain days they are closed.
i asked about that too, keke, seems they are closed on the 3rd Monday of each month (owner said so that he can give at least one day off for the workers ^^)
dear sake,
i have a correction to my reply, keke ^^
i came by today, and asked the owner about the closed days.
unfortunately (or fortunately?^^) they’ve been having an UP in business but staff is limited and he still needs some time to get enough people trained for proper rotation to happen.
so until august (or end of august), the restaurant will be CLOSED on EVERY MONDAY (until further notice). ^^ let’s hope he get’s a good staff trained up to speed soon~!
Yeah I hope!! Staff is what is killing them. Not product.
that’s fo sho~! man, i’m getting hungry reading this post again… will be making a stop over tomorrow~! haha
:’)
Have to disagree with the review here.
1. This place claims to be NY style pizza but it’s not even remotely close. NY style pizza is much longer, has orange grease oozing out of it, and is salty as hell. These are puny and have some spicy kick to it. Again, it’s not even close.
2. This was the by far the SOGGIEST pizza I ever ate in my life. I folded a slice and, I kid you not, sauce squirted and splattered all over the box and my hand. The pizza was just drenched in watery sauce.
3. A medium pie, 6 slices, that could feed two, was 31,000 won. It was 5,000 won per puny slice.
There was a decent flavor and the toppings were plentiful. But for the price there is absolutely no way I’m coming back to this place.