[Ilsan Restaurant] Popolo Pizza - Ilsan’s Best Wood-Fired Pizza Spot. The Legendary Jeongbalsan Station Judicial Research and Training Institute Naples Pizza, Blue Ribbon Survey, and Yet-another-visit Restaurant. A 2-Hour Wait Is the Norm!!

Baekwonjang’s rating ★★★★★

Hello.

I’m Baekwonjang’s food Michelin guide.

Last time, I visited KDX 2025 and introduced a famous wood-fired pizza spot in Songdo!

The wood-fired pizza was delicious, but overall, the pasta was also tasty.

It was delicious, but somehow I thought it was just a little hard to give it a full 5 stars..!!...

So this time, I went to the legendary wood-fired pizza restaurant in Ilsan.

Popolo Pizza

I think it’s been about 5 years since I first came here. Since the Judicial Research and Training Institute is nearby, it’s practically a given that lawyers from my generation who graduated from there all know this place!

It also has nearly 10,000 Naver reviews, so give it a try and trust the hype!

Location: 102, 103, 43-20 Jeongbalsan-ro, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do

Parking: 2 hours free in the parking lot.

Having gone through elementary, middle, and high school in Sanbon, a first-generation new town, the layout of most large commercial buildings in Ilsan feels very familiar to me.

This wood-fired pizza restaurant is located on the first floor along the road of a typical large commercial building in a neatly planned new town.

If you’re taking Subway Line 3, get off at Jeongbalsan Station Exit 1 and walk a short distance.

There is one issue: the break time is 15:30-17:00.

You have to join the queue through Catch Table, and even if you wait right at 17:00... the default wait is 2 hours.

We didn’t do on-site waiting; this was a review based on waiting only through Catch Table.

The parking lot is in the basement of the building, and there is surprisingly plenty of space.

Please note that the free parking time is quite strict.

The rating on the Siksin app

This is one of the top-tier restaurants in the Ilsan area.

It has 2 stars, and the rating is 3.8. The wood-fired pizza is really, really famous, so I think it’s perfectly fine for two people to come and order two pizzas.

Since my wife and I were already repeat visitors, we ordered one pasta, one pizza, and a light appetizer!

Exterior

Popolo Pizza before sunset.

This is the view around 7 p.m., when we went in, but there were actually even more people outside when we came out after eating.

If a place is doing this well, it’d be nice if they expanded a bit more..!.. It’s so famous, and so crowded, that I felt it really is a place that’s hard to get into even once.

The Blue Ribbon Survey stickers and MangoPlate popular restaurant stickers on the outside make it easy to see just how famous this place is. It’s a well-known Ilsan wood-fired pizza restaurant with 2 stars on the Siksin app!

Interior

There are so many staff members inside near the oven that the space is practically full of them.

And every seat is completely full!! As expected of Ilsan’s best wood-fired pizza restaurant.

It was packed, so it was hard to take detailed photos of the interior... Please just get a sense of the atmosphere ^^

All orders are placed from your seat using a tablet.

You pay when you leave, and you can request free parking registration.

We ordered Spaghetti al Pesto di Rucola, Popolo Classica, and arancini!

Even though this place is incredibly famous, ordering for two people came to just a little over 50,000 won, so the prices seem reasonable too.

Oh, and there were quite a few people picking up takeout orders too~ If you live nearby, I think taking it home whenever you feel like it could be a good option!

Meal starts!!!

Popolo Classica (25,700 won)

This is the recommended menu item that sits at the very top of all Neapolitan pizza items.

It’s the signature wood-fired pizza of Popolo Pizza in Ilsan, topped with eggplant roasted in extra virgin oil, reduced Italian tomatoes, 36-month-aged cheese, burrata cheese, basil, and more.

I may have shortened the description too much, but the eggplant, cheese, tomato, and arugula really stand out—this is totally a flavor bomb.

Each pizza is cut into four slices.

Since there were two of us, we each ate two slices.

True to Neapolitan pizza style, the dough is thin, so I think even a couple could easily finish two pizzas.

The combination of the thin, chewy crust, fresh and refreshing tomato sauce, slightly sweet eggplant, and fresh cheese gives you a feeling of pure bliss the moment you eat it.

I think even if you went to Europe for wood-fired pizza, you might have a hard time finding something better than this.

It suddenly reminds me of a pizza place I once visited in LA because it was supposedly hot there... what was the name again......

Funghi Arancini (8,800 won)

For just around 9,000 won, you can enjoy five risotto arancini with the aroma of truffle oil.

Isn’t the price pretty good?

Looking inside, the thin fried shell is lined with risotto scented with truffle oil.

And in the center there’s a large piece of cheese....

The truffle aroma fills your nose while the risotto and cheese balance each other and fill your mouth.

I thought it was a pretty good appetizer.

Spaghetti al Pesto di Rucola (17,800 won)

This intensely styled pasta is a dish that boasts incredible flavor.

A plate of pasta where arugula pesto, domestic jujube cherry tomatoes, olives marinated in honey and balsamic, and fresh arugula come together. Thanks to the high turnover, Popolo Pizza, the famous wood-fired pizza place in Ilsan, uses fresh ingredients and serves orders quickly, which is really great!!

When mixed, this is the result.

The flavor is quite bold and rich. Personally, if you like basil and arugula, I think you’ll really love it.

The very fresh cherry tomatoes here and there work their magic by fundamentally softening any chance of it feeling too salty or too pungent.

It’s also a menu item excluded from takeout, so if you dine in, I recommend trying it together once. ^^

We really, really enjoyed our meal today as well.!!!

Conclusion

This is officially a top-tier wood-fired pizza restaurant nationwide!

It’s seriously, seriously delicious.

Actually, the wood-fired pizza place in Songdo that I visited last time was also really, really delicious. There was a wait there too.

But the level of perfection in the wood-fired pizza served at Popolo Pizza... is truly beyond what I can even measure.

This place has an impressive long history. Even after eating it again, I could feel that the taste of the wood-fired pizza has not changed at all.

The wait is a bit long,

but I have deep respect for the fact that they keep bringing happiness to everyone with the same flavor from one location. It’s a place with such high quality that once you eat it, you won’t forget it.

The pasta was also delicious, though I personally felt the arancini was a little disappointing.

There was more risotto than I expected, so personally I wasn’t a huge fan of the feeling that I was eating Korean food at a Western restaurant!

Of course it was tasty, and I’m not sure whether the people who run this place will see my post, but I did think for a moment that maybe the arancini could be adjusted to feel a bit more Western ^^;;

Taste: ★★★★★

Value for money: ★★★★☆

Accessibility: ★★★★★

Facilities: ★★★☆☆

Parking: 2 hours of free parking available in the building basement.

Personally, even though it’s been a while since I came, I still want to give sincere applause to the unchanged taste and quality of the wood-fired pizza.

It’s a truly delicious place. In my personal opinion, the wood-fired pizza is worth more here than the pasta.

If you go, even if you get on the waiting list, you’ll probably have to wait quite a while. If you do get to eat here, order two pizzas.. that’s where the value is..

Thank you for reading my no-holds-barred restaurant review today as well,

I’ll always strive to be a restaurant guide you’ll want to visit. :)

This was Dr. Baek, a dentist who dreams of becoming both a master implant specialist and a gourmet.

Thank you.!!