Busan Food: Gorilla Brewing 

The first thing you notice about Gorilla is the striking exterior. An imposing black fronting, with large, block white letters pronouncing ‘GORILLA BREWING CO.’ What makes it all the more eye catching is the fact that the brewery is set down from street level. So your eyes natural get drawn first to the fronting, then down to their sun trap of a beer terrace, then towards the cool, hi-tech looking brewing equipment, and finally, to their warm, welcoming interior, It’s quite the visual journey.

When you enter Gorilla, the first thing that hits you is now clean and smart the interior is. A simple black and white colour scheme, minimalist design and comfortable, well-spaced furniture make the place seem relaxed and friendly, without being flashy or brash. Their eye catching gorilla logo is easy to spot, as are menus specials, and of course their excellent beer list. However, eyes are usually drawn to the large interior window, which allows views straight through to the heart of Gorilla. The brewery. I was instantly entranced by the imposing equipment, and couldn’t wait to get behind the scenes and check it all out. More on beer later, first, I had some pizza to try.

The pizzas came out looking fantastic. They have gone for a rectangle shape, and the pizzas are a good size, and the edges looked nice and crisp. A perfect golden brown. The prosciutto and basil caught the eye. Luscious, crispy prosciutto and shockingly green basil leaves made it look absolutely delicious. The vegetable pizza was equally appealing. Sliced peppers, mushrooms and onions topped by a generous layer of fresh small leaved salad. I hoped it looked as good as it tasted! I dived straight in, and wasn’t disappointed.

Pizzas have to have a good ingredient ratio. These did, you bite into the crispy crust, and then the flavor of the sauce hits you. They have clearly used quality ingredients in the sauce, and the taste of tomato, oregano and basil is a delicious combination. The amount of cheese is perfect, nice and creamy without making the pizza soggy, and the prosciutto was fantastic! Salty, crispy and full of flavor. This pizza was a real hit.

The vegetable pizza was also delicious. The vegetables are fresh and cooked perfectly, and the fresh salad on top makes this a delightful lighter option. Another success was the tandoori chicken. I’m not normally a fan of chicken on pizzas, however, the spices on the tandoori chicken was spot on. A little heat, a lot of flavor, and a very authentically Indian taste make the pizza a unique addition to the menu. At 13-14,000 the pizzas are extremely well priced, and I think as an accompaniment to the beers they’re going to be a huge success. The rest of the menu encompasses a few gastro-pub favourites. Calamari, grilled cheese sandwich, and Arancini (fried Italian rice balls) are all excellent comfort food. Tonight was all about the pizza for me, but if the other dishes are executed with the same care and skill as the pizzas, I’m sure they are fantastic.

To accompany the pizza I had a couple of really excellent beers. Gorilla’s IPA has established itself as one of my favourite beers in Busan. It’s a very classic, hoppy, flavoursome IPA with a clean flavor. It’s really extremely drinkable. Another beer I tried was the raspberry wheat beer. A light, pale wheat beer, with a slightly floral flavor, gives way to a sweet and tart raspberry aftertaste. I’m normally unsure of fruit in beer, but this worked extremely well. Sadly, there are only a couple of kegs of this left, so I highly recommend getting down to Gorilla if you want to give it a try! Also, join me in lobbying the management to brew some more!

As the evening wore on the atmosphere built, as the brewery got busier. Gorilla’s reputation as a cool, knowledgeable, high quality craft brewery attracts a wide range of customers. However, everyone I talked to seemed to agree on one thing. The food and drink at Gorilla is first rate, and deserves to be tried. I’ll raise a glass to that!

   

Directions:

Gorilla is about equidistant between Gwangan and Millak subway stations. You can find their address here:

Or on their Facebook page here, or see below for a dropped pin of their location.

 

Filed under: Food Tagged: busan, busan food, busanfood, craft beer, Food, gorilla brewing, pizza, restaurant, restaurant review, review