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Jetting off to Seoul anytime quickly? I’m certain you’ve acquired an inventory of Korean BBQ spots to tick off, however don’t miss out on the cute cafes town has to supply. From Insta-worthy interiors to meals so cute you may’t bear to eat it, Seoul has one thing particular for everybody.
I found a number of on my latest journey there and it warms my Seoul (thanks, God, for making me so hilarious) to share them with you.
1. Café Onion, Anguk
For one of many world’s most technologically-advanced nations, South Korea definitely does love its connections to the previous. No surprises, then, that ‘hanok’-themed cafes just like the Cafe Onion department close to the unmissable Gyeongbokgung Palace are so well-liked.
That doesn’t take away from the wonderful creations dreamed up by this cafe’s splendidly inventive crew. Perhaps most iconic is their Pandoro. Café Onion’s variations provides a huge serving to of icing sugar (tasted like Glucose powder to me) to the standard Italian candy bread to make it resemble a snow-covered mountain. Mine was a bit wonky structurally however proper on level with deliciousness.
I strongly advise you so as to add some savouries to your tray— it is going to assist steadiness out the mile-wide array of candy indulgences. My smiley-face pizza positively helped and the Cafe Latte was a delight on the sub-zero day as I sat outdoors. Inside, cushions on the ground straddle low tables— very quaint!
South Korea, Seoul, Jongno-gu, 계동길 5
+82 70-7543-2123
Mon to Fri: 7am – 10pm
Sat & Sun: 9am – 10pm
Instagram
2. Café Layered, Yeonnam-dong
From the surface, Café Layered is as not like Café Onion as you please. This cute little purple brick constructing stands out from a sea of smoothly-plastered white ones. If you’re drawn to the wonderfully-textured façade, wait until you step inside— it’s an artist’s wonderland!
An expansive multicolour unfold awaits you, laid out on tables excessive and low. It’s not an exaggeration that each little bit of horizontal floor, together with the window sills are laden with pastries, scones and truffles. In truth, the place is so chock-a-block that it’s exhausting to navigate the slim aisles.
That is a small worth to pay for the deliciousness with which Café Layered rewards you. And that artist’s wonderland? It’s greater than the edible artistry throughout you— there are fascinating work, tapestries and even handmade stuffed toys on the partitions and home windows. What I bear in mind most is how dense their truffles had been and that I had a tough time ending my enormous slice regardless of the stunning style.
223-20 Yeonnam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Daily: 11am – 11pm
Instagram
3. Café Knotted, Anguk
Winter is probably not the very best time to go to Café Knotted— there’s all the time a queue outdoors. But I suppose the folks within the queue outdoors know that the baptism by ice is well worth the bother. So, there I used to be, a kind of shivering souls on the Anguk department, gazing longingly on the heat inside and the magnificent candy treasures on the opposite aspect of the glass.
The cheeky smiley face licking its lips is emblazoned nearly in every single place.
Café Knotted is legendary for its doughnuts and they’re introduced to you in a cup. It’s a cute sight, nearly like a three-dimensional Pac-Man ready to devour these little white dots (of icing sugar). Sorry, Pac-Men, we eat you as an alternative and also you’re very tasty. Thank you on your service.
There’s cotton sweet, croissants, ice-cream, espresso and tea as nicely. The colouring sheets and color pencils add a cute whimsical contact.
6-3 Bukchon-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Daily: 10am – 9pm
Instagram
4. Madang Flower Café, Ikseon-dong
Koreans love their hanoks… and so do I! Madang Flower Café is positioned bang in the course of an cute hamlet of solely traditionally-designed single-storey buildings. The space comes full with fairly slim criss-crossing streets lined with fairly eating places, stalls promoting knickknacks and, in fact, truffles and pastries!
This café, although, stands out from afar with its fairly decor of vibrant umbrellas, fairy lights (particularly magical at nightfall) and the boundary marked out by little pots of thigh-high timber. Apart from being a divinely-Instagram-able bakery, it’s additionally an precise flower store! For the famished, there may be espresso, tea, desserts and brunch, in addition to beer and wine.
I used to be merely mesmerised by the mixture of brilliant flowers and their tender scents combining with the aroma of freshly-baked goodies. Oh sure, If you’re a fan of Korean serials, you might recognise Madang Flower Café from the present Goblin.
33-12 Supyo-ro 28-gil, Ikseon-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
+82 2-743-0724
Daily: 9am – 11pm
5. Cong Caphe, Yeonnam-dong
Vietnamese espresso marches on internationally, this time touchdown in Seoul within the avatar of Cong Caphe. The army inexperienced star of the franchise chain will be discovered at 6 areas throughout the nation however I acquired my repair on the Yeonnam-dong outlet on the identical day I used to be at Café Layered.
This was the model’s first department within the nation in 2018. It boasts the attribute laidback vibe that I discovered (and cherished) after I was in Da Nang, South Vietnam late final yr. There are some very fascinating rustic armchairs whereas the crockery appears nearly too antique-ish to be handed out to the general public.
Cong Caphe’s coconut espresso is on the menu right here and it’s one which I like to recommend to anybody with a candy tooth. Visit early within the day if in case you have a hankering for a Vietnamese breakfast.
223-114 Yeonnam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
+82 10-2206-0740
Daily: 11am – 10pm
Instagram
6. Green Mile Coffee, Bukchon Hanok Village
Bukchon Hanok Village close to town’s artsy Insadong district is considered one of my favorite locations in all of Seoul. Part of the reason being Green Mile Coffee. Despite the title, the café’s precise focus (and forte) is tea-based drinks and desserts.
As you’ve in all probability guessed, inexperienced tea options closely as an ingredient on a lot of the menu. There is not any higher solution to pattern their wares than the Green Mile Latte, a verdant concoction of inexperienced tea focus and espresso.
It’s not simply what you drink but additionally the place you drink it. Take your perch on Green Mile Coffee’s second ground and rooftop for the very best and least-seen views of the hanok houses. I discovered it to be a very enthralling sight because the solar warmed me up within the crisp winter air.
Really, the entire décor with its muted brown and ochre shades is simply best for leisure.
64 Bukchon-ro, Gahoe-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
+82 2-744-2404
Mon to Fri: 9am – 7pm
Sat & Sun: 10am – 7pm
Facebook | Website
7. Cheongsudang, Ikseon-dong
Another of my beloved Ikseon-dong finds, Cheongsudang is a serene ocean of tranquillity amidst the excitement of exercise within the space. The expertise begins even earlier than you enter, with the soothing sound of working water calling out to your weary physique and thoughts. Hop throughout the (very regular) stone steps partly immersed in a shallow pool to the wood constructing beckoning past.
As with Café Onion in Anguk, Cheongsudang provides a mixture of conventional seating on a low raised platform (footwear off, please) or Western-style lengthy desk and chairs. There’s the anticipated menu of teas, coffees and truffles however one set of things blew me away: the creative castellas and fromage truffles.
It’s like somebody went into the backyard and thoroughly lower out an oblong block of turf and soil. The intricacy and a focus to element of those wondrous bits of creativity actually can’t be totally conveyed by way of pictures. Go and seeee!
1-9 Donhwamun-ro 11na-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
+82 2-747-8215
Daily: 11.30am – 10pm
Instagram
8. C. Through Café, Itaewon
If the creativity of the blocks of soil at Cheongsudang attraction to you, the care and precision that goes into the works of espresso artwork at C. Through Café will please you no finish. Each is crafted earlier than you to your request by grasp barista Lee Kang Bin.
Forget these primary leaf patterns that you simply admire at your native American espresso chain outlet; these are in a category of their very own. There is color. There is texture. There are pink marshmallow bits masquerading as cherry blossoms.
Barista Lee even recreates edible variations of the world’s most well-known work. The catch is you could solely watch the motion on weekends.
A phrase of warning, although. Make certain you discover out precisely the right way to get there as C. Through Café is positioned in a maze of alleyways and there may be however one shy signal asserting its presence.
South Korea, Seoul, 마포구 동교로 266-6
+82 70-7796-8991
Daily: 12pm – 9pm
Instagram
9. Coffee Nap Roasters, Yeonnam-dong
My pals, I say once more, it’s not simply what you drink however the place you drink it that flavours your reminiscences. Coffee Nap Roasters is the proper instance of this philosophy. Its mixture of summary design and minimalism has propelled an in any other case not significantly exceptional café to widespread Instagram fame.
At the literal centre of its attraction is a neat sloping mound of purple bricks. Sunlight floods in from the large home windows that line the partitions, illuminating the construction with direct gentle in addition to photons mirrored off the in any other case sterile-white décor.
From what I can inform, their fairly small bites menu is sort of an apart; nothing on the listing is everlasting and is probably not obtainable while you go to. I don’t know why, however that makes me wish to return strive my luck once more proper now.
South Korea, 453-32 마포구 서울특별시 KR
+82 2-332-4131
Daily: 10am – 6.30pm
Instagram | Website
10. Greem Café, Yeonnam-dong
What the…! Walking into Greem Café is like leaving the three-dimensional world behind and strolling into an unfinished comedian. It’s surreal, the best way that each bodily object is white whereas each edge is marked by thick black ink-like borders to resemble a graphic artist’s work-in-progress. The Korean phrase greem refers to art work.
It will come as no shock, then, that the espresso and lightweight bites appear to be purely an afterthought. The focus is undoubtedly on delivering an expertise that shakes your senses out of their reverie right into a actuality that challenges ‘perspectives’. (See what I did there?)
This is the 2nd version of Greem Café; they moved out of their authentic location when their reputation exploded. Among the added options of the brand new chapter is a rooftop terrace full with 2D clothesline and hanging laundry.
South Korea, Seoul, Mapo-gu, Seongmisan-ro, 161-10 카페 1.5층
Wed to Sun: 12pm – 9pm
Closed on Mon & Tue
Instagram
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