Seoul has an café culture with hundreds of cute or quirky cafes with delicious coffee and cakes in all areas of the city. The city is absolutely packed with them – traditional teahouses tucked into hanok villages, over-the-top themed cafés in Hongdae and Myeongdong, stylish dessert spots in Gangnam that look like they are Instagram ready.
Seoul cafe scene is very dynamic. Some theme cafes are closing and others opening (for example there used to be a 2d cafe which closed). However, many of the popular hanok cafes are more long term. You will find gems just wondering around the streets and popping into cafes that appeal to you.
We obviously couldn’t visit them all (there are literally thousands!), but here’s our guide to some of the most fun and unique cafés in Seoul arranged by neighborhood. I am also providing links to to Google Maps, as well as Naver, for you to be able to easily navigate and cafe hop.
Check out my Seoul travel tips and itineraries for exploring all popular neighborhoods.
Note that many of the popular cafes are open quite late in the evening, which will allow you to visit them without big crowds. Morning opening hours vary however, therefore double check to find your morning fix.
For general tips on visiting cafes in South Korea and the cafe culture, check out this article.
- Best Cafes in Gwanghamun and Bukchon Hanok Village
- Best Cafes in Insadong and Ikseondong Village
- Best Cafes in Myeongdong and Itaewon
- Cutest Cafes in Hongdae and its Surroundings
- Best Cafes in Ihwa Mural Village and Dongdaemun
- Seongsu
- Best Cafes in Seokchon Area
- Best Cafes in Gangnam and Nearby
- Farther away
Best Cafes in Gwanghamun and Bukchon Hanok Village
This most touristy area in Seoul is literally dotted with lovely cafes. Here are some of my favorites.
Cha-Teul traditional teahouse (Tea Masineun Tteul on Naver)
This place was high on my list due to its traditional environment and the must try local sweets. We visited in the afternoon on a weekday, so it was quite crowded. We had to wait about 15 minutes outside, before they found us a table. You have to take your shoes off before entering (don’t forget your socks). The environment is cute with low tables and seating on the floor.
We tried their tea and strawberry rice cake. I usually don’t drink tea and never tried a rice cake before, so can’t account how good they were, but they are something you should try at least once.
This has to be one of the (if not the most) famous cafes in all of Korea. It’s popularity is clear from the constant queues. It certainly had a huuuuge queue when we visited (my guess would be at least an hour wait). While their sweets look amazing and we certainly wanted to try, we were not about to wait for ages, while we had so much more to explore. Do try to have a look, but if the queues are too huge, there are a couple of other lovely cafes with delicious cakes just a stone throw away.
If you absolutely want to visit this cafe, my advice is to come here wither early in the morning or in the evening, after the crowds have already went for dinner. It’s open from 7am (9am on weekends) until 10pm, so that provides a lot of opportunities to find a time without queues.
Café Layered (Café Reieodeu on Naver)
This café is already a chain with locations here and in Hongdae at least (probably more, we didn’t see them though). It has delicious cakes and is absolutely cute.
We grabbed a cake to go, as they have very small space for seating. As in case of Onion Anguk, come very early or late in the evening to avoid queues.
Café Knotted (Notideu Anguk on Naver)
Cafe Knotted also became a chain specializing in donuts. This location however looks the best from several we saw during our travels. It has an old style Korean yard and overall lovely atmosphere. I am normally not a fan of donuts, Knotted ones are great though – not overly sweet and with delicious light cream.
Other Cafes in the Area
- Greenmile coffee (Naver link): This café has lovely interior with great views over the Bukchon Hanok village.
- Fritz Coffee company Wonseo (Peuritcheu Wonseo branch on Naver): This is a chain café with a few locations around the city. This one looks awesome and it’s just next door to the entrance of the Changdeokgung palace.
- Namusairo Coffee (Naver link)
- Whitebirch Story teahouse (Jajangnamu Iyagi on Naver): Apparently this place is featured in K-dramas Goblin and Touch Your Heart.
- Dotori Garden (called Acorn on Naver, so not sure which is its official name): This café has cute characters, which remind me of Totoro.
Best Cafes in Insadong and Ikseondong Village
Ikseondong Hanok Village is my favourite place in Seoul, I even specifically went back there on our last day. You find cute places at every step and walking around just made me happy😊 There are so many cafes to explore, you just get lost in options.
This café was my favourite in this cutest area. It was newly opened when we visited, so it wasn’t on my list. We just stumbled upon it accidentally while exploring the tiny alleys of this cute area. The space is quite big and the cafe is surprisingly not that popular, so I do think you won’t have a problem finding a seat. Their chocolate mousse cake was delicious – I highly recommend to try it. We took tons of photos 😊, but as it was evening, they didn’t turn out all too well to post here.
You might have seen photos of the train track running through the yard of this café. It’s one of the most popular cafes in Seoul and unsurprisingly always crowded. Plus, it has a cute traditional wooden décor. Definitely come here for the ambiance alone.
Another beautiful café in Ikseondong worth checking out. The lanterns in the yard and the path leading to the cafe give it lovely romantic look. It certainly is on the expensive side (very expensive in fact), but worth coming for the delicious cakes and simply beautiful atmosphere.
Other Cafes in the Area
- Sinyet Chatjip (Naver link): A traditional teahouse just off Insadong road.
- Soha Salt Pond (Soha Salt pan on Naver): A very cutely decorated bakery
- Tteuran tea house (Naver link)
Fun fact: Until 2025 a “poo” café existed in Insadong area. You would find poo shaped toys around, toilet bowl shaped cups, as well as other items in line with this esthetic (no, it didn’t smell of poo though 😀 ). It closed down though.
Best Cafes in Myeongdong and Itaewon
Roundnd (Round and on Naver – pretty hilarious name)
When you enter this café, you directly feel the delicious smell of fresh baked pastries. Prices are definitely not on the cheap side (as many cafés around), but it’s worth it. You have to try their croissant. The atmosphere is lovely as well.
Spot Fabulous (Spot Paebuleauseu on Naver)
This is the only café, which didn’t let me order just a cake, because according to their rules, each person has to order at least one drink – they underlined drink. Cake didn’t count. So I had to order a drink with my late night cake. Granted their cake and coffee were tasty. But especially nice was the atmosphere – quiet with dim lights and wooden decor. We visited in the evening and absolutely packed, but we didn’t have to queue.
Café Swith SOL (Café Sweet on Naver)
This cafe moved its location to near Namdaemun market (see links), but the concept remains the same.
This café is total cuteness 😊 It’s a character café with the huge toys decorating the entrance, as well as interior. We ordered at the machine. Keep in mind that their staff members are disabled (deaf), according to the signs in the café, so be mindful of this, when trying to communicate with them. One of the best parts of the café is their photo booth – you need to keep your receipt, which you scan at the photobooth and get your photos printed for free. We had a lot of fun posing for these photos and choosing frames for them 😛 They turned out very cool and are now sitting on our shelf.
Anthracite Coffee Hannam (Aentreureusaiteu on Naver)
We didn’t know of this café and stumbled upon it, while looking for coffee. It occupies three floors and is cutely decorated with plants. It was very crowded when we visited. Coffee was certainly excellent. As I know, this is a chain with a few other branches around Seoul.
This café is known for their galaxy themed cakes, they look amazing. It’s one of those cafes with one drink/cake per person rule. They have very small space, but when we visited in the afternoon on a weekend, it wasn’t crowded at all.
Other Cafes in the Area
- Coffee Hanyakbang (Coffee Oriental Medicine Shop on Naver – it does sound strange, doesn’t it 🙂 ): A traditionally decorated cute place.
- Kenya Kiambu Coffee (Naver link): This has to be the most popular café in the area. It sits on a hill and has great views, as well as lovely interior.
- Tiravento (Tira Bento on Naver)
- Hell café (Naver link)
- Dotori (Acorn on Naver)
Cutest Cafes in Hongdae and its Surroundings
Hongdae is well known not only for its nightlife, street performances in the evenings and great food, but also for its amazing cafes. My list included more than a couple dozen cafes I wanted to check out 😀 It was very very hard to cut it down to even a dozen 😊 Next time I am in Seoul, I will try to find accommodation in this area 😊
This café was one of my absolute favourites. I didn’t have much expectations for it, I only thought it would be a hole in the wall selling cute bear cookies. But it turned out to be a quite big café occupying two floors. Its colorful decoration is absolutely lovely with walls painted in rainbow colors. It was quite crowded in the evening, however, it has many seats, so unless you go at an extremely busy time, you should be able to find a seat. The bear cookies were tasty, but so very sweet and nutritious, I didn’t manage to finish one and kept a part of it to eat later at the hotel 😊
Lovin Her Flower Café (Lovin’her Flower Cafe on Naver)
This café turned out to be really tiny. It is cute with decorations of flowers. It also had a huge poster of I would assume one of the K-pop idols. Anyways, we checked out the café while needing coffee a lot at that moment, however, inside of the cafe was very stuffy and hot. So we just decided to go elsewhere.
This Harry Potter themed café will certainly attract all Potterheads and not only. We just visited similarly themed café a few days back, so we decided to skip this one, but I did pose with the broom outside the building 😀
Other Cafes in the Area
- Layered Yeonnam (Cafe Reieodeu Yeonnam Branch on Naver): Another branch of this tasty cake place.
- Café Nap roasters (Coffee Naep Roasters Yeonnamdong on Naver): A very popular coffee place, which actually opens very early.
- Ver’s house (Beolseu Garden on Naver): Beautiful plant decorations
- Colline café (Colin on Naver): The café with lovely decoration offering traditional Korean sweets, as well as modern cakes.
- Perception (Naver link): The Cafe is known for its avantgarde style
- Anthracite (Aenteureosaiteu Seogyo Branch on Naver): Another branch of this chain, which looks cool
- Sanrio café (Sanrio Lovers Club on Naver): I heard this cute café needs reservation in advance, so if you are set on going, explore reservation options. Its food and drinks aren’t rated great, however, I am sure its cute design will be enough of a reason to go 😊
- Cong café (Kong Cafe on Naver): This is a branch of the Vietnamese coffee chain, which has great coffee.
- Thanks oat (Naver link)
- Oh Range (Orangji on Naver)
- Koriko cafe (Naver link)
- Check_grow (Chaegeuro on Naver): This café isn’t located in Hongdae per se but quite close. It was away from our sightseeing route, so we didn’t make a detour for it, but I absolutely love book cafes, especially with a view, so I will definitely find time for it next time.
- Fritz Coffee company Dohwa (Peuritcheu Dohwa Branch on Naver) – another branch of this company with lovely interior
- Café Comma Hapjeong (Cafe Kkomma on Naver) – next to a bookstore and library and also provides cool views.
Best Cafes in Ihwa Mural Village and Dongdaemun
Hakrim Dabang (Hangnim on Naver)
No trip to the area would be complete without a visit to this café opened in 1950s and still retaining the vibes of the last century. The café has wooden tabletops, vinyl records, an old piano and just overall great atmosphere. It is wildly popular not only due to its age and environment, but also because several k-dramas have scenes filmed here, including My Love from Another Star, which I actually watched far earlier than I ever heard of this café 😊 Because of its popularity and small space, it was expected that it would be difficult to get a table here. We visited at about 2pm on a weekday and had to wait around 15 minutes for the table. It wasn’t bad though, as they have a few chairs for those waiting and it was nice to sit and rest after exploring the palaces on that day. We liked their coffee and cakes – we tried their cheesecakes, which was soft and delicious.
The cafe is located very close to the entrance into the Naksan park. It has great views, so certainly worth checking out.
This is a huge chain of Korean sweets with cafes dotted all around the country, however, we visited this branch in Dongdaemun on our first day. It has a sign only in Hangul, so if you don’t read Hangul, try to find the smaller print below the big sign, which says “Korean dessert cafe”. The café specializes in bingsu – shaved ice desserts. They have several versions to choose from. We tried a mango one. I personally not a fan of shaved ice, so can’t report how good there are, but it’s definitely a go-to place, if you want to try bingsu.
Other Cafes in the Area
- Café Gaeppul (Naver link): One of the several cafes in the area with great views. Do walk around here and choose whichever one you prefer.
- Jeonggeurida (Naver link): I found a post about this café only later in our trip and didn’t manage to get there, even though we were actually staying in Dongdaemun area. It looks pretty cool.
- Cha Cha Tea Club (Naver link): The cafe is located in a small alley near Dongdaemun station. It’s a traditional teahouse worth giving a chance.
Seongsu
This is up and coming neighbourhood dotted with a number of cafes. Those I noted are as follows:
- Center Coffee Seoul Forest (Naver link): This café in the Seoul forest is surrounded by greenery
- Daelim Changgo (Daerim Changgo on Naver)
- Mouse Rabbit Coffee (Naver link)
Best Cafes in Seokchon Area
- Seoulism (Seoullijeum on Naver) – this café changed its profile to a cocktail bar. However, I am still leaving it on the list, because you can still get coffee there and most importantly, It’s the place with the iconic view of the Lotte tower and the Seoul sign. It’s certainly a beautiful place for photos.
- Aqua Garden Café Lotte world tower (Naver link)
Best Cafes in Gangnam and Nearby
- Starbucks Seoul Wave Art Center (Naver link): I am including this floating Starbucks on Hangang river only for its location. Check it out for the environment.
- Café 413 Project (Naver link)
- Mooni Apgujeong (Cafe Muni on Naver)
- Old Ferry Donut (Naver link)
- Tailor Coffee Sinsa (Naver link): This is a very popular coffee chain with strong coffee.
Farther away
- Project Seoul (Naver link) – the café is not anywhere near usual sightseeing spots. However, it’s décor looks amazing.
- Suyeonsanbang (Naver link) – old traditional teahouse surrounded by greenery.
- Overstory (Naver link) – this café seems difficult to get to but it’s gorgeous with great views. It requires a reservation though.
- Sanmotunggi Coffee (Naver link) – another café in greenery with lovely views.
Join our travel community on Facebook Coffee Fueled Travel Club
See Also
