Paju outlet-view café: hot Americano and croffle, Fruit Forest

I visited Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store (과일의숲 파주직영점), a great place to go when you're craving fruit desserts.

Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store is a Simhaksan café where you can enjoy fresh fruit desserts and coffee at a relaxed pace.

Where is Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store, and is parking easy?

Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store is at 144 Dolgoji-gil, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do, and it has free parking. It is open Monday to Sunday, 10:00–21:00, with last order at 20:30.

It's well placed for eating at the Simhaksan food alley and then having dessert, so it's a perfect Paju dessert café when you're wondering where to go after a meal.

There's plenty of parking space, so it's fine to come by car.

If the lot is full, you can use the parking lot of the Tteurak restaurant in the next building, so no parking worries!

If you've eaten at a Simhaksan restaurant and then want coffee or something sweet, it also works well as part of a food-then-café route.

Inside Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store and its outlet view

The café space is up the stairs on the 2nd floor. There's no elevator, so keep that in mind!

The interior had a relaxed atmosphere that's good for sitting and spending time, and there was a mix of people, from those drinking coffee to those enjoying fruit drinks or bingsu.

What stuck with me most was that you can see Paju Lotte Outlet. An outlet view, haha! Being able to look out at such an open view from a café was a real draw.

On a nice day, sitting out on the terrace would be lovely too.

Can you bring pets, kids or a group?

Pets aren't allowed indoors and can only come along on the terrace, so it's good to know in advance if you're visiting with a pet, right!? 🙂

It's good for families as well. High chairs are available, and the restrooms inside the shop are separated for men and women, which was convenient.

Groups are welcome, and they say venue rental for 50–100 people including the terrace is possible, so it works for anything from small gatherings to events with lots of people!

The fruit showcase and ripening mangoes

And the most eye-catching thing at Fruit Forest 😍 There's a spot fruit lovers can't just walk past: the fruit showcase.

Inside the fridge, all kinds of fruit were beautifully displayed, and the mangoes that were ripening looked so pretty, I can't even!!! 💛

They sell the fruit itself, and when you order, they apparently prepare and cut the fruit on the spot.

I was also impressed that they pick the fruit themselves by joining the wholesale market auction every dawn.

What's on the menu at Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store?

As the name suggests, Fruit Forest has a wide range of menu items made with fresh fruit.

The signature items are, of course, the fruit snow bingsu (shaved-ice dessert)! From injeolmi red bean bingsu to fresh mango, peach, melon and fig snow bingsu, there's a lot of variety. There's also a 10-fruit mixed bingsu, which sounds right for anyone who wants to try lots of fruits at once.

If you're looking for mango bingsu in Paju, the fruit menu can change with the season, so it's worth checking before you go 😉

Besides fruit, they also sell yogurt and yogurt bowls, roasted chestnuts and juices that kids can enjoy, so visiting as a family is no problem!

The desserts are quite varied too! The showcase only has cakes, but

there are also ice cream croffles (croissant waffles), churros and more.

Coffee and dessert instead of bingsu

This day at Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store, we ordered an Americano, an iced Americano, an ice cream croffle and a Basque cheesecake.

• Americano
• Iced Americano
• Ice cream croffle
• Basque cheesecake

Going by the original plan we'd have had bingsu, but that day I desperately needed something warm 😢

Hot Americano

I'm an "iced even in winter" person, but I wasn't feeling well, so I switched to a hot Americano.

The bean aroma was subtle and nutty with no burnt taste, which was just right for warming up on a cold day!

Iced Americano

My husband ordered iced!

He said the clean, bright acidity and nuttiness blend well and make a perfect match with sweet desserts.

Ice cream croffle: does it stay crisp over time?

Fruit Forest's ice cream croffle comes with a big scoop of soft, sweet vanilla ice cream on top of a freshly baked, crispy, warm croffle.

The croffle is crisp outside and moist inside, and with the cold ice cream melting into it, my mood lifted the moment I took a bite!

A croffle that doesn't go soggy even as time passes is honestly the best 👍

Basque cheesecake

Fruit Forest's Basque cheesecake was nicely baked with a smoky outside, and the inside was moist with a rich cheese flavor.

I loved the dense, fudgy texture 😋 Eating it with the Americano, I never got tired of it and enjoyed every bite.

They're also running a Naver receipt review event, so join in and get a freebie :)

This time I settled for coffee and dessert instead of bingsu, but after seeing all that displayed fruit, my longing for fruit bingsu only grew, haha.

Final verdict on Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store

Even without the bingsu or fruit drinks, the bakery and coffee combo at Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store was excellent, and I was totally satisfied. If you want a Simhaksan café with easy parking, lots of space and great desserts, I highly recommend it 👍 Highly recommend 👍

• ✨️People who like bingsu and desserts made with fresh fruit
• ✨️People who want coffee and sweet desserts together in Paju
• ✨️People who want to relax with family or friends in a spacious place
• ✨️People looking for a café they can visit with kids

Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store is a good stop if you want to finish a Simhaksan restaurant meal with something sweet :)