Hongdae brunch café with a ₩4,000 mini salad add-on: MELA Hongdae

An Italian brunch favorite between Hongdae and Hapjeong, in a space with a lovely mood

What is MELA Hongdae, and what did I order?

MELA Hongdae is an Italian brunch café in a side street between Hongdae and Hapjeong. This time I ordered the minari vongole pasta, the ragu tteokbokki, and a ₩4,000 mini salad. I went because I was looking for a brunch café in Hongdae with a nice atmosphere and good food.

Hongdae has tons of restaurants and cafés, but on weekends so many of them are packed and chaotic, right? MELA sits in a side street between Hongdae and Hapjeong, so it felt like a small escape from the bustle of the main strip, and I could eat at a relaxed pace.

Above all, I really loved the atmosphere of the space. It's not just a pretty café where you only drink coffee; you can have a proper meal too. It's a good place for brunch with a friend, a date, or a day when you want a special lunch.

What I ordered was the fragrant minari (water dropwort) vongole pasta and the ragu tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes). And there's one more item I really want to recommend: the ₩4,000 mini salad!

What is the space like at MELA Hongdae, a Hongdae brunch café with a good mood?

MELA Hongdae is a place to enjoy not just the food but the space itself. Since it's in a side street a bit off the main Hongdae strip, I could spend my time in a much calmer way.

It suits a day when you want to sit comfortably, talk, and eat rather than deal with a loud crowd. When you hear "brunch café," you tend to picture bread and coffee, but MELA's menu runs from pasta to steak, salads and tteokbokki, so it works fully as a place for a real meal.

I thought it would be great for a relaxed lunch with friends, and also fine as part of a Hongdae date. After the meal you can have coffee and dessert too, so you can spend the whole time in one place without moving around.

If you're looking for a restaurant or brunch café with a good mood near Hongdae and Hapjeong, it's worth remembering.

Is the ₩4,000 mini salad at MELA Hongdae worth adding?

The mini salad at MELA Hongdae is ₩4,000, an easy add-on when you order mains. It's the item I most want to recommend.

When you order two meal dishes like pasta and ragu tteokbokki, adding a salad makes the table feel so much fuller, right? If you'd rather have something fresh alongside your mains, add one.

Especially if you plan to order several dishes and share, I'd recommend rounding it out with one mini salad. Ordering a full salad at a brunch café can sometimes feel pricey, so I liked the ₩4,000 price even more.

If you visit MELA Hongdae, take a look at the mini salad when you order pasta and ragu tteokbokki.

What does the ₩23,000 minari vongole pasta taste like?

The minari vongole pasta at MELA Hongdae is ₩23,000: a vongole (clam pasta) made with manila clams and white clams, plus fragrant minari. It was one of the dishes I was most curious about that day.

Vongole is loved for its clean, light clam flavor, and MELA adds fragrant minari for a slightly different take. With fresh manila clams, white clams and minari together, it has a character different from an ordinary vongole.

The minari's distinctive fragrance gives the pasta a fresh feel, which I found appealing. If you prefer a clean-tasting pasta over something heavy like cream pasta, it's worth a look.

I was also impressed that it's said to be based on a recipe developed by a food researcher from the Italian cooking school ICIF, capturing the feel of Italian home cooking. Since it adds MELA's own ingredient combination to a familiar pasta, I'd recommend it to anyone hunting for a pasta place in Hongdae.

Next time I'd like to try MELA's classic carbonara or the baby potato basil cream gnocchi too.

Is the ₩22,000 ragu tteokbokki good with pasta?

The ragu tteokbokki at MELA Hongdae is ₩22,000, a dish that mixes Italian ragu sauce with tteokbokki, the rice cake dish Koreans grew up with. I ordered it together with the minari vongole pasta, and the pairing was fun.

At brunch cafés you usually end up ordering pasta, sandwiches or French toast, so having ragu tteokbokki widens the choices. Getting a familiar tteokbokki with an Italian-style sauce felt different from ordinary Korean snack-bar food, and it made a good meal.

Pasta alone might feel a bit lacking, but with the ragu tteokbokki alongside, sharing two different dishes was fun. It's also a good combo if you visit with a friend and each order one to share.

If you want something different from the usual pasta and brunch dishes at Hongdae restaurants, keep an eye on the ragu tteokbokki.

What else is on the menu at MELA Hongdae?

MELA Hongdae's menu runs from brunch to pasta to steak, so you can choose by the purpose of your visit. The signature MELA's sirloin-cap steak is ₩39,900 and looks like a good pick for a day when you want a proper meal.

• Brunch: Salmon Eggs Benedict ₩22,000, Classic French toast ₩22,000, Victoria French toast ₩21,000
• Meals: Baby potato basil cream gnocchi ₩22,000, Classic carbonara ₩22,000, Eggplant gratin ₩22,000, MELA's kimchi fried rice ₩21,000
• Signature: MELA's sirloin-cap steak ₩39,900
• Others: salads, open sandwiches, coffee and desserts, fresh mango bingsu (shaved ice)

There are light options like salads and open sandwiches, and hearty meals like steak, so you can choose by taste. After the meal you can have coffee and dessert, and there's fresh mango bingsu too.

If you want brunch in Hongdae on a weekend and a café afterward, it's appealing that you can do both in one place.

Is it good for a Hongdae date or Hapjeong brunch? What about parking?

MELA Hongdae is between Hongdae and Hapjeong, so it works as a meeting spot, and parking is available. Still, it's best to check parking hours and conditions with the restaurant before you go.

It suited people who want to enjoy both food and atmosphere. It's good when you want to step a little away from the crowded main strip and eat at ease, and I'd recommend it for brunch plans with friends or a Hongdae date.

You can use it for weekend brunch, but also as a place for pasta and steak, and it's a nice space to continue on to coffee and dessert. I also remembered that dishes like the minari vongole and ragu tteokbokki I ordered add MELA's own character to everyday menu items.

If you're looking for a good brunch café in Hongdae, visit MELA Hongdae on a day you want a relaxed meal in a space with a good mood. I especially recommend ordering the minari vongole and ragu tteokbokki together with a mini salad. It's the kind of brunch café you'll think of again when you want delicious food and a lovely space in Hongdae at once.