Chameleon café in Jungnang, Seoul with a 15-month-old: Kamerine

Since I've been out and about with my baby, I've ended up visiting all sorts of specialty cafés I probably never would have gone to on my own. This time it was Kamerine, a café in Jungnang where you can actually see real lizards and chameleons!

Kamerine hours, address and parking

Kamerine is a reptile specialty café on the 2nd floor of 221 Bonghwasan-ro, Jungnang-gu, Seoul. It's open 12:00–20:00, 11:00–18:00 on holidays, and closed on Mondays.

• Address: 221 Bonghwasan-ro, 2nd floor, Jungnang-gu, Seoul
• Contact: main store line
• Hours: 12:00–20:00 (holidays 11:00–18:00), closed Mondays
• Parking available, no age limit for entry, no baby chair

You can park at the basement lot in Dongsung Tower Plaza. There were quite a few spots reserved for the building's shops, and on a weekday there were several empty ones, so I parked right away without any hassle.

Does Kamerine smell of animals? Inside the café

Kamerine's interior is bright and white-toned. Since it's an animal café I half expected some kind of distinct smell, but there's none at all!

Half the space is the café area, and the other half is the lizard and chameleon area.

Each of those trees over there has a chameleon living in it, haha.

Kamerine is a Seoul specialty café where you can see reptiles and even adopt a lizard, but the café side is well put together too. The menu is varied and the café space is clean!

There's even a coffee roasting machine — they actually use beans they roast themselves.

Kamerine menu and prices

Here's Kamerine's menu.

Americano and drip coffee are ₩5,300, café latte is ₩5,800, and ades and smoothies are around ₩6,500 — not that expensive, but apparently the drink prices also cover the cost of keeping the animals! If you want a detailed explanation about the lizards, you can add ₩3,000, haha.

Since animal cafés naturally draw a lot of kids, there are kids' drinks too, along with simple snacks like cookies and bread.

There are also meals like risotto and tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), so if you visit with kids who love reptiles, parents can grab a quick meal while the kids are busy watching the animals, haha.

Seeing lizards and chameleons with a 15-month-old

The reason I visited Kamerine was to show my baby some fascinating animals! Besides lizards and chameleons, Kamerine has a variety of other animals too, so we had a fun time looking around.

There are one or two animals living in each enclosure, so time flies as you go from one to the next, haha.

It's not just about watching — you can also take part in various hands-on programs. If my daughter had been a bit older, it would've been fun to try the kids' ecology exploration package!

My daughter is still only 15 months old, so it was hard for her to try anything hands-on — she mostly just watched intently, haha.

I told her to go near the tree and try to spot a chameleon, and she found a yellow one! Because of its color and the fact that it was sitting low, even my baby could spot it easily.

I've seen lizards at other zoos before, but this was my first time seeing a chameleon in person — the way its eyes roll around independently is oddly cute, haha.

Veiled and panther chameleons with no glass in between

You can see several different kinds of chameleons up close, veiled and panther chameleons among them, with no glass separating you from them — such a fun and fascinating Seoul specialty café.

Apparently chameleons can't jump, so they can't run away, which is why they don't need to be caged. When they want to come out, they'll actually stretch their arm toward your hand if you bring it close, haha.

But you're not supposed to touch the chameleons when the owner isn't around! Apparently it stresses them out.

My daughter couldn't take her eyes off it either, and kept lingering near the tree, haha — she wanted to be picked up and lifted higher so she could see more.

Touching a bearded dragon's tail at Kamerine

This time we looked at lizards. There are quite a few different kinds, apparently. This one is a bearded dragon, said to be the gentlest — they're nicknamed 'the puppy' because they're so docile, haha. I'm not really into reptiles, but the more you look, the cuter they seem.

There's also a cool-looking red one!

The owner took the lizard out so my baby could touch it, haha. She gently touched just the tail, and wasn't scared at all — she touched it bravely! Such a fun experience, haha.

Even set down on the floor, it didn't run away — it just stayed still, haha.

Apparently the easiest lizard to keep is the crested gecko, which is much smaller and cuter than the bearded dragon we touched earlier. Apparently a lot of people who keep lizards keep crested geckos, haha.

There's also a smiling gecko, and honestly that little smile is so ridiculously cute it makes you smile back!

Lizard adoption and pet hotel service at Kamerine

At Kamerine in Seoul, you can also adopt a lizard.

Crested geckos are said to be easy to keep, but if it's your first time, wouldn't it be nice to try one out before deciding? Since crested geckos don't interact with their owners as much as dogs do, you can apparently even try keeping one for a week.

When you do adopt one, they provide a full set of everything you need — enclosure and all — so if you're interested in lizard adoption, it's worth a visit to Kamerine in Jungnang! And it's not just a hand-off — if you have questions or need care advice afterward, they'll help anytime, which felt very reassuring.

If you ever need to be away from home for a long trip, Kamerine even offers a hotel service for your lizard, so that's reassuring too. Since the owner is a lizard expert, they might even take better care of it than you would at home, haha.

Is Kamerine worth a visit with a baby?

I try to give my baby all kinds of new experiences, but honestly I think I enjoyed watching the chameleons even more than she did, haha. If you love animals, or especially if your kids are into reptiles, they'll love visiting here! The café is spotless and the animals all looked really well cared for.

The coffee was tasty too, and we enjoyed the smoothie and toast, haha. If you're looking for a Seoul specialty café date spot, give Kamerine a try!