Ulju café for chestnut Basque cheesecake and an outdoor break: MUG

I ended up going to MUG (카페 먹) while out with my family! It is quite a well-known spot among people in Ulsan, and I had been here once before. I remembered there being a huge selection of bread on my last visit, so this time we came ready to properly dig into the bakery offerings too.

MUG location and parking

We came by car with the family, and the parking lot was seriously spacious. There seemed to be lots of family groups visiting too, so if you are looking for a café in Ulju, Ulsan that you can drive to, I do not think parking will be much of a worry.

What are the opening hours?

Open from 10 AM to 8 PM, with last orders at 7:30 PM.

We visited at around 2 PM on a weekend, and since it was apparently the busiest time of day, the café was pretty crowded. Especially if you want to choose your bread properly, I think it would be better to come a little earlier rather than late in the afternoon like we did.

The bakery and interior on a weekend afternoon

I remembered there being an incredible amount of bread when I came last time. So I headed straight to look around the bakery this time too, but perhaps because it was around 2 PM on a weekend, there were quite a few empty spots on the shelves.

Still, the staff kept restocking things here and there, so it was not as if there was nothing to eat. But if you are visiting for a particular bread, the item you want may not be available depending on the time. If you are looking for a bakery café in Eonyang, Ulsan, I personally recommend going a little early.

Also, the restroom here was seriously pleasant. It was almost department-store-restroom clean, so I was quite impressed for a café restroom, haha. Especially when you are out with a baby, it matters whether there is a restroom or somewhere to change a diaper, right? There is a separate diaper-changing area here, so it seemed good for visiting with a baby too.

What are the outdoor tables like?

Personally, when I come here, I would recommend the outdoor seating over indoors. The indoor space itself was fairly large, but because there were so many people on the weekend, there was a bit of conversation noise and general bustle. So if the weather is okay, I would absolutely sit outside.

Even though it was outdoors, it did not feel dusty or uncomfortable, and if you walk just a little uphill from the building toward the mountain, a cool breeze blows through, making the atmosphere really lovely. We sat outside, drank coffee, and relaxed for quite a while, and it felt much more leisurely than being indoors. As long as it is not too hot or cold, I really recommend the outdoor tables.

Since it is a pet-friendly café, I saw quite a few doggies too, along with lots of families with children. If you come with a child who loves dogs, it could be fun to have coffee and watch them at the café.

What we ordered and the chestnut Basque cheesecake

We ordered soboro bread, salt bread, chestnut Basque cheesecake, and drinks: a hot Americano, an iced Americano, and the MUG lemon smoothie.

There were so many kinds of bread that I had a hard time deciding what to get, but my favorite this time was the chestnut Basque cheesecake. Desserts that are too sweet can get tiring quickly if you eat a lot, but this was not overly sweet to begin with, and the texture was really soft—something adults would enjoy too. My family shared a bit of everything, but the chestnut cheesecake ended up being my number-one pick. The soboro bread and salt bread were reliably tasty too, and they went well with the coffee. In particular, I think the lemon smoothie would be a good choice for anyone wanting something refreshing rather than the usual coffee.

In the past, when I went to a large café, I often just had a cup of coffee, took a few photos, and left. But this place has a bakery selection and nice outdoor seating, so we sat with the family and relaxed for quite a long time. If I come back next time, I want to visit a little earlier so I can eat when there is lots of bread out. And if the weather is nice, I will absolutely choose the outdoor tables again. Haha.