Rooftop café in Haenggung-dong for butter cream latte: Caffeine Focus

I went with close friends to a lovely café with views of Hwaseong Fortress wall. The coffee was good and the bread tasted homemade, but the best part was the atmosphere and the fortress view. Just staring blankly at the pretty view made me happy — this was Caffeine Focus, a café in Haenggung-dong.

Caffeine Focus hours and parking in Haenggung-dong

Caffeine Focus is a fortress-view café in Haenggung-dong, Paldal-gu, Suwon. It's closed on Tuesdays and open Wednesday through Monday, 11:00 to 20:00. I used the parking lot right in front of the café, and since it was a weekday, parking wasn't difficult.

Closed on Tuesdays / Wed–Mon 11:00–20:00

I used the parking lot right in front of the café, and since it was a weekday, parking wasn't difficult.

Where to sit at Caffeine Focus: first floor, terrace or rooftop?

Caffeine Focus felt like a pretty standalone house turned café. There's a first floor and a terrace, plus a rooftop — perfect for sitting with a coffee in this kind of autumn weather to clear your head. I found the third-floor rooftop with the Hwaseong Fortress wall view a little late; if I'd known sooner, I would have grabbed a seat there right away.

The view of Hwaseong Haenggung's fortress wall was just so pretty. A place where simply sitting there felt healing. Such a Korean, beautiful view... I went with close friends and they were all raving about how pretty the café was.

The view is pretty, but the café itself is also aesthetic and trendy. The desserts are tasty and so is the coffee — a genuine dessert-and-coffee spot you could visit for just those two things alone, but the atmosphere is even better, so if you like pretty cafés in Haenggung-dong, I'd recommend giving it a try at least once.

Is Caffeine Focus good for visiting with a baby?

Caffeine Focus had blankets and baby chairs ready. My friends said they liked it enough to come back with their babies, or for a date with their husbands. I want to come back here with my family too — I'd really recommend it as a date spot.

Usually when a café is this pretty, I'm satisfied even if the dessert is a bit lacking, but Caffeine Focus's desserts are actually great too — a genuine dessert spot. I ordered a banana muffin, and instead of artificial flavor it tasted like real banana had gone in, like it was homemade. The muffin was so good I wanted to come back for other breads or cakes.

What we ordered at Caffeine Focus and what it cost

• Iced americano ₩5,500
• Hot americano ₩5,500
• Butter cream latte ₩7,000
• Banana muffin ₩3,000

How the butter cream latte and banana muffin tasted

At Caffeine Focus, the butter cream latte I drank was ₩7,000 and the banana muffin was ₩3,000. Getting away from parenting for once, chatting with close friends over tasty desserts and coffee while looking at a pretty view — that was pure healing.

This is what healing looks like. Who knew there'd be a café by Hwaseong Haenggung with such a pretty view, plus good coffee and desserts and such an aesthetic feel — impossible not to come back. Maybe because the café's atmosphere is so good, selfies came out great too.

I ordered the butter cream latte, and it was exactly my kind of flavor. You could taste that distinct nutty butter cream flavor, and it was a really smooth coffee. Just the right amount of sweetness, so tasty. It's a flavor I want to drink again and again — I think I'll reorder this latte.

My friends drank the americano so I didn't get to taste it, but they said,

"Clean and tasty." "This place has a pretty café and view, and the coffee is good too."

They told me I picked a good café and that they'd come back again.

The banana muffin's flavor wasn't artificial-tasting — it had real fresh banana in it. With that slightly sweet banana taste and a nutty, soft muffin, I enjoyed it a lot. It tasted good and healthy, so I wanted to bring my baby to eat it together, and my friends felt exactly the same way.

A satisfying café with a pretty Hwaseong Fortress wall view, tasty desserts and coffee, and great atmosphere all together. The fortress scenery spreading out through the wide-open window was truly beautiful, a place where just sitting still felt healing. All three of us said we had to come back, and I'd recommend Caffeine Focus in Haenggung-dong to anyone looking for a fortress-view café in Suwon.