Gangneung Window Nook · 23 stories

Café Corners

Writing about cafés found around Seoul and Incheon. · Writes about: Cafés · Restaurants · Bars · Beauty products

PlaceSongpa, SeoulCafés

Jamsil bakery with Mom: peanut butter salt bread & chestnut loaf

Okuku Bakery Jamsil Main Branch is a large bakery café in Songpa, Seoul, right outside Exit 2 of Songpanaru Station, with three floors plus a rooftop. After a visit to a nearby hospital with her mom, the writer took home 5 breads from Okuku Bakery and liked the peanut butter salt bread and the chestnut pastry loaf best. Verdict: Okuku Bakery Jamsil Main Branch is a great Jamsil bakery for picking up delicious bread to go with your mom.

Written Nov 13, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Irwon-dong tonkatsu with Mom: special-cut katsu & kimchi nabe, Sioldon

Sioldon Irwon Branch (시올돈 일원점) is a tonkatsu restaurant on Irwon-dong Food Street, across the pedestrian bridge from Samsung Seoul Hospital in Gangnam, Seoul. After the writer's mom finished her regular checkup at Samsung Seoul Hospital, they skipped the hospital food court and shared kimchi nabe (kimchi hot pot) and special-cut katsu at Sioldon Irwon Branch; the food came out fast despite the crowd, and the kimchi nabe was loaded with tonkatsu. Sioldon Irwon Branch is a good spot for a filling meal with a parent on a Samsung Seoul Hospital appointment day.

Written May 1, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGwacheon, GyeonggiRestaurants

Gwacheon duck BBQ after Uiwang Lake Park, 3 generations: Deo Chadol

Deo Chadol (더차돌) is a duck BBQ restaurant on Dwitgol 2-ro in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi. On a second visit after Uiwang Lake Park, the writer, her mother and her kids ordered 2 servings of selenium duck brisket BBQ, a kids' assorted seafood egg soup and doenjang (soybean paste) stew. The duck brisket was good, but the seafood egg soup and doenjang stew are the dishes she would order again at Deo Chadol.

Written Nov 7, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeocho, SeoulCafés

Gyodae Station café with Mom before lunch: hotteok babka, Mini Male

Mini Male Coffee Roaster Gyodae Court Branch is a specialty coffee roastery and dessert café near the Gyodae court complex, between Gyodae Station and Seocho Station in Seocho, Seoul. The writer stopped by with her mom before lunch, ordered on a small tablet outside the shop, and had a hot Helsinki Latte, an iced americano, a hotteok babka and a Victoria scone; the hotteok babka, which tastes just like the filling of hotteok (Korean sweet pancake), was the favorite. Mini Male Gyodae Court Branch is a Gyodae Station café best visited before the lunch peak, when you can sit down and enjoy coffee and babka at an easy pace.

Written Oct 29, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Sangam noodle shop for Saturday dinner with two kids: Sangam Hoegwan

Sangam Hoegwan is a kongguksu (cold soy milk noodle) restaurant in the basement food court of Sangam IT Tower in Mapo, Seoul. On an early Saturday evening with two kids, the writer ordered kongguksu, kabocha pumpkin kongguksu and bibim guksu (spicy mixed noodles) dumpling sets plus a dumpling plate, 10 giant dumplings in all, and found the quiet food court easy with children. At Sangam Hoegwan the pumpkin kongguksu, a first try, beat expectations, while the bibim guksu was quite spicy.

Written Oct 22, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeocho, SeoulRestaurants

Pizza and pasta restaurant near Isu Station with mom: Dooblock Isu

Dooblock Isu is a Western restaurant serving pizza, pasta and steak on a side street near Exit 5 of Isu Station in Seocho, Seoul. Over a meal with her mother, the writer had a diavola pizza and a steak cream pasta (spice level 1) topped with chuck flap steak, and especially loved the generous cheese, the chewy wood-fired dough, the tender steak and the bright, terrace-like space. With 2 hours of parking support, Dooblock Isu is a highly recommended Western restaurant near Isu Station for dates and get-togethers.

Written Oct 20, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeocho, SeoulRestaurants

Hanwoo butcher restaurant in Bangbae, Seoul: galbitang lunch with Mom

Seogyeong Hanwoo Plaza Arts Center branch is a hanwoo (Korean beef) butcher restaurant on Myeongdal-ro in Bangbae, Seocho, Seoul. The writer took her mom, visiting from Gangneung, there for lunch and ordered yukhoe bibimbap (beef tartare rice bowl), hanwoo galbitang (beef short rib soup) and mul naengmyeon (cold noodles in broth). The galbitang came with three big pieces of beef, enough to take leftovers home, and free ice cream was offered for dessert. With a tidy dining room and generous parking, Seogyeong Hanwoo Plaza is a satisfying Bangbae hanwoo lunch spot for treating your parents.

Written Oct 18, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangneung, GangwonCafés

Gangneung café for a rainy day with kids: capsule hunt—Gangneung Sand

Gangneung Sand Main Branch is a dessert café on Seonggokgoyang-gil in Gangneung, Gangwon, selling Gangneung Sand cookies and breakwater bread, with a paid kids' play zone on the 3rd floor and an observation deck on the 5th. The writer visited with her mother and two daughters, ordering a Chodang corn butter cream Gangneung Sand, a strawberry latte and a Daegwallyeong Samgye latte, while the girls tried the excavator play and the capsule hunt. Gangneung Sand Main Branch suits families looking for somewhere to go with kids in Gangneung on a rainy, cold or hot day.

Written Jun 14, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYeonsu, IncheonCafés

Songdo outlet café for a cold: hot tangerine-grapefruit juice, Wunder

Wunder Coffee Bar Hyundai Premium Outlet Songdo Branch is a hojicha, ice cream and coffee café inside the B1 food square of Hyundai Premium Outlet Songdo in Yeonsu, Incheon. On a visit with the kids, the writer ordered a hot Americano, a hot tangerine-grapefruit juice for a husband coming down with a cold, and a hojicha and vanilla twist soft serve. The tangerine-grapefruit juice was rich with no bitterness, good enough that the whole family kept stealing sips. Cones were sold out, so the soft serve came in a cup, but the staff piled on Oreo crumbs, making Wunder Coffee Bar a satisfying snack stop for kids too.

Written Oct 11, 2026Sponsored
PlaceDongjak, SeoulRestaurants

Kid-friendly udon spot at Isu Station: baby chairs and M&Ms, Kosi

Kosi Isu Branch is a Japanese restaurant serving house-made udon and tonkatsu on the ground floor of the Isu Xi shopping arcade at Isu Station in Dongjak, Seoul. The blogger visited with two daughters around 7:30 p.m. on a weekday, waited about 5 minutes, and ordered tenbukkake udon, kake udon and cheese tonkatsu; Kosi Isu Branch provided baby chairs, baby tableware and even M&M chocolates for the kids, making for a relaxed meal. The springy noodles of the tenbukkake udon, tried for the first time, stood out, and Kosi Isu Branch is a dinner spot worth recommending to families with children.

Written Oct 9, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYongsan, SeoulRestaurants

Yongsan I'Park Mall ramen in Living Park 7F: mazesoba set, Menya Seoul

Menya Seoul Yongsan I'Park Mall Branch is a ramen shop on the 7th floor of Living Park at Yongsan I'Park Mall in Yongsan, Seoul, right next to the central elevator. Meeting a friend there, the writer ordered a pork belly mazesoba set (crispy gyoza and cola) and a spicy dongpo pork ramen on its own, and found the bar seats and food court seating roomy enough for eating alone too. Verdict: the mazesoba at Menya Seoul was so good the writer will be back, a wholehearted recommendation.

Written Jul 18, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeocho, SeoulCafés

Seocho Station café lunch takeout: salt bread & financiers, Coffee829

Coffee829 Seocho is a roastery café near Seocho Station and Sarang Church in Seoul that brews coffee from beans roasted in-house and sells bakery items such as salt bread, financiers, butter tteok (buttery rice cake) and blueberry cream cheese chewy bread. A plan to buy just two americanos at Coffee829 Seocho ended with a bag full of bakery takeout, and the second floor above the high-ceilinged hall has a separate room for quiet study or group meetings. Lunchtime gets busy, so ordering ahead with Pass Order is the easiest way to skip the wait.

Written Aug 6, 2026Sponsored