Seongsu café for pistachio Blanc cake: Notldun

French-style desserts after a Seoul Forest walk

When you head to Seongsu or Seoul Forest, there are so many pretty cafés and great dessert spots that you have to choose carefully!! Which means a serious search session, haha. This time, we visited Notldun, a Seoul Forest café that was already well known, so my husband and I could take a walk around Seoul Forest and try its French-style desserts.

Personally, when I eat dessert, I tend to prefer petit gâteaux with thoughtful ingredient combinations over cakes that are simply sweet. This place was exactly my style, so I had been looking forward to it even before visiting.

Notldun's Signature Blanc in particular is packed generously with the pistachio my husband loves, so we decided we absolutely had to try it on this visit.

Notldun location, parking, and reservations

• Location: 1F, 11 Seoulsup 2-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea (서울특별시 성동구 서울숲2길 11 1층)
• An 8-minute walk from Seoul Forest Station Exit 5 or Ttukseom Station Exit 8
• Hours: Mon–Thu 11 AM–10 PM; Sat–Sun 11 AM–10:30 PM
• Takeout, reservations, and group visits are available, and they say gluten-free desserts are also offered.

Parking is not available in front of the shop or inside the commercial building, so if you are driving, I recommend using the Seoul Forest Complex Culture and Sports Center parking lot. Even though we visited late, there were quite a few customers inside. Maybe because it is famous for desserts in Seongsu, people kept coming in for cake even late in the day. If there is a cake you want, reserving before your visit seems like a good idea.

I was curious about the name Notldun, so I looked it up. It means “our gift, talent” in French, and this is said to be the first pastry boutique created by chefs Kim Myeong-jun and Ha Min-jae with the meaning of gifting the talents they have. They were chefs who appeared on Cheonhajaebbang, too, so I was even! More! Excited!!!

The exterior was neat and pretty, making it a nice spot for photos near Seoul Forest. Inside, the all-white palette felt clean and upscale! The shop itself is quite cozy, though. There are only around six tables, so I think there could be a wait on weekends!

Still, it was fun to look around because it has an open kitchen where you can catch a glimpse of the chefs making desserts. Being able to watch the baking made it really feel like a pastry boutique. The packaging was pretty, too. From the cake boxes to the shopping bags, everything had Notldun's own design, so it had an atmosphere that people looking for gift desserts would love.

Petit gâteaux and baked goods

Cakes are definitely the main event at Notldun! There is also a wide range of drinks—coffee, non-coffee drinks, ades, lattes, juices, sparkling drinks, and tea—but when you stand in front of the cake display, your eyes naturally go to the desserts. There were petit gâteaux that made me want to try every single one just from their names: Notldun Signature Noir, Notldun Signature Blanc, Pistachio Festival, Mascar Berry, and salty caramel mille-feuille.

There were lots of baked goods as well, including lime, raspberry, vanilla, pistachio, and Earl Grey madeleines. However, because we visited late, there was not much left. They normally have a wider variety of both cakes and baked goods, so if you want plenty of options, I think it is better to go a little earlier.

Drink menu and prices

• Coffee: espresso 5.5, espresso tonic 8.0, Americano 6.0, café latte 6.5, vanilla latte and cappuccino 7.5, Valrhona Guanaja mocha 10.5, decaf and extra shot 0.5
• Non-coffee: lemon and grapefruit ade 7.5; vanilla Earl Grey milk tea, Jeju matcha latte, and premium strawberry latte 7.5; Jeju matcha strawberry latte 8.0; Valrhona Guanaja dark chocolate latte 10.0
• Tea: Mariage Frères English Breakfast; TWG French Earl Grey, crème caramel, chamomile, and Eternal Summer, 7.0 each
• Tea ade: English Breakfast, French Earl Grey, crème caramel, chamomile, and Eternal Summer, 8.0 each

What does the Signature Blanc taste like?

The item I chose this time was the Notldun Signature Blanc, ₩14,000! It is a dessert of white chocolate mousse with tangy cassis, nutty pistachio, and crisp croustillant. My husband loves pistachio desserts, so the moment we saw the display case, we thought, we have to eat this.

It was so pretty that it almost felt too precious to eat at first. The pure-white mousse is softly piled on top, and while it looks very clean from the outside, cutting into it reveals richly colored filling inside.

Starting with white chocolate, you get bright raspberry-like flavors alongside nutty pistachio, while a thin, crisp tart crust at the bottom creates several layers of texture. I especially loved the pistachio flavor. The white chocolate mousse was soft and sweet, but the berry notes inside kept the finish from feeling too heavy.

It is hard to describe exactly what it tastes like, but it felt a little different from a simply sweet white chocolate cake!!! Above all, rather than eating one part on its own, this cake was most delicious when I took a biiig bite of the white chocolate mousse + berries + pistachio + crisp tart crust all together. That crisp bite among the soft textures really brings the flavor and texture to life.

So even with one slice, I recommend cutting it into small pieces like I did and scooping up several layers at once!

Iced café latte and grapefruit ade

A drink is essential with cake, right? I ordered an iced café latte! I have been totally into nutty lattes lately, so I often choose one when I go to a café, and Notldun's latte had that nutty flavor too, making it lovely with dessert. After the sweet white chocolate and pistachio dessert, a sip of latte felt like a soft reset for my palate!

The staff were also so kind. Even during a busy time, they were attentive from taking our order to bringing our drinks, so we had a really pleasant stay.

My husband cannot drink coffee, so once again... he ordered an ade. Haha. He chose the grapefruit ade, and its characteristic bright citrus flavor with a slight bitterness made it perfect for a hot day. It was fizzy too, so each sip felt refreshing, and it paired nicely with the sweet cake.

Notldun felt like more than a place selling pretty cakes—it felt like a place that puts layers of ingredient and texture combinations into a single dessert. The Signature Blanc I had was especially good because it brought together the softness of white chocolate, the brightness of berries, the nuttiness of pistachio, and the crunch of tart crust, so the flavors kept changing within one slice. If you love pistachio-style desserts, I really!! think it is worth trying ㅠㅠ

Why it is great for a Seongsu date dessert

Another plus is that whole cakes, petit gâteaux, and baked goods can all be reserved! It was a lovely place to visit when looking for a cake for a special occasion or wanting a slightly special dessert in Seongsu. The shop is not large, though, so if you are visiting in a group, check the seating situation, and reserve in advance if there is a cake you want. Above all, the staff were kind, so we felt comfortable throughout our visit!

It is great to stop by after walking around Seoul Forest and heading toward Ttukseom Station, and it is also a lovely dessert stop on a Seongsu date! If you want to enjoy carefully made French-style desserts alongside a clean atmosphere, I think Notldun is well worth dropping into as a Seongsu dessert recommendation.

Next time, I am going to visit a little earlier instead of late in the day and try the cake desserts and baked goods I missed this time too!!