Ilsan bakery café for truffle pizza bread & chewy rice loaf: Tomoru

What is Tomoru Bakery Ilsan like?

Tomoru Bakery Ilsan (토모루베이커리 일산점) is a bakery café in Siksa-dong, very close to Dongguk University's Ilsan campus and Ilsan Hospital. I'd heard it had both a great range of breads and a lovely atmosphere, so I went with high expectations.

For people who love bread, is there anything better than discovering a new favorite spot? I pass through this area a lot, and the word of mouth about the bread was so good that I really wanted to stop by.

How is the parking at Tomoru Bakery?

If you drive, park at the public parking lot right in front of the shop. I was told parking there gets you 1 hour free, so I parked without worry. Parking is always the thing that stresses you out when you drive somewhere, right? There's a lot inside the building too, but it's reserved parking and not available to customers. The public lot in front is spacious instead.

After parking, I looked over the exterior, and Tomoru is a pretty big bakery café. The weather was so nice that day that customers were sitting together chatting on the outdoor terrace, and it looked so relaxed and lovely.

What's the atmosphere inside Tomoru Bakery?

The moment I stepped inside, the big bread display in the middle of the shop caught my eye.

Tables are arranged around the display, and the fresh green plants and heavy wooden tables work together to give the space a weighty yet comfortable charm.

Even on a weekday afternoon, plenty of people were already seated, and it had a cozy neighborhood-hangout feel. I was planning to take bread home for the family, so I quickly grabbed tongs and a tray and started my bread tour in earnest.

What are the samples and bread selection at Tomoru Bakery?

Tomoru has plenty of distinctive breads you won't find everywhere, and the sample bread is cut into big pieces. Seeing the display cases packed with bread, this bread lover's heart started fluttering. It's a proper Siksa-dong favorite, and just browsing was fun.

What really touched me was the samples. Tasting bread is usually cut tiny, but Tomoru cuts it so big that a single piece could fill you up. You can feel the owner's generosity, and it made choosing bread a happy experience.

Breads picked to suit the family

I mostly chose with my husband and kids in mind. My husband loves baguettes, so I picked a baguette sandwich for him, and added a soft, crumbly chestnut bread too.

Next to it was a baguette loaded with cucumber, which looked really experimental and unusual. Cucumber lovers would go crazy for the look of it. For my kids, I didn't forget a sweet chocolate bread.

How is the truffle pizza bread at Tomoru Bakery?

Tomoru's truffle pizza bread is one where I want to say both the aroma and the taste are crazy good. While I was choosing bread, a luxurious truffle scent suddenly wafted from somewhere.

I followed it as if enchanted, and there it was: the truffle pizza bread! No need to think, I snatched it right up. At home, the aroma was crazy and the taste was really crazy too. It was so memorable that I vowed, "Next time I go to Tomoru, I'm definitely grabbing two of these."

Strawberry cake and strawberry roll cake in the refrigerated section

In Tomoru's refrigerated section, the cake piled with fresh strawberries and the strawberry roll cake looked so tempting that I could hardly look away. You can feel that this bakery café puts real heart into every single bread, and I was happy the whole time I was choosing.

We shared the takeout bread as a family, and my husband and the kids all said it was so good and wiped it out in no time.

What was the best bread at Tomoru Bakery? The glutinous rice loaf

What won me over most on this visit was none other than the glutinous rice loaf (chapssal sikppang). It wasn't just plain sandwich bread but a loaf mixed with glutinous rice, and wow... that chewiness was incredible. The nutty, sticky texture gets better the more you chew, so it's delicious even without jam.

Delicious bread, a comfortable atmosphere and generous hospitality, Tomoru has it all! If you're looking for a proper bread tour near Siksa-dong, definitely stop by. I'm planning to go back soon for that glutinous rice loaf and the truffle pizza bread. If you're serious about bread, you won't regret it!