Seochon café with an air-conditioned 2nd floor: salt bread at Respire

This is about Respire Bakery Cafe, a Seochon bakery café famous for its salt bread and brunch menu.

I visited Respire, a bakery café in Seochon famous for its salt bread and a wide range of brunch dishes. I'd recommend it if you're looking for a quiet, relaxed café.

Where is Respire Bakery Cafe in Seochon? Location, hours and parking

Respire Bakery Cafe is a 15-minute walk from Exit 3 of Gyeongbokgung Station. It's open 8:30-18:00 on weekdays and 9:00-19:00 on weekends.

I followed the map past Gyeongbokgung toward the Seochon alleys, and suddenly a big café appeared. The weather was nice, so they had the windows wide open. There's a stone wall view across the way, so sitting outside with a coffee looked lovely too.

📍I thought the big space in front of the café was its own parking lot, but it's actually the Cheong Wa Dae security service lot, so you can't use it. You'll need a nearby public car park.🚘

Mural photo spot and outdoor seats at the entrance

Heading toward the entrance, a cute mural greeted me. Photos taken against it come out really pretty. A photo hotspot🤍

There are outdoor seats along the side too. On a cooler day I'd happily sit out there and relax. But, I'd walked over 30 minutes that day, and with the heat I headed inside.🥵

1st-floor window seats or the air-conditioned 2nd floor: where to sit?

Respire has two floors. The 1st floor has big windows, and it was full of people. A breeze came in and it wasn't bad, but I went up to the 2nd floor anyway.

The 2nd floor had the air conditioning on, so it was cool.❄️ I grabbed a seat right away. There's a small window view up there too, but it's a popular spot and fills up fast.

I sat down and looked over the menu, wondering what to order. The brunch dishes looked so good, but I'd already had lunch, so I passed.

⭐️One Americano refill when each person orders one drink. That's great, isn't it?👀

How much are Respire's salt bread and ciabatta?

The basic salt bread at Respire is ₩3,000, and ciabatta runs ₩6,500-7,300. I went back down to the 1st floor to browse the bread💕 Besides the famous salt bread, there were so many tasty-looking breads. I wanted to try one of each.🤤

• Potato bacon ciabatta (₩7,300)
• Cheese olive ciabatta
• Chocolate salt bread (₩4,300)

• Basil tomato ciabatta (₩6,500)
• Sweet pumpkin ciabatta (₩6,800)
• Chocolate cream cheese ciabatta (₩7,000)

• Garlic cream cheese salt bread (₩5,300)
• Condensed milk cream salt bread (₩4,300), sold out❌

• Myeongnang potato salt bread (₩4,800)
• Cookie salt bread (₩5,000)
• Salt bread (₩3,000)

A café counter with a European feel🤍 After you order, a KakaoTalk message tells you when your items are ready for pickup.

What I ordered at Respire and how it tasted

• Iced Americano (₩5,500)
• Salt bread (₩3,000)
• Chocolate cream cheese ciabatta (₩7,000)

Iced Americano

Respire's iced Americano has a clean taste without strong acidity, so it goes nicely with bread.

Salt bread: Respire's butter-rich signature

The salt bread I was most looking forward to🥐 Respire is said to be famous for salt bread made with French gourmet butter, and the butter flavor really does come through strongly. The more you chew, the more the saltiness and nutty richness build up. Signature menu confirmed😋

Chocolate cream cheese ciabatta, almost a dessert

The chocolate cream cheese ciabatta is packed with sweet chocolate and smooth cream cheese inside chewy ciabatta, rich and delicious. With chocolate alone it might have felt a bit sweet, but the cream cheese balances it well.

Sweetness, nuttiness and a slightly tangy cream cheese flavor come together, so it works great as a dessert👍 If you like sweet bread, I think you'll be satisfied with this one.

Who is Respire Bakery Cafe Seochon best for?

Pretty sunlight comes in by the windows and you can feel Seochon's relaxed atmosphere, so it's a great café for chatting over bread. It's also well placed for a stop after a Gyeongbokgung stroll, so I'd recommend it as a date course too.