Cheongju Coffee Stop · 36 stories
I write about cafes I visit in Gangwon and the impressions they leave. · Writes about: Restaurants · Cafés · Hair & beauty salons · Bars
Cafe Arc (카페 아크) is a bakery and dessert café at 67 Cheongbaengni-ro in Baeksa-myeon, Icheon, Gyeonggi. A family touring Icheon apartment complexes stopped by Cafe Arc after lunch and shared a kouign-amann, pain au chocolat, cinnamon roll and chocolate cherry levain cookie with Americanos. Even on full stomachs the family finished every pastry in minutes, making Cafe Arc a satisfying Icheon dessert stop for the whole family.
Danppang Bakery (단빵제빵소) is a garlic bread bakery inside Gugyeong Market in Danyang, Chungbuk. On a fall weekend trip to Danyang, the writer waited in line for 1 hour and bought two sets of four garlic bread flavors (cream cheese garlic butter, black garlic cream cheese, baguette and sweet potato custard), then reheated the leftovers at home in an air fryer until crisp outside and soft inside. Danppang Bakery is a worthwhile Danyang bakery stop to pair with Gosu Cave and the fall foliage.
Neul Gogi Jip Icheon Main Branch (늘고기집 이천본점) is a Korean restaurant on Gyeongchung-daero in Icheon, Gyeonggi, selected for the 2026 Blue Ribbon Survey. Before a barbecue dinner at an Icheon glamping site, the writer had the basic ssambap (rice with leafy wraps) set for lunch and liked everything about it: a deep doenjang (soybean paste) stew, spicy stir-fried pork, a self-serve corner for wrap greens, a dessert area, and mineral alkaline water you can take away in your own tumbler. Neul Gogi Jip Icheon Main Branch is worth a return visit whenever you want a neat, easygoing Korean meal on an Icheon trip.
JB Coffee (제이비커피) is a café in Byeolgok-ri, Danyang-eup, Danyang, Chungbuk, known for Maneul Sambong Bingsu, a garlic-shaped shaved-ice dessert, and a large display of pricey figures. The writer visited with a child, ordered melon and vanilla garlic bingsu with coffee, poured the coffee over affogato-style and broke the bingsu apart with the bamboo spear and shovel-shaped spoon, while the child was absorbed in the figures. JB Coffee has the taste, the sights and the fun of eating to be a must-stop on a Danyang trip.
Danyang Heukmaneul Nurungji Dakgangjeong is a black garlic nurungji dakgangjeong (sweet glazed fried chicken) shop inside Gugyeong Market in Danyang-eup, Danyang, Chungbuk. After ordering on a weekend and browsing Gugyeong Market for about 50 minutes, the writer ate the chicken right away in the car and found that, despite worries about a strong garlic taste, the sweet-salty glaze was mild and the thin nurungji (crispy scorched rice) gave a satisfying crunch. Danyang Heukmaneul Nurungji Dakgangjeong is worth the wait: a Danyang trip snack the whole family can enjoy.
Heukmaneul Boribap (흑마늘 보리밥) is a Korean barley rice restaurant at 7-1 Byeolgok 9-gil, Danyang-eup, Danyang, Chungbuk. Back in Danyang for the first time in 10 years, the writer followed a local friend's recommendation, waited about 15 minutes at Saturday lunch and ordered the black garlic suyuk (boiled pork slices) barley rice set for 2. The thin suyuk topped with garlic sauce, the crab doenjang stew and the generous namul bibimbap were all highly satisfying. Verdict: for a locally approved suyuk meal on a Danyang trip, Heukmaneul Boribap's black garlic suyuk barley rice set is the answer.
Black Garlic Salt Bread is a salt bread bakery inside Gugyeong Market (구경시장), the traditional market in Danyang, Chungbuk. A self-confessed salt bread fan waited in the weekend line, got original and black garlic salt bread straight from the oven, and ate them on the spot; the black garlic salt bread has such a mild garlic flavor that the kids ate it happily. Choose the original for a plain, buttery bite or the black garlic for a sweeter taste of a Danyang specialty, an easy snack on any Danyang trip.
Elephant Terrace is a Thai restaurant on Unridan-gil in Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju. After touring the Cheongju Early Printing Museum, the writer and a friend shared the signature six-dish Elephant Set and the Thai drinks kati and cha yen, and the soft-shell crab pu pad pong curry (stir-fried crab curry) stood out above everything else. Elephant Terrace has no break time, which makes it an easy Unridan-gil stop at an in-between hour after the museum.
Apere is a large rooftop café on the 4th floor of River Picnic on Sicheong-daero in Sejong. On a daytime stop during an errand in Sejong, the writer had Apere's signature brioche with coffee while looking out over the city, and the spacious interior and underground parking made the visit easy. Even the daytime view at Apere is enough to make you want to come back in the evening for the night view and bingsu (shaved ice).
Bapkkot Hansang (밥꽃한상) is a Korean set-meal restaurant on the 3rd floor of a building on Doum 8-ro in Eojin-dong, Sejong. On a business trip, the writer booked a weekday 1 p.m. table with a colleague and ate the signature Bapkkot Special for 2, served in two rounds: mildly seasoned namul (vegetable side dishes) made without chemical seasoning and a savory pancake with Cheongyang chili soy sauce, then juicy minari (water parsley) tteokgalbi and gangdoenjang (thick soybean paste) bibimbap. The portions were big enough to leave a little behind, but Bapkkot Hansang was a satisfying business-trip lunch still on the writer's mind by dinner.
Myeongyeok Bundang Sunae is a chicken restaurant near Sunae Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, serving chicken kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup), chicken katsu and naengmyeon (cold noodles). A regular who calls himself a "chicken ghost" went after work with a friend and ordered the old-school cheese-bomb chicken katsu platter (11,900 won), the chicken kalguksu and tenderloin katsu set (13,900 won) and the limited meat-bomb naengmyeon (12,900 won). Portions, flavor and value all satisfied this regular, who could not name a single thing Myeongyeok Bundang Sunae should improve.
Hyeongje Donkkaseu-ui Jip (형제돈까스의집) is an old-school, Korean-Western-style pork cutlet (donkatsu) restaurant on the second floor of a building in the Seongan-gil food alley in Cheongju. After a business trip, the writer had the sweet potato donkatsu and the donkatsu spaghetti for lunch and was impressed by the self-serve soup and dinner rolls, the generous portions and a taste that recalls childhood Western-style diners. With meals in the 10,000-won range, Hyeongje Donkkaseu-ui Jip is a filling spot the writer would happily return to for a family meal out.
