Seongsu pastry café window seat and Guanaja 40th dessert: Notldun

Today I want to recommend a Seongsu café for dessert lovers: Notldun. It's a pastry boutique run by two well-known chefs, serving desserts on a different level, plus a baked snack selection and clean box packaging that make it a popular choice for a thoughtful gift!

Where is Notldun and when is it open?

Notldun is located at 11 Seoul Forest 2-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 1st floor. It's open Monday to Thursday from 11:00 to 22:00 (last order 21:30), and Friday to Sunday from 11:00 to 22:30 (last order 22:00).

It's an 11-minute, 748m walk from Exit 4 of Seoul Forest Station, and a 12-minute, 752m walk from Exit 8 of Ttukseom Station. There's no dedicated parking lot, but the Ttukseom Reservoir public parking lot is nearby. The address says 1st floor, but from the outside the lower level looks semi-basement, so just head down the stairs to get in!

Inside Notldun: seating and atmosphere

The interior was clean and white-toned, and with a full glass wall, even though the space isn't huge, it never felt cramped and had a real sense of openness. The baking area was also open to view~

Notldun's menu and showcase desserts

For coffee there was espresso, espresso tonic, Americano, café latte, vanilla latte, cappuccino, and a Valrhona Guanaja mocha. For non-coffee there was lemonade, grapefruit ade, vanilla Earl Grey milk tea, lattes (Jeju matcha, strawberry, dark chocolate), plus various teas and tea ades.

And the showcase was lined with delicate, beautifully finished desserts — don't they look impressive just to look at?

The Pistachio Festival apparently has every layer — glaze, mousse, praline, cream, sponge — made with pistachio! The Salty Caramel Mille-feuille is shaped into a cylinder for extra crunch, which made it feel even more special.

Gift-box-shaped Signature Blanc and Noir

And here's their gift-box-shaped signature! The Blanc combines white chocolate, raspberry, and pistachio, while the Noir combines milk chocolate, almond, and whiskey. I really like how they design multiple flavors and textures into one dessert so you get variety in a single bite.

The Valrhona Guanaja 40th anniversary dessert

This one had been sold out but got restocked in the showcase later, so I got a separate photo of it — it's a dessert celebrating the 40th anniversary of Guanaja, the 70% cacao dark chocolate from the French premium chocolate brand. Layers made with Guanaja paired with coffee caramel are said to deliver a deep, intense cacao flavor.

Valrhona madeleines at Notldun and gift packaging

There was also a Valrhona madeleine selection that looked great for gifting.

There were 5 madeleine flavors, and you could tell the quality just from looking at them~ The flavors were vanilla, raspberry,

pistachio, Earl Grey, and lime,

and the petit gâteau and baked snack packaging boxes were so well done that lots of people were buying them as gifts.

Window-seat tea time: Noir with Americano and vanilla latte

After ordering, I sat at a window seat for tea time, and with the alley and passersby visible below, I thought it was the perfect Seongsu café for soaking up the street atmosphere.

The Americano was light with a bit of acidity rather than heavy, and the vanilla latte wasn't too sweet, making it a good match for cake.

I cut into the Noir wondering what would be inside, and overall it felt incredibly soft,

with the soft mousse, nutty almond, and a subtle whiskey aroma coming together in a really luxurious way! I let out a little gasp the moment I took a bite. If a friend gave me this dessert as a gift, I'd be so happy👍

Is Notldun worth visiting in Seongsu?

• A dessert spot with exceptional quality
• Great options for gifting
• A Seongsu café in Seoul with good access near the station

That wraps up my recommendation of Notldun as a Seongsu café — if you're looking for a dessert spot that's a bit out of the ordinary, it's worth a visit.