City Hall Station café for Yirgacheffe drip and chocolate cake: Center

Today I'm introducing Center Coffee Gwanghwamun, a place I visited for coffee and dessert after having a meal near City Hall Station. I'd been to another Center Coffee branch before and remembered the coffee being pretty good, so this time I went to the Gwanghwamun location haha.

Center Coffee Gwanghwamun hours and location

• Hours: Mon–Fri 7:30–21:00 / Sat–Sun 11:00–21:00
• Other info: Takeout, parking
• Location: 105, B1F, SFC Mall, Seoul Finance Center, 136 Sejong-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul

The way from City Hall Station, connected underground to SFC Mall's basement level

There are so many cafés between City Hall Station and Gwanghwamun, but that day I really wanted proper coffee and something sweet, so I searched around and ended up here.

It's in the basement of SFC Mall near Gwanghwamun Station, so if you eat somewhere in the SFC Mall food scene and then look for a café, it's a good stop. Center Coffee Gwanghwamun is on B1 of the Seoul Finance Center's SFC Mall!

It's not too far from City Hall Station and easy to get to from the Gwanghwamun side too! Since it's underground, it also seems easy to reach on rainy or bad-weather days without stepping outside. It's the perfect second stop for coffee after a meal around Gwanghwamun or City Hall haha.

Apparently Center Coffee Gwanghwamun has been selected in the Blue Ribbon Survey every year from 2018 to 2026! Nine years straight, whoa. I spotted the Blue Ribbon marks at the entrance..! Being selected consistently rather than just once or twice already got me excited before I'd even had a sip lol.

The interior overall felt clean and modern! As a café inside the Seoul Finance Center, it seems like a lot of nearby office workers stop by on weekdays haha. Rather than the lavish, heavily decorated large-café vibe, it felt more clean and focused on the coffee itself.

Center Coffee Gwanghwamun menu board and prices

Here's the menu board at Center Coffee Gwanghwamun.

There are more coffee options than I expected! Espresso ₩5,400, americano ₩5,400, flat white ₩5,500, latte ₩6,000, vanilla latte ₩6,500, oat latte ₩6,500, orange bianco ₩7,000. For cold brew, there's geisha cold brew ₩7,500 and decaf cold brew ₩6,500.

There are also non-coffee and tea options. For people who can't drink coffee, there's a decent lineup haha. Pear lemon ade ₩6,500, red cordial ₩7,000, mugwort latte ₩6,500, Better Than Choco ₩6,000, Flower Garden ₩6,000, Citrus Love ₩6,000. I thought a coffee-focused shop like this would only have coffee, but there's surprisingly a lot of variety, so it's good for a group where everyone can pick what they like.

Set menus available until 3pm

While looking at the menu I found set menus available until 3pm! Greek yogurt bowl + coffee of the day ₩9,500, ham cheese panini + coffee of the day ₩12,000. Both are orderable until 15:00. The Greek yogurt bowl alone is ₩6,000, plain Greek yogurt 150g is ₩3,300, and the ham cheese panini alone is ₩8,500. The Greek yogurt bowl apparently comes with banana, blueberry, seasonal fruit, nuts, and granola. ₩9,500 including coffee seemed like a reasonable simple meal given Gwanghwamun prices haha.

Three types of drip coffee beans

This City Hall Station café, Center Coffee, had quite a variety of drip coffee options! Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Banko Taratu washed ₩6,500, Colombia Diwan El Mirador Geisha washed ₩9,000, Ecuador Finca Soledad Sidra Wave Honey ₩10,000. Three types total. Just from the bean names, someone as clueless as me about coffee has no idea what's what lol, but there were detailed flavor and aroma descriptions right next to them, so you can just pick based on that.

Deciding on the Matilda Chocolat from the showcase

Here's another reason I recommend Center Coffee Gwanghwamun as a City Hall Station café for dessert haha — the moment of truth: dessert. I was ordering coffee and glanced at the showcase, and there was no way I could just walk past that visual ㅠㅠ There was Decoy pure milk cream cake ₩9,000 and Matilda Chocolat cake ₩8,200, among others. The cream cake looked amazing too, loaded with cream, but the pitch-black chocolate cake next to it just looked so rich. After a long internal debate, I ended up picking the Matilda Chocolat cake lol.

Parking at Center Coffee Gwanghwamun

Center Coffee Gwanghwamun, a great City Hall Station café for dessert, has quite a lot of seating, and every table has that nice atmosphere — such a pleasant Gwanghwamun café haha.

And around Gwanghwamun, parking is always the biggest worry if you're driving ㅠㅠ Center Coffee Gwanghwamun lets you use the SFC Mall parking lot! It's paid parking, but the first 90 minutes are free, and after that it's ₩1,000 per 10 minutes, with a max fee of ₩30,000! You need to ask the store to register your car for parking, so definitely keep that in mind if you're driving!

Ordering the Ethiopia Yirgacheffe drip coffee

I ordered a decaf iced americano, drip coffee, and the Matilda chocolate cake, going with the Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Banko Taratu washed for the drip. It's ₩6,500! The menu listed jasmine, nectarine, and lemon, describing a subtle, fresh jasmine floral scent, sweet nectarine fruitiness, and clean, bright lemon acidity as its characteristics. Reading through these descriptions and picking a bean that seems to match your taste is kind of fun haha. Watching them brew it is fun too. Center Coffee Gwanghwamun also does hand drip, so if you usually like drip coffee, it's worth checking out the bean options!

Inside Center Coffee Gwanghwamun there were drip bags and other items that make good gifts! Since it's a Gwanghwamun café with nine consecutive years of Blue Ribbon selection from 2018 to 2026, a drip bag would make a nice gift too haha.

Overall the interior was clean and there was plenty of seating, so this feels like a City Hall Station café with good dessert that I'd end up coming back to often.

The combo: chocolate cake + iced americano + drip coffee

Matilda Chocolat cake ₩8,200, decaf iced americano, and Ethiopia Yirgacheffe drip coffee. Chocolate cake with an americano and drip coffee — honestly this combination can't fail. When I eat dessert I prefer a clean coffee like an iced americano over a sweet drink, so I really liked this pairing.

They served the drip coffee in a separate cup! Compared to a regular americano, it definitely felt more fragrant and fresh! Just like the menu description, I could taste the bright floral notes and a fruity freshness, making it nice and clean to drink.

Especially paired with the rich chocolate cake, the drip coffee's fresh quality stood out even more, so this combo worked surprisingly well too haha. I usually drink iced americanos the most, but every once in a while having drip coffee like this feels different and delicious..

How the Matilda Chocolat cake tastes

Here's the Matilda Chocolat cake I picked! The name is Matilda, and it really looks the part lol. The pitch-black chocolate cake had layers of sponge and chocolate stacked one on top of another, looking incredibly rich just by sight. Chocolate lovers probably can't walk past this in the showcase. Tasting it, the chocolate flavor was indeed rich and dense — really good ㅠㅠ

It's not just vaguely sweet — you really taste the strong chocolate flavor. Take a bite, then a sip of americano, and the sweetness gets reset, so you go back for another bite in an endless loop lol. If you're looking for City Hall Station café desserts and you like chocolate, give this one a try.

Iced americano with no extra charge for decaf

There were fresh flowers inside too, which gave Center Coffee Gwanghwamun such a nice feel haha. Here's the decaf iced americano I had with the chocolate cake!!! My companion can't skip coffee entirely but wanted to cut down on caffeine, so they went with decaf haha. Center Coffee Gwanghwamun, a great City Hall Station café for dessert, doesn't charge extra for decaf beans!

Alternating between the rich, sweet chocolate cake and sips of the iced americano worked really well together, as expected. Having decaf as an option is especially great for days when you're worried about caffeine! For someone like me who wants good coffee in the afternoon but worries about not sleeping at night ㅠㅠ, places with decaf are precious..

In summary

The coffee lineup ranges from regular americano to decaf, cold brew, and drip coffee, and before 3pm there are set menus pairing the Greek yogurt bowl or ham cheese panini with coffee of the day, so it's also good for a simple brunch! Above all, being in the basement of the Seoul Finance Center made it easy to reach after a meal near City Hall Station or Gwanghwamun haha. For those driving, remember: first 90 minutes free + you must register your car at the counter!

If you're looking for a City Hall Station café for dessert where you can have proper coffee alongside cake, give Center Coffee Gwanghwamun a try haha. Next time I'm going to try the pure milk cream cake. 🥰