Salt bread loaf and almond croissant at Yangsan bakery café Choi

After lunch, I stopped by Choi Bakery Main Branch near Hopo Station in Yangsan to have coffee and unwind with a friend.

The bread here is always good, so I come by fairly often. Every time I visit, the display is packed with so many different kinds of bread that choosing becomes a happy dilemma.

Choi Main Branch: a croissant championship winner's bakery across from Hopo Station

Choi Bakery Main Branch sits directly across from Hopo Station on Busan Metro Line 2, so it's easy to reach by public transit. It's known as a bakery café run by a croissant championship winner, which made me curious to try the range of bakery menu items on offer.

As soon as we walked in, the display of mouthwatering bread caught our eyes again. My friend and I browsed slowly, each picking out our own favorites.

The first floor is lined with a variety of breads and desserts, while the second floor has a café space where you can enjoy your coffee and bread at leisure.

Walking in, the sheer variety of bread makes browsing genuinely fun. With everything from plain breads to sweet desserts, it's hard for bread lovers to just walk past.

Picking bread at the first-floor bakery

The first thing you do at Choi Bakery is pick your bread, and with so many kinds, it's not easy to settle on just one. My friend and I each picked out bread to our own taste, and we also grabbed a few pieces the kids would like.

Since everyone in the family likes something different, we ended up with a little of everything rather than just one kind. Thinking about sharing it with the kids at home made even the picking part enjoyable.

Being able to browse so many kinds of bread in one place and pick what suits your taste feels like the real charm of a bakery café.

Light salt bread loaf and nutty almond croissant

What I chose at Choi Bakery this time was the plain salt bread. I usually prefer bread with a plain, understated flavor over anything too sweet or heavily seasoned, so I naturally reached for the salt bread.

My friend went for the almond croissant, drawn in by its nutty flavor. Each of us picked our favorite and enjoyed it with warm coffee — a small but genuinely satisfying way to spend time after lunch. Sitting across from a friend, chatting and stepping away from the busy day for a bit, was really nice.

Choi's popular picks: green onion salt bread and the strawberry shot

Beyond the basics, Choi Bakery has a number of eye-catching items too. Two I'd especially like to mention are the green onion salt bread and the strawberry shot.

The green onion salt bread takes the bakery's popular salt bread and fills it with a sweet green onion cream. The plain, salty bread combined with the soft, sweet cream gives it a distinctive flavor — a different kind of charm from the regular salt bread, worth trying if you're already a fan.

The strawberry shot is a pastry packed with a chewy brownie and tangy strawberry compote. The combination of sweet brownie and bright strawberry makes it an appealing dessert for anyone who likes sweeter bread.

From the classics done well to more distinctive desserts, Choi Bakery has enough variety to make picking and choosing part of the fun.

How ordering works: bakery downstairs, café upstairs

At Choi Bakery Main Branch, you pick and order your bread on the first floor, then head to the second-floor café to collect your drink.

Browsing and choosing bread downstairs, then heading up to relax, is a convenient flow. The second-floor café has generously spaced seating, so it never feels cramped. There's also group seating for larger parties, making the space well suited to both friend gatherings and family visits.

Best of all, there's a large parking lot and an elevator, which makes it easy to visit with kids or when carrying bags.

What do the almond croissant and salt bread loaf taste like?

The almond croissant was topped with a generous amount of almonds, giving it real nuttiness and crunch.

The salt bread was equally plain in flavor, with a crisp outside and soft, moist inside.

With tables spaced well apart, even at a busy hour the room never felt too loud, and it was easy to enjoy coffee and bread in a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere.

Rooftop views and window seats at Choi Main Branch

The weather was really nice that day. Looking out the window from inside the café, the view was so pretty that even the coffee time felt more special.

Choi Bakery also has a rooftop space, so curiosity got the better of me and I went up for a look. The view from the rooftop was genuinely picture-perfect.

Looking out at the open scenery had a way of loosening up whatever had felt cluttered in my mind. I found myself thinking that once the weather turns a bit cooler, I'd love to sit up on the rooftop with a coffee and take my time.

In the season of cool breezes, a coffee enjoyed outdoors is bound to feel even more special. Being able to enjoy not just great bread and coffee but the view too made this Yangsan café, Choi Bakery Main Branch, even more appealing.

Taking leftover bread home from the self-service packing station

Any bread left over can be packed up yourself at the self-packing station. Disposable bags and paper bags come in a range of sizes, so you can pack up leftovers conveniently no matter the amount or size. Being able to neatly pack up even the leftover bread was a nice touch.

Who will enjoy Choi Main Branch?

Choi Bakery Main Branch was where I spent a relaxed afternoon with a friend after lunch, enjoying good bread and coffee. With such a wide range of bread and desserts, choosing is half the fun, and with the second-floor café and rooftop, it's a good place not just to buy bread but to settle in and stay a while. The wide parking lot and easy flow of the space were nice too.

It's a place that works well for a café date with a friend, and just as well for picking out bread with the kids. If you're craving good bread and want to spend a relaxed afternoon near Hopo Station, Choi Bakery Main Branch is worth a stop. Next time, I'd like to sit on the rooftop with a coffee once the weather cools down a bit more.

Choi Main Branch visitor information

• Address: 83 Yangsan-daero, Dong-myeon, Yangsan-si, Gyeongnam, South Korea, Choi Main Branch
• Getting there: About 240m from Exit 3 of Hopo Station (Busan Metro Line 2), directly across from the station
• Hours: Daily 09:00–21:50