Jongno bakery near Changdeokgung: 3 warm breads ranked, Munhwa

The rain made the weather feel so much cooler. (I love how the air changes when it rains...) I recently visited Munhwa Bakery (문화제빵), which has a reputation in Jongno for delicious bread! I went right at the 11am opening, so nobody was there, but it seems like the kind of popular spot that even gets a wait by the afternoon. If you love bread, it's worth a visit at least once. Munhwa Bakery is very close to Changdeokgung and not far from Gyeongbokgung either, so keep that in mind.

What are Munhwa Bakery's hours and how does it work?

Munhwa Bakery is open daily from 11:00 to 20:00, and it's takeout only. You can't eat inside the shop.

• Hours: daily 11:00 - 20:00
• Takeout only (no eating inside the shop)
• Signature items: garlic bread, coffee bread, sweet potato bread, rice chestnut loaf, mugwort rice cake bread, black sesame bread and more

What are the outside and inside like? Is it easy to find?

Munhwa Bakery is on the ground floor on Donhwamun-ro, so the storefront stands out right away. I was following the map, and the shop jumped straight out at me! You shouldn't have any trouble finding it.

The inside of Munhwa Bakery is smaller than you'd expect! There's a sign out front asking people to enter two groups at a time. There are no tables inside, so you just order and carry your bread out. That's a bit of a shame 🥹

Munhwa Bakery menu and prices

Most breads at Munhwa Bakery cost between ₩3,500 and ₩6,800, and there's a really wide variety! These are the prices I saw.

• Black sesame bread ₩3,800
• Milk cream bread ₩3,500
• Cheese bread ₩5,400
• Squid-ink condensed milk bread ₩4,500
• Onion bagel ₩6,000
• White red-bean paste bread ₩3,800
• Sweet potato bread ₩3,800
• Walnut bread ₩3,500
• Mugwort rice cake bread ₩5,700
• Peanut bread ₩3,800
• Garlic bread ₩6,800
• Coffee bread ₩5,800

The 3 breads I ordered at Munhwa Bakery

At Munhwa Bakery I ordered three breads: sweet potato bread (₩3,800), squid-ink condensed milk bread (₩4,500) and mugwort rice cake bread (₩5,700)! They didn't hand me the ones on display; they prepared separately wrapped ones and put them in a bag :) 🥨🥨🥨

Sweet potato bread (₩3,800): goes down easy without a drink, my No. 1 pick

Munhwa Bakery's sweet potato bread has just enough sweet potato that it isn't dry, so I enjoyed it without any drink. Personally I like sweet potato itself, but I also really love sweet-potato foods like sweet potato bread and sweet potato pizza 🍠 That's why I ordered it, and it was so good... It tasted slightly like chestnut too, and it was pleasantly sweet, so I recommend it!

If you like sweet potato or sweet potato bread, definitely try it! As a bread lover, I couldn't wait until I got home, so I ate it on the street 🙈

Squid-ink condensed milk bread (₩4,500): meant to take one bite, finished the whole thing

Munhwa Bakery's squid-ink condensed milk bread pairs a dark bread with bright condensed milk, and the milk isn't overly sweet and is smooth. Dark-colored bread like this isn't common, I think. The dark bread with the bright condensed milk looked so delicious. I ordered it because I wanted to try something unusual.

I definitely only meant to take one bite to taste it, but it was so good that I ate the whole thing, haha... The condensed milk is smooth and just sweet enough, and I enjoyed it so, so much :) I don't know exactly what squid ink tastes like, so I can't claim I tasted squid ink! But the condensed milk and the bread went together really well. I recommend it to anyone who wants to try a different kind of bread.

By the way, Munhwa Bakery gives you the bread individually wrapped like this. Maybe because I went right at opening, all the bread was warm 🍵

Mugwort rice cake bread (₩5,700): lovely mugwort and almonds, but a little dry

Munhwa Bakery's mugwort rice cake bread (쑥떡빵) gives you the mugwort aroma the moment you bite in, and it's topped with lots of almonds. I ordered it because I like rice cake, and I liked all the almonds. Personally, though, since it's rice cake, it had a dryness that made my throat feel blocked, which was a bit disappointing. Inside the bread there's rice cake plus a sweet jam(?), and I thought it would have been better with a bit more jam.

Munhwa Bakery overall verdict: which bread to pick first?

If you want to eat good bread in Jongno, Munhwa Bakery is worth a visit :) Of the three I ate, I'd recommend them in this order: sweet potato bread > squid-ink condensed milk bread > mugwort rice cake bread. The other breads all looked delicious too, so I'd like to order different ones next time 🍽️ If you visit, let me know how the other breads are!

There are also lots of shops and eateries to explore near Munhwa Bakery. Buying bread and then wandering around the neighborhood sounds like a lot of fun.