Cheonan bakery café, 1-on-1 date with my 7-year-old: Geurimseu

Today's date! Our destination was Geurimseu Cafe (그림스카페) in Guryong-dong, a big Cheonan café already famous by word of mouth for its tasty coffee.

The weather was so nice today that I went on my first café date alone with my 7-year-old daughter. It was our first time going out just the two of us, so I was excited, and a tiny bit worried it might be hard, but it was a great success!

Is parking easy at Geurimseu Cafe?

Geurimseu Cafe has big parking lots both in front of the café and down below. But when we got there around 12:00, the lot in front was already full! I guess you have to be early to hit a Cheonan hot spot. We parked comfortably in the lower lot and walked up.

• Address: Guryong-dong, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan, Chungnam (232 Mijuk 5-gil)
• Hours: daily 10:00–21:30
• Large parking lot, groups welcome
• Separate men's/women's restrooms, Wi-Fi, high chairs, takeout available

Inside Geurimseu Cafe: atmosphere and seating

Stepping inside, a beautiful monstera and lots of lush green plants welcomed us. Totally healing! There were plenty of plants that plant lovers would adore, and they looked great.

The zigzag table layout and stylish interior were exactly my style. It was crowded, so we took a seat on the calmer 1.5th floor (a mezzanine level).

What breads does Geurimseu Cafe have?

The variety of bread starts right at the entrance, so the happy dilemma began! As you'd expect from a large Cheonan bakery café, it was overwhelming just to look at.

Salt bread

There are lots of pretty topped salt breads, like mentaiko (spicy pollock roe) rice salt bread and kaya rice salt bread. There's one with an amazingly crispy-looking texture, and even one that looks like Dubai chocolate!

Bagels & sandwiches

Shiny-on-the-outside, packed-on-the-inside bagel sandwiches, and a gorgeous jambon (ham) sandwich. Jambon, not jjamppong (spicy noodle soup), haha.. ❤️

Financiers, baked sweets and butter tteok

I had no idea there were this many kinds of financiers. All sorts of financiers, and even lemon-shaped bread!

It wouldn't feel right without butter tteok (butter rice cake). It wasn't as big as dujjonku (the Dubai chewy cookie), but butter tteok was a hit for a while too, you know.

Signature White Roll

The most popular item at Geurimseu Cafe is the "White Roll," a custard cream sponge cake! It's a definite pick for next time.

Cakes and unusual desserts at Geurimseu Cafe

Isn't the strawberry cake at Geurimseu Cafe so pretty? Strawberries are delicious any time, so eat lots of them while you can!

My top pick was the half-and-half cheesecake. It looks like half chocolate, half cheese. A combination that can't possibly be bad.

And the ssuksiru (mugwort steamed rice cake) was a surprise!! In spring, nothing beats mugwort tteok made from the mugwort Mom picks (turns out Mom had just bought it, haha), so seeing the ssuksiru automatically made me miss my mom.

What we ordered with my 7-year-old, and prices

We ordered a sausage bread (in the ₩3,000s), a ricotta cheese salad (₩13,900) and dango misutgaru (₩7,500). When the Geurimseu buzzer rang, we ran up excitedly.

Ricotta cheese salad with a bread hat

But the look of that ricotta cheese salad surprised me! It comes with a huge bread that looks like Indian naan, and when you open it, steam comes rising out~ You stuff plenty of salad inside the bread and eat it.

My daughter tucked veggies into the bread and ate so well! It seems like a winning dish for kids who don't usually eat vegetables.

The kid's pick: sausage bread and dango misutgaru

The kid's-pick sausage bread was heavenly, and the misutgaru (roasted grain drink) topped with chewy dango (rice-cake balls) was the ultimate in nutty flavor. It tasted like a Cheonan hot spot, no argument.

Is Geurimseu Cafe good for kids?

With high chairs and outdoor toys for kids, Geurimseu Cafe was a perfect place to go with a child. Since it was our first date and I worried we'd both end up with trauma (?), I brought my secret weapon, a tablet (which she normally doesn't get to watch!). She watched happily, and I finally relaxed with a glass of misutgaru and properly recharged.

After about an hour and a half, as we were leaving, the outdoor terrace looked so pretty. It has a pool-like feel and kids' toys, so this is a textbook "yes kids zone"! The true value of this large Cheonan café showed outdoors too.

On a cool spring or autumn day, a date on the outdoor terrace would definitely give you life-shot photos. If you're looking for a café to visit with kids, definitely try Geurimseu in Guryong-dong!