Garlic bagel and goods corner at a Suwon bagel café: Orange Bagel

This review includes a visit paid for with my own money.

Five of us, nephew included, back at Orange Bagel in Suwon

For the Liberation Day holiday, we decided to spend the day with my sister-in-law's family and my niece. While thinking about where to go, I remembered Orange Bagel on Omokcheon-ro in Gwonseon-gu, Suwon, which I'd visited a few months back, so we decided to head there together.

Last time it was just me and my brother-in-law, three of us. This time we were five. With my niece along, I figured it'd be even more fun.

We arrived around 2pm on the holiday and decided to make bagels our lunch that day. The place is pretty huge from the parking lot to the entrance, so my niece was excited before we even walked in. Kids really do perk up the moment they see a big space, haha.

A large Suwon bagel café with New York style

Orange Bagel apparently puts real care into every menu item, starting fresh from dawn each day.

It's a big café with the energy and feel of New York, so walking in gives you a little sense of being on a trip.

The space is spacious and the tables are generously spaced out, so it was great for a group of several people.

Once you step inside, a wide variety of bagels are displayed right in the center.

There were so many kinds of bagels that it was fun just browsing them one by one.

On one side, a framed board let you see all the bagel varieties on sale at a glance.

They also sell a Good Morning set, so it'd be nice to come here for brunch early in the morning too.

What we ordered at Orange Bagel that day

Since there were five of us, we picked out a bit of everything.

• Americano, 2 café lattes, caramel latte
• Plain bagel, dark chocolate bagel, garlic bagel, Laugen butter bagel

My nephew's pick: the deep chocolate bagel

You should have seen my niece insisting on cutting it herself, knife in hand, so serious about it, haha.

She took one bite and declared it delicious, giving double thumbs up. It's the same one we ordered last time, and it was a hit again.

She ate it all so neatly there was none left for me. ^^

The Laugen butter bagel I liked best

Personally, the menu item that stuck with me most from this visit to Orange Bagel was the Laugen butter bagel.

Honestly, it had me hooked from the showcase alone.

The well-baked Laugen bagel gleamed with a shine that was hard to walk past.

The subtle sweet-and-salty flavor unique to Laugen bread, combined with butter, brought out even more nuttiness and richness.

The outside was plain but chewy, and the inside was soft. Because it's filled with salted butter, each bite left a subtle savory-salty taste lingering in the mouth.

Even so, the butter didn't feel excessive. Instead, it balanced out the plainness of the bagel nicely for an overall good balance.

With no other ingredients besides butter, it still had plenty of flavor, and the subtle sweetness made it more satisfying than I expected.

Paired with a hot americano, it was a perfect match.

I fell for the nutty, salty flavor of the salted butter. I think I'll definitely order the Laugen bagel again next time.

The garlic bagel and its strong garlic aroma

Orange Bagel's garlic bagel has a pretty strong garlic scent.

We toasted it in the oven for about a minute, and the garlic aroma filled the mouth from the first bite. It paired well with the bagel's characteristic chewy, soft texture.

If you like garlic bread, this will be right up your alley. The garlic presence is stronger than expected, so garlic bread fans in particular will be pleasantly surprised.

The goods corner my nephew loved

It felt like a waste to just eat bagels and leave, so we wandered around the store. There was a separate goods zone set up too, decorated with all kinds of items to create an aesthetic little corner.

My niece really liked this spot. After browsing for a while, she suddenly got fired up and settled in to draw.

Later she told me, "I'll finish drawing and come find you, Auntie, go on upstairs~" haha.

Coming with a kid brought a different kind of fun than when it's just adults visiting.

A look around the third-floor rooftop

We also checked out Orange Bagel's 3rd-floor rooftop. It was cloudy and rainy that day, so there was no one up there.

Still, the space itself looked pretty nice. I thought it'd be lovely to enjoy brunch up there with bagels and coffee on a clear autumn day. It was a shame it was cloudy and rainy this time, but I imagine the vibe would be totally different on a sunny day.

Come to think of it, it was cloudy on my last visit too. ㅠㅜ

Why Orange Bagel works for a visit with a child

With five of us there, it was fun to pick out several menu items and share them, and since my niece played happily in the goods zone for a while, the adults got to enjoy the café at a relaxed pace too.

The standout menu item for me that day was without question the Laugen bagel. With butter inside I thought it might feel heavy, but it was plainer than expected, and the nutty, salty flavor unique to salted butter paired well with the bagel.

It was also a good spot to visit with a kid, spacious with plenty to look at, and the New York-style atmosphere gave a little sense of being on a trip.

Next time I'd like to properly enjoy the rooftop on a sunny day. If you're looking for a large café in Suwon to visit with kids or a weekend brunch spot, Orange Bagel is worth a stop.