Yongridan-gil rooftop café with bean bags: HYBE Playground pavlova

HYBE PLAYGROUND 하이브플레이그라운드 📍Address: 9-17 Hangang-daero 15-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, 2nd–4th floor ⏰Hours: Daily 11:00–24:00

Looking for a rooftop terrace café on Yongridan-gil?

I meet friends in Yongsan a lot — there are tons of good restaurants and cafés around Samgakji, but also plenty over on Yongrideungil next to Yongsan Station, so I end up there often too. There are so many cafés in that area, but on a nice day like this, if you want a rooftop terrace with comfy seating, HYBE Playground is probably number one hahahahahaha.

What HYBE Playground looks like from the street

Wandering around Yongrideungil, you can't miss it — the orange color really stands out. But the inside is even more full of vibe and comfort than the outside.

The building has four floors total, but the café part is basically floors 2 to 4, and each floor has its own distinct feel, so I took photos on every single one haha.

2F: bakery café and pop-up store

The 2nd floor is labeled bakery café and pop-up store, but there was no pop-up when I visited — one side just had the ordering area and tables, along with colorful umbrellas that looked like HYBE Playground goods 👀

The space on the other side has a totally different feel — cleaner and more organized-looking! There were other customers around here and there, so I tried to frame my shots to keep them out as much as possible ✌️

3F: lounge and outdoor terrace

The 3rd floor is the lounge and terrace space. The lounge side has a projector beaming onto the wall, which makes the mood even better, plus a big table and a counter next to it for making drinks — though it wasn't operating separately at the time.

If you open the door on the other side and step out, the terrace unfolds — in weather like this, spending time out there with coffee, a drink, and dessert is amazing. There are so many tables that it must get packed on weekends, but since I went on a Monday evening it wasn't too crowded, which actually made it even better haha.

4F: Sky Frame rooftop, where the bean bag seats win

Next to the terrace, one more flight of stairs takes you up to the Sky Frame rooftop space, and honestly this spot is the absolute best ❤️

Up front there's comfortable sofa seating, but what I loved most was the bean bag area — I sat here with my friend chatting away comfortably, and it was so nice.

Drinks and desserts on the HYBE Playground menu

So many kinds of coffee and drinks! From coffee to seasonal drinks, non-coffee options, ades, ice cream, smoothies and more — there's decaf too, so it's perfect for having coffee guilt-free in the evening.

The cake selection was really varied — there was cheesecake and different seasonal fruit cakes too. Since it's peach and fig season right now, there were two fruit cakes with those.

You can order directly at the counter, but ordering through Naver gets you access to even more desserts, so I'd recommend that!! It wasn't on the menu board, but since I always love pavlova, I ordered the pavlova without a second thought!

What we ordered at HYBE Playground

No hesitation — I ordered the pavlova, an ice cream, and an Americano!

I took some photos on the 3rd-floor terrace of Yongsan Station's HYBE Playground café, then went up to the 4th-floor rooftop to enjoy the desserts.

Americano, 6,000 won (decaf +1,000 won)

The Americano had exactly that nutty flavor, not too weak or too strong, just right. Best of all, I loved that you could switch to decaf.

HYBE ice cream, 5,000 won

This HYBE ice cream was seriously delicious! It's handmade, house-aged ice cream, and the rich, nutty milk flavor is totally my type. There's crumble at the bottom too, so you get that crunchy bite along with the deep, rich milk ice cream — and it paired perfectly with the pavlova.

Crack-open summer peach pavlova, 19,000 won

The visual and the name of the crack-open summer peach pavlova are both special! I usually only see pavlova in cake form, so this was my first time cracking one open — it was actually really fun.

Think of pavlova as a meringue cookie — crispy on the outside with a chewy bite once you dig in, a crunchy-sweet-chewy dessert. You tap-tap-tap it to crack it open and eat it with the fruit and cream inside.

Since it's peach season, it's packed with white peach, yellow peach, and a homemade peach jam yogurt cream. The yogurt cream has that thick Greek yogurt texture with a tangy kick, which goes perfectly with the peach 🍑

After taking all my photos, I went up to the 4th-floor rooftop, lay down on a bean bag, and ate it bite by bite — it was so good I finished it all even though I was already full. The pavlova and ice cream combo was so good, I wish they had a set combo of the two ⭐️

Is HYBE Playground worth a second visit?

This was my first time visiting HYBE Playground near Yongsan Station, but I'll definitely be back — when I meet friends in Yongsan, we usually eat dinner first and then look for a second-stop café, and it's always hard to find one open late. This place has long hours, great atmosphere, and spacious seating, so I think I'll be coming back to HYBE Playground often 🩶