Weekday lunch brunch café near Gyeongbokgung: Respire Toast, Respire

What is Respire Bakery Cafe Seochon like?

Respire Bakery Cafe Seochon is a bakery café near Gyeongbokgung Station known for its salt bread (a salted butter roll) and brunch. Walk along the Gyeongbokgung stone wall in Seochon and you'll find lovely cafés tucked away all over, so it's a great neighborhood to stroll through. Visiting those nice spots one by one is honestly so much fun. So this time I stopped by Respire Bakery Cafe Seochon.

I hadn't had brunch in quite a while and wanted a relaxed lunch. The weather was lovely too, so I wanted a good meal somewhere with a nice mood, looking out the window. In conclusion, this visit was a big success.

Respire Bakery Cafe Seochon menu and receipt event

Respire Bakery Cafe Seochon has brunch dishes, and as a bakery café it had a really wide range of breads. Prices seemed reasonable too, so next time I'd like to try the bread.

Personally I wanted to try the chocolate cream cheese ciabatta..! Next time, I'll take you on!

There's also a Naver receipt event going on right now, so I hope you join in and have an even more generous meal! They give you a whole salt bread. And once you collect 5 stamps, you get 1 free coffee or drink on your next visit.

After much agonizing, what I ordered was... the Respire Toast and a café latte.

What's in the Respire Toast, and how did it taste?

The Respire Toast is the signature brunch at Respire Bakery Cafe Seochon. A whole plate of different ingredients comes together, so it looked hearty and appetizing from the first glance.

Bread worthy of a salt bread specialist, and basil pesto

I tried the bread first, and as you'd expect from a salt bread specialist, the bread itself was nutty and plain in the best way, so good even on its own.

Basil pesto came with it too, and I spread it on the bread. It added a fragrant note to the nuttiness and made the flavor even richer.

Scrambled eggs, arugula and carrot râpée

Then a big bite of the soft scrambled eggs, which just melted in my mouth.

Arugula and carrot râpée (shredded carrot salad) tossed with mustard seeds were added too, freshening up a meal that could otherwise feel heavy.

Stevia tomatoes and raspberries

The tomatoes were stevia tomatoes with a touch of sweetness, and eating them one at a time here and there put me in a good mood. It had been ages since I had raspberries, so I was happy to see them, haha.

And as someone who really loves arugula, I was so happy they gave me plenty... haha (I'm so easy to please).

Grilled sausage and crisp potato chips

The sausage came grilled too, adding chew and saltiness. You know scrambled egg plus sausage is a great combo, right? Haha.

I ate the potato chips here and there too, and they were totally crunchy, just crunch itself! I like imported potato chips, and these felt like El Dorado chips: completely crisp, with all the moisture taken out. The brunch food is cooked once in the kitchen and comes out with a generally soft texture, and the chips added a crunchy bite to that.

How does the Respire Toast go with a café latte?

The café latte at Respire Bakery Cafe Seochon is on the nutty side and went so well with the Respire Toast.

Oh! The Respire Latte is the signature drink, and they told me it's a little sweeter than a regular latte. Just so you know!!

Seating and atmosphere at Respire Bakery Cafe Seochon

Respire Bakery Cafe Seochon spans two floors with fairly roomy seating, but it's so popular it was almost full even on a weekday afternoon. I sat at a first-floor window and ate while looking outside, and it felt like a little dose of everyday healing.

The place where I ate well and rested well is Respire Bakery Cafe Seochon! If you're visiting around Gyeongbokgung, Gwanghwamun, Seochon or Cheongwadae and want a café for a short break, give it a visit!!

It's a café with a slightly exotic mood. The exterior looks like a detached house, and the interior has a bit of a European feel, which was unusual.

The background music was soft rather than pop songs, which added to the mood. These days I'm drawn to cafés that aren't too loud, haha. It's perfect when you want to take a rest.

Respire Bakery Cafe Seochon hours and location

• Hours: Mon–Fri 08:30–18:00, Sat–Sun 09:00–19:00
• Location: near Gyeongbokgung Station (Line 3), 40-7 Hyoja-ro 13-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea