Gangneung beach café for pecan tart and pink lemonade: Baegya Coffee

Baegya Coffee, a large ocean-view café in Gangneung.

Where in Gangneung is Baegya Coffee?

Baegya Coffee is a three-floor ocean-view bakery café at 607 Haean-ro, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, near Sacheonjin Beach. Whenever I want coffee with a sea view in Gangneung, my favorite spot is usually the cafés around Gyeongpo. This time, though, I went to Baegya Coffee near Sacheonjin Beach instead.

It's a place where you can sit right in front of the sea and take in the wide-open view at your own pace, which makes it a great fit for anyone looking for a café during a Gangneung trip. I'm actually a local, and I still come here often. It's spacious enough that I don't feel self-conscious bringing my kid along, and it's perfect for taking visiting friends somewhere with a sea view and good bread.

The building itself is fairly large, so it's also worth saving if you're looking for one of Gangneung's big cafés.

How big is the bakery counter at Baegya Coffee?

The first-floor bakery at Baegya Coffee has such a wide variety of bread that just browsing is fun — a real large-scale Gangneung bakery. True to a Gangneung bakery café, there are plenty of options to choose from.

Baegya Coffee is nice for catching up with a friend, good for stopping by on a date in Gangneung, and comfortable enough for a quick rest with family while traveling. Older visitors seem to feel at ease here too.

A Gangneung day trip route with Baegya Coffee

If it's your first time in Gangneung, a good route might be: see Gyeongpo Beach → have tofu at Chodang-dong → coffee and dessert at Baegya Coffee → a walk around Gyeongpo Lake. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a Gyeongpodae café or a Gyeongpo café.

Seats and facilities on the 2nd and 3rd floors of Baegya Coffee

The second floor at Baegya Coffee has terraced tables so the sea is visible from every seat. It's usually crowded, but coming on a weekday late afternoon meant there were still some seats open.

The second floor has a door leading straight out to the back-lot parking area, and there are restrooms on both the 2nd and 3rd floors. There's an indoor elevator too.

Up to the third floor we went! We settled in there.

The first thing that caught my eye on the third floor was, of course, the sea. That's the real charm of an ocean-view café in Gangneung — you don't have to walk all the way down to the beach; you can just sit comfortably and look at the water while sipping coffee. On a clear day, the blue sky and sea fill the window together for a refreshing feeling, and just looking out felt like a proper vacation moment.

Sacheonjin Beach right in front of Baegya is already known for its charm and pretty scenery. If you're driving toward Gyeongpo or taking a walk along the beach and want somewhere to rest, it's worth stopping by.

How do the pink lemonade, cappuccino, pecan tart and pastry taste?

That day at Baegya Coffee, I ordered pink lemonade, cappuccino, pecan tart, and pastry.

• Pink lemonade
• Cappuccino
• Pecan tart
• Pastry

Ordering a refreshing pink lemonade alongside a warm, smooth cappuccino meant it was easy for people with different tastes to each find something they liked.

Coffee alone felt like not enough, so I added the pecan tart and pastry too — and slowly enjoying dessert while looking at the sea somehow felt more relaxing than eating the same thing at a regular café.

The pecan tart had a nutty pecan flavor that went well with coffee, and the pastry's flaky, sweet, crisp texture was really nice. I always prefer pairing a drink with some bread rather than ordering just a drink at a café. :) Above all, being so close to the sea was a plus, and given the scale of the place, anyone looking for a large Gangneung bakery café should like it too.

With a good drink and dessert in front of me, I sat looking at the sea for a while — and no matter where I travel, it's these quiet moments of sitting and resting, rather than busy sightseeing, that end up staying with me.

If you're looking for an ocean-view café in Gangneung, give Baegya Coffee a try — a great place to spend some relaxed time close to the sea. Another pick from a Gangneung mom, another visit to Baegya. That's my review.