Paju juice café with kids: 1+1 mango and pineapple juice, Fruit Forest

One weekend I wanted some fresh air and a place with a nice atmosphere that the kids would enjoy too. So I finally went to the Paju dessert café "Fruit Forest" (과일의숲) that I'd had bookmarked for ages. Just as people say, the scent of fruit hits you right at the entrance, and the whole mood was lovely. I came home properly recharged.

Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store: opening hours and parking

Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store is a café using floors 1, 2 and 3 of 144 Dolgoji-gil, Paju-si, Gyeonggi. It is open 10:00-21:00 every day of the year. The building has a piloti structure, so there is a spacious parking lot just for the café.

• Address: 144 Dolgoji-gil, Paju-si, Gyeonggi (floors 1, 2 and 3)
• Hours: 10:00-21:00, open every day
• Parking: spacious café-only parking lot under the piloti building
• Special note: a place for 100% real fresh-fruit drinks, bingsu (shaved ice dessert) and premium fruit

First impressions of Fruit Forest in Paju

The banner at the entrance read "100% real mango juice like I had in Boracay" and "no added sugar." It caught my eye as I parked and walked up, and the moment I read it I thought, "Okay, this place is the real deal!" Not a sweet syrupy drink, but properly sweet real fruit blended up. My expectations shot right up.

I climbed the stairs and opened the door, and the first thing that greeted me was sweet, tangy fruit that made my mouth water. Seeing the neatly arranged fresh mango, melon, watermelon and pineapple, I could really feel how serious the owner is about fruit.

Kid-friendly interior and seating at Fruit Forest

On one wall of Fruit Forest Paju there's a mural of colorful fruit and cute bunny illustrations. You can tell they put real care into the interior, and the mural was so warm and charming it made me smile right away. The kids kept saying how pretty it was and loved it, such a sweet little touch.

Big windows run along all sides so it never feels stuffy, and from the fluffy sofa seats to the open terrace seats, the tables are spaced generously, so visiting as a family wouldn't be a problem at all. We took a seat out on the terrace, where a breeze was blowing.

Fruit Forest's 1+1 drink deal and Basque cheesecake

When we visited, Fruit Forest was running a 1+1 event on mango juice and pineapple juice, so we got to try four cups: 2 mango and 2 pineapple! What a bargain!

Alongside the pretty drinks we also had a nicely browned Basque cheesecake, and set out on the terrace table it looked so good my mouth started watering.

How does Fruit Forest's mango juice taste?

From the first sip, it wasn't an artificial sweetness at all. It was the rich, hefty flavor of truly ripe yellow mango filling my mouth. It's a different level from syrup imitations, and the "100% real" claim is there for a reason.

How does Fruit Forest's pineapple juice taste?

If the mango juice goes down smooth and thick, the pineapple juice was a cooler smoothie texture with a crisp bite to it. Neither was just a cup full of ice. You could taste right away that plenty of real fruit flesh had been blended in. The bursting juice and little bits to chew meant I never got tired of it, right to the last sip.

Do Basque cheesecake and fresh fruit juice go together?

The Basque cheesecake was browned and crisp outside, and moist but still dense and rich inside. The deep cheese flavor turned out to pair surprisingly well with the heavy, refreshing fresh-fruit drinks, so my hand kept going back for more.

Bungeoppang from the Fruit Forest parking lot

On one side of the Fruit Forest Paju parking lot, someone was selling bungeoppang (fish-shaped pastry). We'd happily finished our drinks and desserts and came down to the parking lot, and there it was, with that toasty smell! I couldn't walk past the scent of them browning, so we bought some to eat on the way home.

Both the red bean and the custard (choux cream) bungeoppang were crisp outside and packed with filling inside, and eating them warm in hand was a lot of fun. A fresh-fruit dessert to lift my mood, then toasty bungeoppang on the way back: a perfectly satisfying way to end the day.

Is Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store worth a visit with kids?

If you're looking for a weekend spot to go with kids, or a drive course near Simhaksan, I confidently recommend the Paju dessert café "Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store," full of healthy, tasty fresh-fruit desserts. The relaxed feel of the open space and the care put into the fresh-fruit drinks gave me a real boost after the daily grind of raising kids. I'm planning to go back soon for the cool mango bingsu!