Sinjeong-dong café in Ulsan for egg tarts and decaf brunch: Benetto

It was a weekday before the rain came, and there was a nice breeze in the air — quite cool, actually. Thanks to that, we ran the AC less than usual at home and stayed pretty comfortable. The weather outside was so nice and mild that I took the baby out for a few short walks near our place.

On a day with weather this good, it felt like a waste to just stay home, so I decided to take my mom out for a nice coffee and a date at a brunch café in Ulsan with a good atmosphere! Mom loved it too — let me share this Ulsan brunch café with you now.

Where to park at Benetto, the café in front of Ulsan City Hall

The place I visited this time is Benetto (베네또), a brunch café in Sinjeong-dong, Nam-gu, Ulsan, located right in front of Ulsan City Hall. It's genuinely close — the accessibility is great! Benetto is also well known for its handmade sandwiches, so it seemed really popular with City Hall staff and nearby office workers as a lunch spot or a place to grab a takeout snack.

Unfortunately, the café itself doesn't have its own dedicated parking. But since Ulsan City Hall is right across the street, we just parked in the Ulsan City Hall public parking lot, which was the closest and most convenient option.

Also, Benetto near Ulsan City Hall was running a promotion where all drinks get ₩1,000 off for takeout! That's great info for nearby office workers or anyone taking a drink to go on a walk.

Inside Benetto: a cozy brunch room with about 6 tables

The moment I walked into Benetto in Sinjeong-dong, Ulsan, the cozy, warm wood-toned interior caught my eye first. The space itself felt so nice and full of atmosphere that I was glad I'd chosen it as our date spot. We deliberately went outside the busy lunch peak hours, so we got to enjoy brunch in a much more relaxed, quiet mood.

Inside, there were about 6 tables, including 4-seaters and 2-seaters. A lot of cafés these days have low, uncomfortable chairs and tables for the sake of interior design, but Benetto's chairs had good cushioning and were comfortable enough to sit in for a long time. Thanks to that, my mom and I could talk comfortably while enjoying brunch.

At Benetto, you can also buy the coffee beans directly at the store. The coffee we had with brunch was nutty with great body — impressive, honestly, and it made sense given the quality of the beans. This place seemed like it would be popular with people who care about coffee flavor or want to buy beans to take home.

Benetto's menu and how to order decaf coffee

Looking at the Benetto menu, besides coffee there were various drinks like ades and herbal teas. Coffee drinks in particular can be switched to decaf beans, which is great for evening visits or for anyone sensitive to caffeine.

And true to a café that's popular with nearby office workers, on top of the takeout discount, there was also an additional ₩500 discount for using your own tumbler! We ordered a decaf americano and a decaf vanilla latte.

We also ordered a delicious sandwich to go with the coffee. I wanted to try both of Benetto's signature popular menu items — the jambon basil grilled sandwich and the Mexican beef grilled sandwich — but since we visited after the lunch peak, the Mexican beef sandwich had already sold out. A little disappointing, but we ordered the jambon basil grilled sandwich, Benetto's other popular brunch item, instead.

Since one sandwich alone seemed like it might not be quite enough, we also looked at the other dessert options. There was cheesecake and egg tart. The rich-looking cheesecake was totally my style too, but I wanted something a little more filling to go with the coffee, so we also ordered the egg tart.

How was the jambon basil grilled sandwich at Benetto?

When our order was ready, they called us over kindly. The jambon basil grilled sandwich came out freshly grilled, warm on the outside with a really nice crisp texture. This was actually my first café outing since giving birth, and sitting comfortably in such a pretty space eating a warm brunch made me feel unexpectedly excited and lighthearted haha.

True to a sandwich specialty spot, they thoughtfully gave us disposable plastic gloves so we could eat comfortably. Thanks to that, we could eat the sandwich easily and neatly!

The jambon basil grilled sandwich was grilled a beautiful golden brown and crisp on the outside, which made the texture especially enjoyable to bite into. And with basil pesto spread generously inside, the moment it landed on the table a strong, fragrant basil smell wafted up and made my mouth water instantly! If you like basil, this is a must-try.

The bread not being too thick was exactly my style too. The first bite had that crisp exterior texture, and right after came the moist interior bread along with the rich flavor of thick, layered jambon (ham). Honestly, jambon and basil is a combination that can hardly go wrong, but with Benetto's own special handmade sauce added on top, it had an addictive flavor I could see myself coming back for often.

And the sweetly pickled cherry tomatoes that came with it were the perfect refreshing palate cleanser after finishing the sandwich.

The egg tart we ordered as an extra had a shell that held its shape firm and crisp like a cookie, with a much thicker filling of custard cream inside. The soft texture that melted in the mouth was lovely, and it wasn't overly sweet, so it was a perfect dessert to pair with nutty coffee.

Why Benetto works as a Sinjeong-dong date spot

It had been a while since I'd had a café date with my mom, and being able to park easily near Ulsan City Hall made it even better. On top of that, the handmade sandwiches and desserts I'd been looking forward to were genuinely delicious, so it turned into a proper mood-lifting day. If you're looking for a good-atmosphere brunch café with tasty sandwiches near Ulsan City Hall, or a date spot in Sinjeong-dong, definitely give Benetto a try 😊