Magok café: iced mocha & Kyoto matcha basque cheesecake, Pict Roastery

I went on a weekend date with my wife to Magongnaru. We had a lunch reservation in Magok but a bit of time to spare, so we stopped first at Pict Roastery Magongnaru Branch (픽트로스터리 마곡나루점).

Many people come here as a Seoul Botanic Park café, and among Magok cafés it's a place that brews coffee from beans it roasts itself. The pistachio tiramisu I had last time was really good, but this time I wanted to try other desserts and coffee, so I came back. The staff were friendly, which put me in a good mood from the start.

Here's Pict Roastery Magongnaru Branch on a weekend afternoon, a stop on our Magongnaru café date.

Where is Pict Roastery Magongnaru Branch, and how is the parking?

Pict Roastery Magongnaru Branch is a 3-minute walk from Exit 2 of Magongnaru Station, in unit 226 on the 2nd floor of the Castle Park building. If you drive, you can park in the building's underground car park free for 2 hours.

Since it's on the 2nd floor of the Castle Park building, you might get a little lost the first time, but just go inside the building and head up. You can also walk here from Seoul Botanic Park or the Magokjungang-ro side, so it works well as a stop before or after a walk in the park.

Atmosphere

The interior of Pict Roastery Magongnaru Branch is clean in black and white tones, and the big windows let in plenty of sunlight, so it felt bright.

With its window seats and monotone interior, it's a bright café that people visit as a Seoul Botanic Park café too.

Pict Roastery menu, Americano refill and discount info

The menu is a compact lineup centered on coffee and desserts. Switching to decaf costs +₩1,000, and the roaster's selection drip coffee starts at ₩7,000.

The roaster's selection drip coffee changes its bean lineup every month, so you can try something different each visit. On weekdays from 11:00 to 14:00 the Americano is ₩2,000 off, and if you drink in, you can get one Americano refill.

The refill requires one drink per person and is for in-store only, so the sign said takeaway isn't possible.

For the one-time Americano refill, you can swap between the standard floral and choco-nut beans.

What we ordered: Americano, café mocha and matcha basque cheesecake

At Pict Roastery Magongnaru Branch we ordered an iced Americano, an iced café mocha and a Kyoto matcha basque cheesecake.

☕ Iced Americano: floral beans

You can choose the beans for the Americano, so I picked the floral beans with the acidity my wife likes. The floral is a blend that includes Ethiopian beans.

The acidity wasn't overpowering and it finished cleanly, so it was easy to drink. Since they roast the beans themselves, the coffee aroma was definitely good.

🍫 Iced café mocha

The café mocha is made with chocolate, milk and espresso.

The bitterness of the espresso backs up the sweetness, so it never felt heavy all the way to the last sip.

🍰 Kyoto matcha basque cheesecake ₩7,500

The Kyoto matcha basque cheesecake is ₩7,500. For dessert I chose it instead of the tiramisu I had last time.

The bitter aroma of matcha rises over the savory richness of the cheese, so it wasn't just a sweet dessert. Eating it with the Americano cleaned up my palate nicely, and the pairing worked well.

Is Pict Roastery Magongnaru Branch worth going back to?

The coffee brewed from their own roasted beans was good and the staff were friendly, so it's a Magongnaru café I'd want to visit again. It's a good stop for a Magok café date or before or after a walk in Seoul Botanic Park.

Next time I plan to try the aged French toast I haven't had yet. It was a relaxing weekend afternoon over a cup of coffee.