Gyeongju café matcha parfait and Bonghwang coffee: Bonghwangdang

There's a really nice-vibe café in Gyeongju I wanted to recommend. The drinks are delicious, and there are also yeonhwagwa (lotus-shaped confections) and special cookies you can buy as souvenirs.

Cafe Bonghwangdang on Hwangnidang-gil, Gyeongju — a dessert spot with great souvenirs

Cafe Bonghwangdang hours and parking in Gyeongju

Cafe Bonghwangdang is located at 737 Taejong-ro, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongbuk, on Hwangnidang-gil. It's open daily from 08:30 to 22:00, closed every Tuesday, and there's a nearby paid parking lot you can use.

• Hours: Daily 08:30–22:00
• Closed: Every Tuesday
• Parking: Nearby paid parking lot

Walking inside, the space was so spacious and clean — I loved it.

What are the first and second floor seats like at Bonghwangdang?

Cafe Bonghwangdang has a first floor and second floor, and the window side has floor-to-ceiling glass windows so it feels totally open, not stuffy at all! You take the stairs up to the second floor, and there are little props here and there that look like traditional Gyeongju relics~~~

The second floor felt even more open and spacious compared to the first. It seems like a great spot for a group to come have a coffee together. The view is genuinely great — you can see Daereungwon Tomb Complex in full view.

Bonghwangdang menu and prices, including wine and beer

Cafe Bonghwangdang sells a wide variety of drinks beyond just coffee, and they even sell alcohol. Seems like it'd be great for a simple drink at night too.

Coffee menu

• Bonghwang coffee ₩8,500
• Strawberry coffee ₩6,500
• Peach coffee ₩6,500
• Americano ₩5,500
• Espresso ₩5,500
• Café latte ₩6,000
• Vanilla latte ₩6,500

Hand drip coffee

• Ethiopia ₩7,000
• Kenya ₩7,800

Lattes

• Chocolate latte ₩8,000
• Matcha latte ₩7,500
• Chestnut latte ₩7,500
• Black sesame latte ₩7,500

Ades and teas

• Grapefruit/lemon/omija ade ₩7,000
• Floral berry milk tea ₩8,000
• Lemon/grapefruit/omija tea ₩6,500
• Ginger tea ₩7,000
• Peppermint/Earl Grey/chamomile tea ₩6,000
• Mulled wine (vin chaud) ₩7,500
• Iced tea ₩5,000
• 100% fresh-squeezed orange juice ₩5,000

Signature drinks and smoothies

• Bonghwang coffee ₩8,500
• Milk tea parfait ₩8,500
• Matcha parfait ₩8,500
• Cup patbingsu (shaved ice) ₩8,000
• Coffee smoothie ₩8,000
• Strawberry smoothie ₩8,000
• Mango yogurt smoothie ₩8,000
• Blueberry yogurt smoothie ₩8,000
• Watermelon smoothie ₩8,000

Brunch, wine and beer

• Croissant jambon sandwich ₩13,500
• Egg mayo croissant sandwich ₩9,000
• House wine (red or white) ₩8,000
• GD Daisy Ale ₩9,000
• Duchesse de Bourgogne ₩13,000
• Affligem/Peter Patrick/yuzu lager ₩8,000

We ordered Bonghwang coffee, matcha parfait, and sumakse cookies.

This must be Bonghwangdang's signature lineup! Chocolate latte, milk tea parfait, Bonghwang coffee, milk tea. All the drinks looked delicious.

Bonghwangdang yeonhwagwa, a good Gyeongju souvenir

Bonghwangdang also had a wide variety of desserts. This is Bonghwangdang's yeonhwagwa — you can order it individually at the café as a dessert, but the packaging is also so classy it seems perfect for Gyeongju travelers to buy and gift as a souvenir. Bonghwangdang's yeonhwagwa comes in a variety of fillings — matcha, chestnut, red bean, and yuzu.

There are also sumakse cookies shaped like the yeonhwagwa's roof-tile end motif, and the quality was so good! The sumakse cookies also came in a variety of flavors, which was even better than having just one flavor.

The sumakse cookies are great to buy as a gift set, but they're also sold individually, so you can enjoy them with your drink too. There are 5 flavors: Earl Grey fig, white chocolate yuzu, strawberry chocolate matcha, pecan chocolate, and chestnut mugwort.

How the Bonghwang coffee and matcha parfait taste

We ordered Cafe Bonghwangdang's signature drinks, Bonghwang coffee and the matcha parfait! Isn't the quality amazing? With a great view too, taking it easy over a cup of coffee — this is what healing is~~~

The matcha parfait has matcha ice cream with mango, nuts, raspberries and more layered in! The bitterness, sweetness, nuttiness and tartness all came together really well. It was also fun picking through the different bits as you eat.

Bonghwang coffee was bittersweet with a smoothness and nuttiness to it! If you like a smooth coffee, you're going to love this one.

Is the sumakse cookie set a good gift?

The sumakse cookie set comes with 5 different flavors included. The quality is so good it makes for a great gift!

The sumakse cookies are modeled after Gyeongju's famous face-patterned roof tile! The quality is no joke! The cookies were soft too!

The texture was the same across all of them, but the flavors were all different. Nutty and clean-tasting — they went really well with coffee.