Suwon fortress-walk café, choco fig ciabatta dinner: Caffeine Focus

A leafy-green fortress-view café and a ciabatta bakery I found while strolling Suwon's Hwaseong Fortress: Caffeine Focus! Not long ago I walked the whole fortress on foot, and near Changnyongmun Gate I spotted a café with a lovely view of the fortress wall, so I went in.

Great view, and the ciabatta is so, so delicious! I was really happy with both the space and the menu, and I already want to go back with my partner. Here's my review of Caffeine Focus, a Hwaseong Fortress-view café and ciabatta hotspot 😸🩷

• Location: 15 Changnyong-daero 80beon-gil, Paldal-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi, 1st–3rd floors
• Hours: 11:00–20:00, closed Tuesdays

Where is Caffeine Focus, and what are the floors like?

If you walk along the Hwaseong Fortress wall, you'll see Caffeine Focus on your left, just before you reach Changnyongmun Gate. You can tell at a glance that the windows stack up facing the wall, so the view has to be good! It uses all of floors 1 to 3, so it feels pleasantly roomy.

There are 2 outdoor tables on the 1st floor, and I think sitting outside would give you an even livelier feel of Hwaseong Fortress!

From any floor you get that leafy-green view of the wall, which puts you in a good mood right away. The 1st floor has the restroom and counter; you need to go up to the 2nd and 3rd floors for most of the tables.

2nd floor: the fortress right outside the window

Head up to the 2nd floor and, ta-da, the Hwaseong Fortress wall is right there beyond the window! Such a pretty scene, it cheers you up instantly 😸🩷

When I first came in, about half the tables were taken, but by the time I left it had quieted down, so I took photos of the 2nd floor from several angles. The restrained décor felt so comfortable and pretty! There was also water and blankets set out in one corner.

3rd floor: side-by-side window seats and a terrace

The 3rd floor is set up with seats side by side facing the windows. I wanted to sit there from the start, but the spot only opened up around the time I was leaving, so I couldn't 😭

The 3rd floor also has terrace seats, and the view from that terrace is absolutely stunning 😭 Honestly, every corner of Caffeine Focus in Suwon is pretty!!!

What are the menu and prices at Caffeine Focus?

Drinks at Caffeine Focus run from a ₩5,500 americano up to a ₩7,500 ube cream matcha latte.

• Americano: ₩5,500
• Café latte: ₩6,000
• Matcha latte: ₩6,300
• Ube cream matcha latte: ₩7,500
• Avocado smoothie: ₩7,000

I figured an americano or café latte goes best with bread, so I ordered an iced americano, but I was really curious about the avocado smoothie too. The drinks made with coconut and avocado stood out, since you don't often see them at other cafés.

Ciabatta types and prices

Caffeine Focus is known for its ciabatta! Big, plump loaves sat in the display case looking so tempting 🫶

• Plain ciabatta: ₩4,600
• Squid ink cheese ciabatta: ₩5,300
• Olive cheese ciabatta: ₩5,300
• Walnut candied chestnut buckwheat ciabatta: ₩6,500
• Choco fig ciabatta: ₩6,800

Besides ciabatta there were also Basque cheesecake, egg scones, banana muffins and more, so there was a lot of bread I wanted to eat ✨

How was the choco fig ciabatta?

There were no seats on the 3rd floor, so I settled (?) for a window seat on the 2nd floor, and the 2nd-floor view is really good too. Just lift your head and the Hwaseong Fortress wall is right in front of you!

I had the choco fig ciabatta with an americano as my dinner. It was studded with lots of chocolate so it was sweet, and the figs you bite into here and there gave it a great texture! It was light and plain without being heavy, yet fragrant and chewy, just excellent. Seriously, after eating Caffeine Focus's ciabatta I suddenly fell for the charm of ciabatta 😸

It was a fairly hefty, big piece, but eating it slowly, bite by bite, it went down easily 😸✨ I boxed up a couple of pieces to take home and enjoyed it so much.

What about the takeaway walnut candied chestnut buckwheat ciabatta?

I took the walnut candied chestnut (bonaebam) buckwheat ciabatta home from Caffeine Focus and ate it with my partner. The loaf doesn't have lots of toppings, so it's rustic, but it's gentle on the stomach and mild and tasty, a really substantial (?) kind of bread.

A card tucked in with it said Caffeine Focus makes its ciabatta with a sourdough starter cultured from just French buckwheat and water. The walnut candied chestnut buckwheat ciabatta had a really dense, chewy crumb with walnuts and chestnuts generously dotted through it, so it fills you up quicker than you'd think and tastes great. If you zone out while eating, you could finish the whole thing right there.

The card also said it contains no chemical additives and is slow-aged at low temperature so it's easy on the stomach, and it really was comfortable on my stomach, just as described, which I loved! Caffeine Focus was such a lovely café that I definitely want to stop by again next time I go on a Hwaseong Fortress outing with my partner.