Songdo bakery café after work: garlic salt bread top pick, Cozy Bear

What kind of salt bread bakery is Cozy Bear in Songdo?

Cozy Bear is a salt bread bakery café in the Songdo cram-school district. It says it uses French fermented butter, Guérande salt and premium flour, so the buns stay crisp to the bottom even after they cool. Whenever I go to a bakery café, salt bread (a butter roll with a salty, crisp base) is the one that catches my eye. It's plain and nutty, great with coffee and a perfect match for milk. It looks simple, with no fancy decoration, but one bite shows its charm, and the buttery saltiness keeps coming back to mind. So I went to Cafe Cozy Bear Salt Bread Bakery Songdo Hagwonga Branch.

Where is Cozy Bear's Songdo Hagwonga branch?

The address is 160-19 Haedoji-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, South Korea, 1st floor, units 101 and 102. It's on the first floor of Carry Plaza, about a 30-second walk from Songdo Food Mart, so it's very easy to find.

When does Cozy Bear bake its salt bread?

Cozy Bear puts out freshly baked bread twice a day, at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. It makes only a set quantity each day, and they say it may close early if the batch sells out.

Cozy Bear salt bread ingredients and menu

For deep flavor, Cozy Bear says it uses French fermented butter and Guérande sea salt, with French flour chosen for texture and aroma. Besides the basic salt bread there's a castella salt bread and a mugwort salt bread made with Korean mugwort, so you can pick to your taste. They boil their Korean red beans in the shop, and they boil Korean potatoes themselves for the fillings, which made me feel they really care about ingredients.

If you write a Naver receipt review, you get one ₩3,500 salt bread free.

Cozy Bear salt bread prices

• Plain (basic) ₩3,500
• Potato ₩4,500
• Pollock roe ₩5,500
• Homemade ang-butter ₩5,800
• Garlic ₩5,000
• Castella ₩5,000

They make everything themselves with Korean red beans and garlic, so I could eat with peace of mind.

Cozy Bear does a lot of takeout and delivery, but you can also eat in, so it's a place where you can spend some relaxed time.

Is there still salt bread at Cozy Bear after work on a weekday?

When I went to Cozy Bear after work on a weekday, there wasn't much bread left. If you want to pick from every kind, I recommend going a bit earlier.

The signature shape, long and slightly tapered at both ends, is charming, and the golden-baked surface made me want to dig in right away.

The nutty smell of freshly baked salt bread spreads through the shop, so I doubt you could just walk past Cozy Bear. The look promises a crisp surface and a soft, moist inside.

There was also a good variety of drinks to go with the salt bread.

Maybe because it's called Cozy Bear, the cute little interior stood out too.

The color, the shine and the layers of the bread each change how tasty it looks, so I bought one of each kind.

What does Cozy Bear's castella salt bread taste like?

First, the castella salt bread! I couldn't wait until I got home, so I ate it outside before going in. Castella crumbs fall off, so be careful.

The castella salt bread is super soft like a white roll, yet the bottom is crisp. It's an unusual texture, and it was really good.

Texture of Cozy Bear's plain salt bread

I told myself I'd have just one, but then I went straight on to the plain salt bread too. The outside crunches, and the inside is soft yet chewy, so even taking bite after bite is fun.

The nutty flavor is lovely: the plain taste of the bread plus the rich aroma of butter fills your mouth. It isn't too sweet or strong, so it's easy to enjoy.

As expected, the charm of salt bread is the butter! The more you chew, the nuttier it gets, and little bursts of saltiness keep it from getting boring.

Ang-butter sold out, so garlic salt bread became my top pick

My top pick is Cozy Bear's garlic salt bread (₩5,000). I was disappointed the homemade ang-butter (red bean paste and butter) was sold out, but the garlic salt bread made up for it.

Cozy Bear's salt bread is good as a light breakfast or a snack when you're peckish in the afternoon, and even better with coffee. It's a new place, so I went without expecting much, and I found a great salt bread spot!

Cozy Bear Songdo Hagwonga Branch: 160-19 Haedoji-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, South Korea, 1st floor, units 101 and 102 / Hours daily 09:00–19:00