Seongsu café with a 90-minute seating rule and box prices: Notldun

A friend of mine who loves dessert recommended Notldun (노틀던), a place in Seongsu that's supposedly pretty to look at and tastes good too. Even the photos I saw beforehand looked noticeably different from the usual slice cakes you see at cafés, so I got pretty excited. I happened to have plans near Seoul Forest, so I stopped by to try the desserts too.

Where is Notldun, and what about parking and waiting?

Notldun is about a 10-minute walk from either Ttukseom Station or Seoul Forest Station. Parking isn't easy in this area and tends to be pricey, so I'd recommend coming by public transit.

The store doesn't have many seats, and there can occasionally be a wait during peak hours. When it's full, there's a 90-minute seating limit, but if you're just picking up a to-go dessert or drink, you can walk right in without waiting.

• Notldun Seongsu / 1F, 11 Seoulsup2-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: Mon–Thu 11:00–22:00, Fri–Sun 11:00–22:30
• Last order: 1 hour before closing
• Parking: Not available (alternative 👉 Ttukseom Retention Basin public parking lot)

Inside Notldun: five two-person tables and a 90-minute rule

Notldun was a clean, calm Seongsu café with a white base and touches of wood tone. The space is small, with about five two-person tables. It felt more suited to quietly enjoying dessert with one other person than to a big group.

Both side walls are floor-to-ceiling windows, so sunlight pours in during the day. The bright interior combined with natural light makes it a nice stop during a Seoul Forest date, and since it's open into the evening, it's also good for dessert after dinner.

Notldun drink menu and prices

Notldun has a wide range of options: espresso-based coffee, tea, caffeine-free non-coffee drinks, and tea ades.

• Americano ₩6,000 (decaf 0.5, extra shot 0.5)
• Café latte ₩6,500
• TWG French Earl Grey ₩7,000
• Lemonade ₩7,500, and more

The tea lineup uses a lot of TWG tea bags, so it's a good Seoul Forest café for TWG tea fans.

Dessert lineup and gift selections at Notldun

Inside Notldun's dessert showcase you'll find everything from baked goods like madeleines and financiers to mousse cakes and mille-feuille. Note that the lineup may shift a bit by season.

The madeleines and financiers also come in a huge variety of flavors.

• Madeleine ₩4,500
• Madeleine selection (includes package & shopping bag) ₩28,000
• Financier selection (includes package & shopping bag) ₩32,000

There's lime, pistachio, Earl Grey, and more to choose from depending on your taste, and there's also a gift set with one of each flavor — perfect for gifting dessert to someone as a gesture of appreciation.

Notldun's signature cakes are the Signature Noir (₩14,000) and Signature Blanc (₩14,000). The Noir is a milk chocolate mousse cake with almond praline and other layers, giving it a sweet, nutty flavor, while the Blanc is a white chocolate mousse with cassis cream, giving it a tangy-sweet taste.

Beyond that, there were plenty of elegant-looking mousse cakes and tarts too. My friend who had visited before said the salty caramel mille-feuille (₩13,000) was the best-tasting one to her. I'll have to try that recommendation next time I come back.

The pastry box and paper shopping bag cost ₩4,000 and ₩3,000 respectively, which is handy if you want to pack Seongsu dessert to go.

What we ordered: Signature Noir and an americano

We each ordered a coffee and a tea, and for dessert we picked the signature Signature Noir.

It's shaped like a 3D rendering of the Notldun logo, so it already felt quite luxurious before we even took a bite. The outside is wrapped in milk chocolate mousse, and inside are layers of almond praline, whiskey cream, and crispy croustillant.

When I cut into it with the knife, it went through really smoothly. In my mouth, the chocolate mousse melted softly while the croustillant crunched in between, giving a nice back-and-forth between soft and crisp. It wasn't just sweet — there was a nutty flavor too, so it didn't leave a lingering heavy sweetness, which I liked.

The americano had a nutty flavor too, easy to drink for most palates, and it tasted even better paired with the sweet dessert.

Is Notldun worth a visit in Seongsu?

Notldun isn't just about flashy looks — the flavor and texture combos are thought through too, so it's worth a stop if you're hunting for a Seoul Forest cake spot. The store isn't big, but that actually made it comfortable to linger with one other person, and the packaging is clean enough that I'd recommend it to anyone who needs to gift-wrap a Seongsu dessert.