Jayang-dong bakery box of croissant, kouign-amann, milk bread: Stack

There's that crisp autumn breeze now, perfect for a walk. Last week Bartleby got his hair done in Cheongdam-dong haha, then crossed Yeongdong Bridge to visit a café by Ttukseom Han River Park after a long while.

I stopped by Stack Bakery, a bakery café near Konkuk Univ. I'd wanted to visit for ages, and since I happened to be nearby, I finally made it.

Konkuk is pretty far from my neighborhood, so it takes real intention to go... haha. But since I was already out, I figured why not — straight from Cheongdam-dong across Yeongdong Bridge to Jayang-dong.

Whenever I'm around Konkuk, it feels like a waste not to grab some good bread to take home.

Stack Bakery is actually the bakery that appeared in Super Junior's 19th anniversary livestream. The members were eating bread from here and were surprised by how good it was, haha... Ever since, Stack Bakery has gotten really popular. I found it while looking for bakeries between Konkuk Univ. Station and Jayang-dong, and it especially stood out for its wide range of croissants and pastries — a spot that'll catch the eye of any bread lover.

This time I didn't linger in the store — I just picked out the breads I wanted and ordered them to go. Eating them one by one at home, I understood why this place gets recommended so often as a Konkuk bakery café.

What satisfied me most was that it wasn't just the croissant — the kouign-amann and the milk bread were both delicious too.

Where is Stack Bakery, and how are its two floors laid out?

Stack Bakery is a bakery café located at 5 Ttukseom-ro 31an-gil, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. You pick out bread on the first floor, and the second floor is set up as café seating, so it's a great spot to grab bread and enjoy it with coffee.

Taking it home like I did works well, but if you have time, enjoying the bread with coffee right there in the store would be lovely too. If you love bread, that display case is hard to walk past... the moment you step in, the bread is the first thing that catches your eye.

Looking at the golden-brown color and the visible layers of the pastries, choosing actually becomes the hard part.

From croissants to kouign-amann, pain au chocolat, and salt bread, there's a wide variety on the menu, plus kaya croissants and several other pastry options.

I picked out a few different things and ordered them to go.

First pick at Stack Bakery: the plain croissant

The first thing I chose was Stack Bakery's plain croissant. Whenever I see croissants at a bakery, I always want to try the plain one first.

Stack Bakery's plain croissant looked nicely golden-brown on the outside.

Up on the second floor there's a cozy space where a good croissant and a cup of coffee would make anyone happy, haha. I took mine home and ate it there — I liked being able to feel the flaky layers on the outside while the inside stayed soft. Croissants pair well with coffee and make an easy simple breakfast too.

I especially liked brewing coffee at home and eating the takeout bread with it — that combination really worked for me.

Stack Bakery's kouign-amann: crisp, buttery and sweet

Of everything I took home from Stack Bakery, the kouign-amann was personally the most fun. Kouign-amann is a pastry made from laminated dough with the sweetness of sugar and the richness of butter — crisp and sweet on the outside, with that distinct pastry layering on the inside, making it great with coffee. Stack Bakery offers both a plain kouign-amann and a hazelnut version. It's exactly the kind of Konkuk bakery that's gotten hot for its variety of pastries. I love this kind of pastry, so packing it along with the croissant gave my home a real bakery café atmosphere.

The milk bread that turned out to be the surprise

Honestly, what I was most looking forward to that day were pastries like the croissant and kouign-amann, but after tasting it, the milk bread was delicious too. At a bakery, milk bread can easily be seen as ordinary, but the bread you eat every day is exactly where the basics matter most. It's great plain, with butter or jam, as breakfast, or made into a sandwich. When a place gets the everyday bread right, not just the fancy pastries, it makes me want to come back. Stack Bakery has a pastry-style milk bread alongside its regular pastries, so if you're a milk bread fan, it's worth checking out too.

Why Stack Bakery's bread tasted better taken home

That day I ordered several breads to go rather than eating in the store. When you want to try a few different things at a bakery café, takeout turns out to be a pretty good approach. Packed up separately, I could enjoy each one on its own terms —

• croissant with coffee
• kouign-amann as dessert
• milk bread for breakfast

— spread out over different moments.

If you're eating with a few people, picking a variety to match everyone's taste and taking it all to go is a great option too. Stack Bakery gives you a nicely done box when you buy in units of 4, so it works well as a gift too.

A bakery easy to pair with a walk at Ttukseom Han River Park

Stack Bakery's location also makes it easy to head toward Ttukseom Han River Park afterward, so it's worth combining with a river outing when you take bread to go. You could pick up bread and coffee before heading to the river, or stop by the bakery café on your way back from a riverside walk. So I'd like to introduce Stack Bakery as a bakery worth searching alongside restaurants near Ttukseom Han River Park. On a nice day especially, packing bread to bring to the river sounds ideal.

Looking for a café near Ttukseom Han River Park? Take bread to go

When looking for a café by the river, you don't necessarily need one right on the waterfront. Instead, picking up good bread first and heading to the river afterward makes for your own little picnic. One croissant, one kouign-amann, and a cup of coffee. Add a milk bread on top and your bakery haul carries you all the way to breakfast the next morning at home. So if you're searching for a café near Ttukseom Han River Park or planning a river outing, I'd recommend grabbing bread to go from Stack Bakery.

The Konkuk Univ. café worth returning to for the bread

Usually when picking a café, you think about the coffee or the atmosphere first, but at a bakery café, it's the bread that has to be good to make you want to return. Stack Bakery offered a great range from pastries like the croissant and kouign-amann to milk bread. Trying several things to go, in particular, let each bread's charm stand out more than if I'd only had one item. If you love pastries with a strong butter flavor, this is a Konkuk bakery café worth visiting at least once.

Verdict on the three-item takeout from Stack Bakery

To sum up what I took home this time —

• 🥐 Croissant → a solid basic pick
• 🍯 Kouign-amann → recommended if you like crisp, sweet pastry
• 🍞 Milk bread → a plain bread that's good for every day

And there are plenty of other pastry options too, so if you love bread, there's fun in just browsing. Rather than eating in the store, choosing a variety and taking it home to enjoy slowly, like I did, worked out well.

Next time I go, I'd like to try some of the other pastries I missed this round. 😊

Directions from Konkuk Univ. Station, plus parking and hours for Stack Bakery

Stack Bakery is located at 5 Ttukseom-ro 31an-gil, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 1st and 2nd floors, 609m from Exit 5 of Konkuk Univ. Station (Lines 2 & 7). It's a great spot for a Konkuk date, with a cozy space to enjoy tasty croissants and desserts.

• Exit Konkuk Univ. Station via Exit 5, then with your back to the exit, head into the first alley behind you
• Go straight down the alley for about 600m
• Pass the main entrance of Daedong Apartments and keep walking a bit further to a playground — Stack Bakery is directly across from it
• By car, you can use the nearby Jayang 4-dong public parking lot, though no parking fee support is provided
• Hours: Mon–Sun 08:00–21:00, last order 20:00, closed every Wednesday
• Drink orders close at 20:00, seating available until 20:30
• Wi-Fi, takeout, group seating, delivery, and a waiting area are all available