# City Hall Station dessert café with pu-erh choco tea: Center Coffee - By Yoonseul (https://superchart.com/en/@last-train-table/) - Written Sep 15, 2026 - Local places › Cafés › Jung-gu, Seoul - Sponsored: This post was written after receiving support for the visit from the store. - English edition: https://superchart.com/en/@last-train-table/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night/ - Also in: [한국어](https://superchart.com/ko/@last-train-table/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night/index.md) ## In short Center Coffee Gwanghwamun is a spacious dessert café on the basement level of a Sejong-daero building near City Hall Station and Gwanghwamun in Jung-gu, Seoul. After work drinks and a walk along Cheonggyecheon, the writer stopped in around 8pm for an iced americano, Better Than Choco (a pu-erh-based tea) and a chocolate baton financier. The cocoa-scented tea with the crumbly financier makes Center Coffee Gwanghwamun an easy after-dinner dessert stop. ## Good to know - **Address**: 136 Sejong-daero, B1 Room 105, Jung-gu, Seoul - **Hours**: Mon–Fri 7:30–21:00, Sat–Sun 11:00–21:00 - **What we ordered**: Iced americano, Better Than Choco (pu-erh-based tea), chocolate baton financier - **How to order**: Order at the counter, or use the separate kiosk that shows menu photos; buzzer pager - **Seating**: Large basement floor with seats running deep inside; busy with office workers even on weekday evenings *as written by the visitor on Sep 15, 2026* I'd had a light drink or two after work that day, and once you're done drinking, something sweet starts calling your name, right? So I was trying to figure out where to find a good City Hall Station café dessert spot, and it turned out there was a fairly big café just a short walk along Cheonggyecheon. I strolled a bit and found my way there. ## Inside Center Coffee Gwanghwamun: what is the basement floor like? Center Coffee Gwanghwamun is on the basement floor (B1) of a building at 136 Sejong-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul. When I plugged in the address, it led me into a huge office building, and I was like, is this really it? ![Interior of Center Coffee Gwanghwamun's basement floor](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night-01-1ui7o-900.webp) Since it said basement floor, I took the escalator down, and the atmosphere completely changed the moment I descended. Upstairs felt like a building full of offices, but downstairs there were restaurants and cafés — it felt like the basement food court of a department store. ![Center Coffee Gwanghwamun hall with seating extending to the back](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night-02-aq5y7-900.webp) At first I didn't realize how big it was, but once inside, the seating stretched all the way to the back. With so many seats, I don't think you'd need to worry about not finding a spot. That said, on weekdays there might be a wait since office workers fill the place. Actually, even though I visited around 8pm, there were quite a few people still in suits, haha. ## Center Coffee Gwanghwamun menu: which drinks and desserts are on offer? You can order at the counter at Center Coffee Gwanghwamun, but there's also a separate kiosk. ![Order kiosk at Center Coffee Gwanghwamun](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night-03-1hsua-900.webp) ![Drink menu displayed on the kiosk screen](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night-04-1irht-900.webp) If you want to see photos of the menu while ordering, the kiosk is probably the way to go. There was a wide variety of drink types — coffee, lattes, non-coffee drinks, teas, and more. Instead of your usual lattes, there were unusual ones like red cordial, mugwort latte, and orange bianco. Each one came with a good description, so if something catches your interest, it's worth ordering. ![Dessert display with financiers and pound cakes](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night-05-1hell-900.webp) As a City Hall Station café good for trying various desserts, they had plenty of light options that pair well with coffee — financiers, pound cakes, butter bars, and more. ![Yogurt bowl and ham cheese panini on display](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night-06-y9s8w-900.webp) There was also a yogurt bowl and a ham cheese panini, good for a light meal substitute. ![Showcase with fresh cream cake and Matilda chocolat cake](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night-07-1oxky-900.webp) Prices were a bit up there, but the pure milk fresh cream cake and the Matilda chocolat cake both looked large and clearly sweet-tooth-satisfying just from the look of them. ![Kiosk screen showing menu photos](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night-08-mwqfn-900.webp) ![Dessert menu screen checked on the kiosk](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night-09-1k2ha-900.webp) The kiosk let me check what each item looked like too. I love iced americanos and tea, so while deciding what to get, I picked the Better Than Choco. I genuinely want to go back just for this again. Ever heard of a chocolate-flavored tea? ![Better Than Choco menu selection screen](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night-10-wmsbn-900.webp) After ordering, you get a buzzer pager and go pick it up when it rings. The staff were all kind. I also liked that they told me in advance, when I was ordering, that closing time was 9pm and checked if that was fine with me. ## Honest review of Better Than Choco tea and the chocolate baton financier What I ordered at Center Coffee Gwanghwamun was an iced americano, the Better Than Choco, and a chocolate baton financier — three things total. ![Iced americano, Better Than Choco, and chocolate baton financier set together](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night-11-w825r-1200.webp) ![Better Than Choco tea served neatly](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night-12-17gea-900.webp) Everything looked good and came out clean and neat. The Better Than Choco, which was described as a pu-erh base with a chocolate scent, was already giving off that smell before I even took a sip. I think that's when I really understood what "chocolate scent" actually means, haha. Just from the smell, you could probably pass it off as chocolate milk. ![Cup of pu-erh-based Better Than Choco tea](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night-13-ae7zh-900.webp) This is a tea you don't see often elsewhere, which is exactly what I loved about this City Hall Station café, Center Coffee. Normally, a tea bag steeped in hot water feels like a waste of money, but I ordered it to cut back on caffeine — and if it's this kind of tea, I'd pay whatever it costs. If you like tea, give it a try. ![Iced americano at Center Coffee Gwanghwamun](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night-14-1qigb-900.webp) ![Close-up of the mildly acidic iced americano](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night-15-1kxs0-900.webp) The iced americano had a moderate acidity and, as expected, a nice bean aroma too. You really can't skip it when ordering something sweet on the side. ![Chocolate baton financier topped with chocolate chips](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night-16-iciw0-900.webp) It wasn't the trendy crisp-outside-chewy-inside style — the texture was more like a crumbly pound cake. It wasn't too sweet so it went down easy, and every time I bit into a chocolate chip on top, the rich cocoa flavor was really good. ![Cross-section of a bitten chocolate baton financier](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night-17-161da-900.webp) ![Final shot of the drinks and financier on the table](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night-18-9qky8-900.webp) ## Why Center Coffee Gwanghwamun works as a City Hall Station dessert café I set out looking for something sweet and ended up falling for the tea first, then falling again for the crumbly financier — I ate well and left satisfied. If you're looking for dessert around City Hall Station like I was, I recommend Center Coffee. Good seating, nice atmosphere, great to drop by after a meal. ## Where it is - Center Coffee Gwanghwamun (센터커피 광화문점) - 136 Sejong-daero, B1 Room 105, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea - 서울특별시 중구 세종대로 136 B1층 105호 - 37.5684246, 126.9782701 - Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/search/%EC%84%BC%ED%84%B0%EC%BB%A4%ED%94%BC%20%EA%B4%91%ED%99%94%EB%AC%B8%EC%A0%90/@37.5684246,126.9782701,17z --- Superchart · https://superchart.com/en/@last-train-table/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-chocolate-puer-tea-night/ · https://superchart.com/llms.txt