Weekday lunch date at Central Site Yeonnam: two drip coffees, rooftop
In short
Central Site Yeonnam is a large three-floor local roastery brewing café on the main road from Hongik University Station toward Yeonnam-dong, Mapo, Seoul. On a weekday lunch date, this writer watched a Colombia Quebraditas Geisha Washed and an Ethiopia Tamiru 74158 Natural get sniffed, ground and dripped right in front of them, paired with the signature classic tiramisu. The coffee was great, but the house-made tiramisu left the longer-lasting impression.
Good to know
- Location
- 29-1 Yeonhui-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea, on the main road from Hongik University Station toward Yeonnam-dong
- Size
- Large café across 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors (3rd floor feels like a terrace)
- Ordered
- Colombia Quebraditas Geisha Washed Peach-Punch, Ethiopia Tamiru 74158 Natural 2021 C.O.E #5, Classic Tiramisu
- Dessert lineup
- Classic Tiramisu, Brownie Tiramisu, Strawberry Trifle
- Notes
- Sells house coffee drip bags; ordering hand-drip lets you watch the sniffing and brewing process; finished coffee is served to your table
- Branches
- Yeonnam and Hapjeong locations
as written by the visitor on Sep 7, 2026
A specialty brewing café on the way from Hongik University Station to Yeonnam-dong ☕️ The vibe is amazing, and you can watch them sniff and brew your coffee right in front of you. I had a lovely weekday lunch date at Central Site Yeonnam.
Central Site Yeonnam, on the way from Hongik University Station to Yeonnam-dong
Central Site Yeonnam is known for local roastery, hand-drip coffee. It sits on the main road heading from Hongik University Station toward Yeonnam-dong, and the black exterior really stands out.
Turns out Central Site also runs a Hapjeong branch alongside this one. We'd had lunch in Yeonnam-dong, so we headed to the nearby Yeonnam location.
Central Site's tiramisu, which goes so well with the coffee.
A large three-floor café, weekday lunch atmosphere
It turned out to be a huge café spanning 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors. Right from the entrance it was clear this was weekday lunch takeout time for office workers, and being such a famous café, it was packed.
The aromatic smell of coffee, the lively interior, the great design — this place clearly isn't ordinary!
The menu: from brewed coffee to tiramisu
Their hand-drip brewed coffee, made by grinding their own roasted beans, is really famous! There's also basic Americano and lattes, seasonal coffees, cold brew, and various teas.
Central Site's signature desserts — Classic Tiramisu, Brownie Tiramisu —
Alongside the Classic Tiramisu, made with the authentic recipe loved by the chairman of Gucci, there's also a strawberry trifle 🍓, an English-style dessert.
They also sell their own coffee drip bags. If you choose a hand-drip coffee, you can watch the sniffing and brewing process yourself!
From sniffing to dripping, specialty coffee made right in front of you
They grind the blended beans right there on the spot. The smell of freshly cracked beans is genuinely nutty and deep — it's amazing.
We smelled the beans right after grinding. They recommended a coffee with a bit of acidity, and the fruity aroma mixed with the nutty coffee scent was really refreshing!
They immediately load the grounds and start dripping.
It was fascinating to watch my coffee get ground and brewed right in front of me — the process behind that deep, rich flavor,
pouring at a fixed pace, weighing precisely, adjusting the ratio of beans to water to bring out the best possible flavor — that's specialty coffee.
And once the coffee's ready, they serve it right to your table!
The rooftop-room feel on the 2nd floor and the 3rd floor terrace
Head up to the 2nd floor and you find a cozy, quiet, stylish space with a rooftop-room feel. Since the building sits on a corner, it's not a plain rectangle — it has a special, atmospheric character. Couples on dates, someone healing alone, someone else deep in focus —
the sophisticated mood is a given, and every corner is tastefully, luxuriously decorated. The soft background music was wonderful too.
The 3rd floor feels like a terrace space, and it seemed like opening the windows would turn it into an open-air terrace. The weekday lunch calm at Central Site Yeonnam was something else.
Two coffees and a classic tiramisu, ordered
The specialty coffees we chose were the Colombia Quebraditas Geisha Washed Peach-Punch, the Ethiopia Tamiru 74158 Natural 2021 C.O.E #5, and the signature Classic Tiramisu! We wanted to fully enjoy everything Central Site has to offer.
The coffee came in a wide, weighty glass a bit like a whiskey tumbler, with a big ice cube — a striking sight. I figured the slowly melting ice both keeps things cool and helps preserve the flavor longer. And the tiramisu looked gorgeous too!
Each coffee comes with a card describing its name and story. Knowing the history and background makes it taste even better and helps you notice the subtler flavors.
Tasting notes for the two coffees
- Ethiopia Tamiru 74158 Natural 2021 C.O.E#5 — the sweetness of ripe strawberries harmonizes with jasmine's floral aroma, full of nectarine, apricot, and melon juiciness
- Colombia Quebraditas Geisha Washed Peach-Punch — full of ripe yellow peach and apricot fruit aroma, carrying white grape juiciness and strawberry flavor, leaving a refreshing, delicate finish
Why the Classic Tiramisu is the signature
The Classic Tiramisu had moistness, sweetness, and the right bitterness of a proper tiramisu! It was so soft, fluffy and elegant. It clearly wasn't sourced from elsewhere — it had that unmistakable house-made taste, felt very upscale, and the price was genuinely reasonable. It paired so well with the coffee — one bite and you understand why it's the signature.
The coffee was delicious, but it's the tiramisu's impression that I'm taking home with me.
For anyone looking for a good coffee shop in Hongdae's Yeonnam-dong, full of greenery and calm, I'd recommend this brewing hand-drip specialty coffee café.
Where it is
29-1 Yeonhui-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea서울특별시 마포구 연희로 29-1 센트럴사이트
