Wirye Lake Park café in Seoul: BLT set and tiramisu, Cafe The Venezia

What kind of café is Cafe The Venezia Wirye?

Cafe The Venezia (카페 더 베네치아) Wirye branch is a brunch café right in front of Wirye Lake Park. If you live around Wirye, it's a perfect place to drop into on a weekend stroll around the lake.

If you're near Wirye Lake Park and want somewhere to eat and have coffee with a child, Cafe The Venezia Wirye is a good choice. It sits right in front of the park, so you get a wide view of the lake from inside the café too.

Seating and high chairs: is Cafe The Venezia good with kids?

The café was bigger than I expected, with lots of different kinds of seating. From the window side you can see Wirye Lake Park directly, so it doesn't feel stuffy, and the layout runs from big tables for groups to regular 2–4 person tables.

There are high chairs too, which made it easy to come with a child, and I saw quite a few guests who had brought strollers.

Why you should grab a seat before ordering

With so many kinds of chairs and spaces, you can sit wherever you like. But it gets really crowded at most times of day, so finding a seat can be tricky. Grab your seat first, then order.

Free parking and blanket rental

Cafe The Venezia Wirye lends out blankets, and you get a generous 2 hours 30 minutes of free parking.

What's on the menu at Cafe The Venezia?

I'd say Cafe The Venezia has a wide bakery selection and plenty to eat, starting with sandwiches. Rather than a huge variety of coffees or tastes, it's more about low prices and lots of drinks like different ades.

How much is the BLT Americano set for one?

The BLT Americano set for one is ₩13,800, and this time I ordered the BLT Americano set for one, a croissant and a tiramisu. An Americano is ₩4,500, so the sandwich works out to about ₩9,300.

The BLT sandwich alone is ₩10,300, so ordering the set gets you the coffee too for about ₩1,000 less.

How the hot Americano tastes

The Americano at Cafe The Venezia was a balanced cup, neither a bitter dark roast nor an acidity-forward one. I wanted to get a proper sense of the place's coffee, so I ordered it hot.

Overall it was well balanced. No strong dark-roast bitterness up front, and it isn't an acidic coffee either. Rather than pushing hard in one direction, it lands right in the middle, so it was easy to drink.

With the sandwich, the coffee didn't get buried by the food, but it didn't stick out on its own either. An Americano with this kind of balance suited a sandwich with bacon and cheese like the BLT especially well.

The BLT sandwich: portion size and taste

The BLT sandwich at Cafe The Venezia is bacon, lettuce, tomato and cheese between ciabatta, and it looks seriously hearty from the first glance. It's really packed. Honestly looks like it's about to burst, haha!

Even though I ordered the set for one, two big pieces came out, so the portion was substantial. It feels generous enough that two women could share it.

Sometimes sandwiches just toss in bacon, but here the bacon is grilled separately before going in. I liked that the bacon still felt warm as I ate. The chewy ciabatta, the fresh lettuce and tomato, and the savory, salty cheese and bacon all stack up into a really full sandwich.

At the bottom of the sandwich there's a spread that seemed to be ricotta cheese (?) mixed with olives, and I quite liked that part too. The sandwich itself leans salty and savory thanks to the bacon and cheese, and the slightly sweet spread keeps the flavor from going in only one direction.

Personally, I think when a sandwich has this much filling, the ingredients can feel like they're doing their own thing, but the sauce and spread hold the taste together in the middle. The portion is good enough that you should order it as a proper meal rather than a light bite with coffee.

What does the croissant at Cafe The Venezia taste like?

Above all, the croissant at Cafe The Venezia pulls apart in really nice layers and has a strong buttery aroma. The layers are visibly stacked from the outside, and it crumbles softly with each bite, so it was easy to eat.

There's a thin sweet layer on top, like a glaze, that's glossy and goes well with the croissant's nutty flavor.

The croissant itself is quite buttery, and with the sweetness on top, I'd call it a good dessert-style bite. Paired with a cup of coffee, it's just right.

Is the tiramisu moist?

The tiramisu at Cafe The Venezia has a texture closer to a firm cake than the soft, soaked ladyfingers you usually imagine. So when you scoop it up, the cake holds its shape to a degree, and it feels sturdier to chew rather than collapsing softly.

The cream inside feels rich, like a mix of cheese and fresh cream, and your mouth gets filled with plenty of it.

The smooth, rich cream plus the slightly bitter cocoa keeps the sweetness from tipping to one side. It was especially good together with coffee.

At the back of the cake the cream is piled thick, and it's fluffy and goes down smoothly, adding to the overall richness of the tiramisu. Personally I had no particular complaints; it was a solidly tasty tiramisu.

Is Cafe The Venezia Wirye worth visiting?

Overall, Cafe The Venezia Wirye has friendly prices and generous portions. None of the menu items felt like a miss; everything was decent to eat.

With an open view straight onto the lake, varied seating and even high chairs, I think it's a comfortable place if you're looking for a café to visit with kids. Locals from Wirye probably make up most of the crowd, but if you want brunch or coffee after a walk in Wirye Lake Park, Cafe The Venezia is a good option too.