# 2-story café with mom near Hwadam Botanic Garden: La Cuesta - By Jaeun (https://superchart.com/en/@pastry-case-afternoons/) - Written Sep 7, 2026 - Local places › Cafés › Gwangju, Gyeonggi - Sponsored: This visit was sponsored by the business. - English edition: https://superchart.com/en/@pastry-case-afternoons/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit/ - Also in: [한국어](https://superchart.com/ko/@pastry-case-afternoons/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit/index.md) ## In short La Cuesta Gwangju is a two-story bakery café on Gyeongchung-daero in Gonjiam, Gyeonggi. After lunch, the writer stopped by with her mom for coffee, latte and bakery items, checking out the varied seating, little props, self-packing bar and a drawing event. Worth adding to a Hwadam Botanic Garden outing for a relaxed coffee after a meal. ## Good to know - **Location**: 278 Gyeongchung-daero, Gonjiam-eup, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea - **Size**: 2 floors, varied seating types - **Parking**: Spaces in front of and below the building - **Ordered**: Coffee, latte, bakery items - **Facilities**: Self-packing bar with mini oven, 'Narang Hancut' photo booth - **Menu**: Bakery, brunch, bingsu (shaved ice), gift items - **Event**: Drawing contest at time of visit (2 winners monthly), new-menu tasting corner *as written by the visitor on Sep 7, 2026* ![Large bakery café La Cuesta Gwangju in Gonjiam](https://img.superchart.com/images/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit-01-18yyt-900.webp) After having lunch in Gonjiam with my mom, we went looking for a café to grab coffee and dessert and ended up at La Cuesta Gwangju — it turned out to be much bigger than I expected. I kept it simple that day with a latte, coffee and some bakery items. Looking around, the place has a spacious two-story layout with everything from bakery to brunch, plenty of seating variety and little extras to enjoy, so this should be useful if you're looking for a large café in Gonjiam, Gwangju. ![Spacious interior of La Cuesta Gwangju](https://img.superchart.com/images/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit-02-177v7-1200.webp) ## Location and parking at La Cuesta Gwangju La Cuesta Gwangju is located at 278 Gyeongchung-daero, Gonjiam-eup, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. It's close to where we had lunch in Gonjiam, so I didn't need to plan out a big separate route. If you're heading to Hwadam Botanic Garden or the Gonjiam area, this feels like a good spot to slot in before or after a meal. I drove there, and there were parking spaces both in front of and below the building. ![La Cuesta exterior and parking on Gyeongchung-daero](https://img.superchart.com/images/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit-03-ep47d-900.webp) ![Area around the entrance of the La Cuesta building](https://img.superchart.com/images/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit-04-10j2l-900.webp) ## How was the two-story space and seating? The first thing I noticed walking in was the sheer size of the café. It's spread across two floors with a variety of seating types, so you can pick a spot to match whatever mood you're in. Some large cafés end up with the same tables and chairs repeated everywhere despite the size, but La Cuesta had something a little different catching my eye in each area. So before settling down I ended up walking the whole place first. Visiting with my mom, it was nice that we could each pick a seat that suited our own taste. ![Varied seating areas across the two-story café](https://img.superchart.com/images/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit-05-1sw9x-900.webp) ![Seating and décor with a different atmosphere at La Cuesta](https://img.superchart.com/images/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit-06-1l34v-900.webp) It was especially fun to spot the cute little props and décor scattered around. Seeing these details, I got the sense the owner's taste and care went into every corner of the space. ![Cute little props placed around the café](https://img.superchart.com/images/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit-07-awbhn-900.webp) ## Bakery and the self-packing bar Since I'd already had lunch, I kept it simple with coffee, a latte and some bakery items. ![La Cuesta bakery display case](https://img.superchart.com/images/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit-08-6rmf6-900.webp) ![Bakery counter with a variety of breads](https://img.superchart.com/images/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit-09-le4ep-m-900.webp) ![Bakery item and coffee chosen for dessert](https://img.superchart.com/images/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit-10-ft8ns-900.webp) ![Ordered latte, coffee and bakery items](https://img.superchart.com/images/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit-11-27jjh-900.webp) There was a wide range of breads, so it was fun picking out dessert after a meal, and there was also a section selling gift-worthy sets on the side. ![Corner selling gift-set products](https://img.superchart.com/images/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit-12-1kkpl-900.webp) There was also a separate self-packing bar, and I noticed it even had a mini oven — handy for packing up leftover bread or warming it to your liking. ![Self-packing bar with a mini oven](https://img.superchart.com/images/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit-13-h1tnu-900.webp) ## They also have brunch and bingsu I didn't have brunch that day, but while walking around I noticed there was also a brunch and bingsu (shaved ice) menu. It was a bit of a shame I couldn't try it since I'd already eaten, but next time I'd like to come specifically on a day I'm looking for a Hwadam brunch café and try the brunch menu. Being able to choose between bakery items and full meals in one place also felt like more options overall. ![La Cuesta brunch and bingsu menu board](https://img.superchart.com/images/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit-14-1td9t-900.webp) ## Drawing contest, tasting corner, and a photo booth What I found fun about La Cuesta was that it wasn't set up as just a place to eat and drink. On one side there was a table set up with drawing supplies and signage for a drawing contest. At the time of my visit, they were selecting two winners a month to receive a gift. ![Table set up with drawing supplies for the drawing contest](https://img.superchart.com/images/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit-15-1k9qy-900.webp) They also seemed to run a tasting corner where customers can try new menu items and write feedback when new items come out. Seeing this, I felt the owner's approach of running the café while staying in touch with customers was pretty cool. ![Tasting corner for writing feedback on new menu items](https://img.superchart.com/images/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit-16-na1aq-900.webp) I also spotted a photo booth machine called Narang Hancut inside the café. Like the four-cut photo booths (Inseang-necut), it lets you keep a photo from the day, so there was one more small thing to enjoy beyond just grabbing coffee and leaving. Wandering the spacious café and discovering these little touches one by one was a pretty good time. ![Narang Hancut photo booth installed inside the café](https://img.superchart.com/images/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit-17-4g21r-900.webp) ## Overall thoughts Looking around La Cuesta in person, what stuck with me was that it wasn't just a big café — it's a space with a lot to see and enjoy in every corner. If you're looking for a Hwadam bakery café or somewhere to relax with coffee after a meal in Gonjiam, this is worth stopping by. Next time, I'm planning to try the brunch at La Cuesta. ## Where it is - La Cuesta Gwangju (라꾸에스타 경기광주점) - 278 Gyeongchung-daero, Gonjiam-eup, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea - 경기도 광주시 곤지암읍 경충대로 278 라꾸에스타 - 37.3360668, 127.372023 - Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/search/%EB%9D%BC%EA%BE%B8%EC%97%90%EC%8A%A4%ED%83%80%20%EA%B2%BD%EA%B8%B0%EA%B4%91%EC%A3%BC%EC%A0%90/@37.3360668,127.372023,17z --- Superchart · https://superchart.com/en/@pastry-case-afternoons/gonjiam-lacuesta-mom-bakery-cafe-visit/ · https://superchart.com/llms.txt