Gwangju bakery café near Hwadam Botanic Garden: La Cuesta

La Cuesta near Hwadam Botanic Garden: location and parking

La Cuesta (라꾸에스타) is near Hwadam Botanic Garden and several Gonjiam golf courses, including Seoul Country Club. If Hwadam Botanic Garden is on your itinerary, it is in a nice spot to stop by for a nearby café!

My family drove there, and although it was a rainy day that could easily have been busy, the parking was spacious and convenient. There are two separate parking areas, so there are quite a lot of spaces.

There is one parking area right in front of the café, plus a separate one along the road! Easy parking matters when you are with your parents, too. It was raining on the day I visited, but getting from the car into the café did not feel burdensome, which was nice.

Inside the large two-floor bakery café

Once I went inside, it was bigger than I had expected. It has a first and second floor.

As you would expect from a bakery café, there were many kinds of bread to browse, and the café itself was quite spacious. When visiting a café with parents, there can be only so much to do, but this place had a varied layout.

For one thing, there was a Life Four Cuts (Narang Han Cut) photo booth inside the café, so we could leave with photos, too. It is inexpensive, and it seemed like a lovely place for small groups to browse bread, drink coffee, and then take photos together.

La Cuesta's signature meju-shaped loaf

The thing that caught my eye at La Cuesta was the meju bread.

True to its name, it was made in the shape of meju, fermented soybean blocks, so it looked incredibly cute. It is the café's signature bakery item, and if it is your first visit, it is a menu item worth checking out. Large bakery cafés have so many breads that choosing can be difficult, so having a separate signature item was helpful when deciding.

Rice roll cake and La Cuesta Latte

The rice roll cake was what I enjoyed most on this visit. It has castella sponge attached to it, and it was honestly much more delicious than I expected. The roll cake was soft, and the castella texture came through as well, making it great to share with my parents.

The coffee felt fresh, too. It had a nutty flavor and was smooth and easy to drink.

I also ordered La Cuesta's signature La Cuesta Latte. With cream on top, it looked pretty enough to photograph. When I tried it, the cream was soft and its sweetness came through nicely. If you prefer a sweet latte to bitter coffee, this flavor should suit you well.

Why it was nice to visit with my parents

When I go to a café with my parents, parking and seating are the first things I look at. La Cuesta was comfortable because it has ample parking and a large interior. Above all, there was plenty to enjoy, from looking around the bakery to taking Life Four Cuts photos. It was not just a quick coffee-and-leave stop, so it was nice for spending time with my parents.

What I tried

• Rice roll cake: Soft and a great match with the castella sponge
• La Cuesta Latte: Sweet cream and a smooth taste
• Coffee: Clean with a nutty flavor

La Cuesta, a Hwadam Botanic Garden bakery café stop

After visiting myself, I found La Cuesta to be a large Gwangju bakery café where you can enjoy not only coffee but also baked goods and the space itself. Convenient parking is another plus when visiting with parents, and it is fun choosing bread and drinks. Personally, the rice roll cake stayed with me the most, and I also enjoyed the La Cuesta Latte. If you are looking for a Hwadam Botanic Garden bakery café, keep La Cuesta in mind as a place to relax over bread and coffee.