Hongdae brunch café open from 9am for eggplant gratin: MELA Hongdae

It's brunch café time again this week, haha. I recruited a friend who was lazing around at home on a weekday morning craving brunch. I've been to so many cafés around Hongdae and Yeonnam-dong, but surprisingly I hadn't tried many brunch cafés there.

Usually when you look for brunch around Hongdae, you find tons of cafés centered on French toast or eggs Benedict. I'm a total bread person too, but that day I wanted something heartier than bread, so I went looking for a place with pasta and warm dishes and ended up at MELA Hongdae!

Where is MELA Hongdae? 1st floor of Nudit Hongdae

MELA Hongdae is located at 41 World Cup buk-ro 5-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the 1st floor, unit 105, of the Nudit Hongdae building. If you've been around Hongdae often, you've probably walked past this building before. Nudit Hongdae is a large complex combining residential, office, and commercial facilities!

It's a shared living space for young single-person households combined with offices, and it seems like a lot of foreign tourists stay here too! MELA is located on the 1st floor of this space. The space itself is so pretty, it's a joy to photograph.

Inside MELA Hongdae: high ceilings and seating

The inside of MELA Hongdae is filled with wood-tone furniture. Doesn't it feel really warm?

The store is bigger than expected, and most importantly, something I'm absolutely obsessed with — the ceilings are super high!!

Plants are mixed in here and there among the wood-tone furniture, and each table has plenty of space, keeping things quiet. The lighting is also placed in varied spots throughout, which left an impression. It's good for two people dining together, and also perfect for a group brunch gathering.

Hongdae has so many people that cafés can sometimes feel hectic, right? MELA is nothing like that at all! I went almost right at opening on a weekday morning and there were still other guests there, so I guess I was the only one who didn't know about this brunch gem, haha.

MELA Hongdae menu and what we ordered

MELA is an all-day brunch café open from 9am, so it's not just morning-appropriate items. Beyond French toast, there's quite a range — pasta, gnocchi, pizza, salad.

That day we ordered

• Classic Carbonara ₩22,000
• Eggplant Gratin ₩22,000

We didn't get around to dessert, but we did order drinks — a caffe latte and ginger tea. Not many places sell ginger tea, and the menu listed it as 'grandma's ginger tea,' which made me curious, haha. They said syrup is added by default, so I asked for it without syrup!

Also, just so you know, before 11am they sell a discounted morning special set, so keep that in mind.

Grandma's ginger tea and caffe latte at MELA Hongdae

The first thing to arrive at MELA Hongdae was the drinks. Usually at brunch cafés people just drink coffee, but today I went a little special and ordered ginger tea.

I was totally, completely satisfied — ginger helps digestion too ^^; it seemed packed with beneficial compounds because I genuinely had zero bloating after eating. Haha. Since what we ordered was full of cream and cheese, a sip of warm ginger tea between bites refreshed my palate every time! The latte was also nice to sip slowly while eating. The coffee was a bit on the light side!

What does the Classic Carbonara, 22,000 won, taste like?

MELA Hongdae's Classic Carbonara isn't the style with a runny sauce — it's the type where the sauce clings thickly to the noodles. With so many varied cream pastas like rosé pasta everywhere these days, it felt like it had been a while since I had a proper classic.

Instead of running loose, the sauce clung to the noodles decently, giving a rich first impression right away! Thick bacon pieces are scattered throughout.

There's an egg yolk on top — just mix it in gently! When I eat carbonara, I always feel a bit let down if the sauce is too runny, but here the sauce clings well to the noodles so the flavor stays distinct until the last bite!

The pasta seemed to be fettuccine, and it was generously peppered, with a slight spicy kick, so there was no greasy aftertaste at all — very satisfying.

While eating the carbonara, the eggplant gratin arrived right on time, so I snapped a photo of them together.

Eggplant Gratin, 22,000 won: ragu sauce and mozzarella

MELA Hongdae's eggplant gratin is oven-baked with eggplant and mozzarella cheese in a tomato ragu sauce. I'm absolutely obsessed with gratin-type dishes... The plate is hot when it first arrives, so be careful — and right off the bat, the cheese was melted and bubbling hot, an instant pass on visuals alone.

The eggplant is plated in three long strips, and you cut it with a knife. Cutting through and scooping deep, the softly cooked eggplant, ragu sauce, and cheese all come up together underneath.

The eggplant was cooked through enough that it was almost melt-in-your-mouth soft, and the tomato ragu had enough acidity to contrast completely with the carbonara! When eating this kind of Western food, ordering one tomato-based dish and one cream-based dish really does feel like the perfect combo. If you love eggplant, definitely order this one.

MELA Hongdae verdict: worth it for a hearty brunch?

MELA has a wide range of options, from typical brunch items like French toast and salad to pasta, gnocchi, pizza, and gratin, making it a great spot to visit with several people! It's also a space that can comfortably accommodate group guests.

Thanks (?) to MELA for opening up a lovely morning — service 100, taste 100, atmosphere 100! The staff were so, so kind, and that's something else that stuck with me :-)