Jung-gu bakery café for ice cream floats: Lemangdoré

Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun (레망도레 광화문점) is a bakery café right behind Seoul City Hall. Each of its first through third floors has window seats, four-person tables, and sofa seats, making it nice for dates, small gatherings, or getting some work done. In particular, it is a place where you can enjoy delicious baked-in-house pastries including pistachio croissants, chocolate baguettes, egg tarts, and baked sweets.

A large bakery café down an alley near City Hall Station

It is tucked down an alley about a five-minute walk from City Hall Station. There is outdoor seating, too. I imagine it gets quite bustling around weekday lunchtime.

You order at the kiosk. Do not forget to pick up your pager yourself!

What are the coffee and bakery options?

Here is the coffee shop menu. Let me start with coffee and drinks. An iced Americano was ₩5,500 and a latte was ₩6,300, so the prices were a touch high, but you can choose your beans and the coffee was really good. The Coffee of the Day was ₩5,200, discounted by ₩300. (Recommended!!) For the autumn season, the sweet and nutty flavors of soft persimmon, chestnut, and peanut are excellent. There are also plenty of ice cream lattes, cream lattes, and non-coffee drinks.

There are bakery items and baked sweets, too. I visited around 3 p.m. on a Friday, and the egg tarts and chausson aux pommes were sold out.

They also have financier and madeleine gift boxes, so this would be perfect for anyone looking for a dessert gift in Gwanghwamun. The boxes look very luxurious, too.

Inside Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun

The seating atmosphere from floors 1 to 3

Let me show you around this City Hall bakery café. There are seats for two or three people. The floor-to-ceiling windows make it feel wonderfully open.

On the second floor, some people were working and holding meetings. Overall, it had a neat and quiet atmosphere. Lush green plants were dotted around, and the second floor also has floor-to-ceiling windows with a nice view. There were lots of guests even between 3 and 4 p.m. on Friday.

The third floor had a cozy feel, with comfortable sofa seating as well. Lots of people were relaxing there.

Pretty paintings are placed throughout the café. It almost felt like an exhibition space. I recommend it for a café date near Cheonggyecheon Stream.

Ice cream float and pistachio croissant

I ordered Lemangdoré’s signature ice cream float, plus a pistachio croissant and a salted chocolate tart. I considered the chocolate baguette too, but I will have to try it next time.

This drink has rich milk ice cream on top of a nutty latte. I really love the slightly icy, crunchy texture when the ice cream meets the cold latte. I spooned up the ice cream little by little, and as it naturally melted, it turned into a sweet latte, haha. The latte itself is not sweet and is very nutty (no burnt flavor). The ice cream also had a really rich, delicious milk flavor. The moment I took a bite, I immediately understood why it is a signature item.

I came to know the taste of pistachio through dujjongku, a chewy Dubai-style chocolate cookie, and after seeing this croissant piled so generously with it, how could I not try it? This is one of the popular items, too.

When you cut into the crisp croissant, pistachio spread is tucked inside. The sweet filling went well with the nutty pistachios on top. The croissant had lovely layers and a great crunch, so I recommend it as a bakery near Seoul City Hall.

The salted chocolate tart I chose instead of an egg tart

The egg tarts were sold out, so I had the chocolate tart instead, and it was insanely good.. Can you see those layers? The pastry was truly crisp, while the filling felt like fresh chocolate. I loved that the chocolate was rich rather than overly sweet. That sweet-and-salty appeal was the best.

This Gwanghwamun café is also a great dessert spot with drip coffee. Office workers can take a break over good coffee at lunchtime, while weekends or afternoons are lovely for a Cheonggyecheon date.

You can buy tumblers and coffee beans, and I also spotted plates, bowls, and glass cups. They were so pretty.

The coffee was delicious and the bakery items were excellent, so it was such a happy time. I recommend it if you are looking for a large café near City Hall Station or Gwanghwamun Station.