Weekend brunch date for mentaiko potato salt bread near Gyeongbokgung

Respire Bakery is a famous salt bread spot in Seochon. The bread is delicious, but honestly the space itself is so pretty I really want to recommend it. If you go on a nice day, you can enjoy the surrounding scenery perfectly along with it.

It's surrounded by mountains and lots of trees, which I loved. As long as it's not too hot, sitting outside would be great too.

A brunch café with great atmosphere

Respire Bakery has a second floor too. It's a standalone building and the atmosphere felt comfortable and nice. Personally I liked the first floor better than the second. The weather was good so they had the doors open, and that sense of openness was lovely.

They open at 9, but there were already a lot of customers early in the morning. It's already a well-known café near Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seochon, and with the good weather it was the perfect weekend date. Seochon and Gyeongbokgung are such a great weekend date course!

The salt bread lineup and bakery display

There were many kinds of salt bread, plus the currently trendy chocolate baguette. There's a dessert-bread style and also plenty of meal-bread style, so I'd recommend it for a brunch date.

Just looking at it makes it seem so tasty. Such a mouthwatering bakery visual~ And no, these aren't display models, they're the real thing. If you're doing a Seochon bakery-hopping tour, make sure to add this place to the list.

A lot of bakery cafés these days are so expensive, but Respire Bakery's prices are pretty reasonable. Besides salt bread, they also have brunch items (toast, sandwiches) you can order separately. Everything looked delicious, so I spent a long time deciding.

Respire's coffee menu

You can't skip this place's signature coffee. The Respire latte was a bit sweeter and nuttier than a basic latte! They also have a signature cream latte — I'm planning to try that next time.

Respire latte

Nutty and sweet, but not one-dimensionally sweet at all..! A signature latte with really nice balance.

The salt bread you have to try

The salt bread I'd been waiting for! Let me give you the conclusion first: I highly recommend the mentaiko potato salt bread. The salty, savory umami of the mentaiko (seasoned pollock roe) went so well with the potato.

Why this is a Seochon brunch favorite

A Seochon salt bread spot that doesn't skimp on ingredients. Having tried it myself, I can recommend it as part of a Seochon bakery-hopping course. The mentaiko + potato combo especially is so good. Next time I go, I'm definitely getting this salt bread again.

Salt bread plus coffee was love.

The entrance and the vibe on the 1st and 2nd floors

This is the entrance to Respire. You can already sense the vibe, right?

A Seochon café that won me over from the entrance itself. The wood tones gave it such a comfortable feel. It had been a while since I'd had such a relaxed weekend date! This neighborhood itself gives off a really nice feeling too. I love Seochon and the area around Gyeongbokgung, but this was my first time actually stepping into Respire. The walk here was pretty too.

This is the second-floor space. The second floor has a slightly more charming, cozy feel. If you want a quieter conversation, I'd recommend the second floor — it's just tables, so it's better for chatting quietly.

Personally I liked the first floor space more. The weather was so nice that day, and the sunlight coming in made it even better :) Honestly, every space here is pretty!

Respire Bakery Cafe Seochon location and parking

Respire Bakery Cafe Seochon / 40-7 Hyoja-ro 13-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul

For parking, you'll need to use the nearby public parking lots. The lot right in front of the café is reserved for Blue House staff.