Pungse brunch café in Cheonan for a rainy-day 3rd-floor seat: Siyudang

My husband and I finally had a free weekend morning together, so we thought, "Where should we go for brunch today?" We wanted somewhere a bit special — not just coffee, but a nice brunch and maybe a light walk too — so we headed to Siyudang near Taehaksan Nature Recreation Forest in Cheonan. The original plan was to stroll through the forest first and eat brunch once we got hungry.

But right as we arrived, it started raining. We ended up putting off the forest walk and went straight into Siyudang, a Pungse-area café in Cheonan located just before the entrance to the recreation forest, on the left. Still, the view of Taehaksan in the rain turned out to be more charming than expected, and after a good brunch, the morning felt relaxed anyway.

Where is Siyudang in Cheonan?

Siyudang is a large café in Pungse-myeon, Cheonan, right at the entrance to Taehaksan Nature Recreation Forest. On cooler days it'd be lovely to sit outside with a mountain breeze and a coffee. With Taehaksan spread out right in front, the vibe is completely different from a city café. It was muggy and rainy this time so we couldn't use the outdoor tables, but on a nice day it looked like a great spot to rest while looking at the mountain.

Inside Siyudang: a clean, plant-filled interior

Walking in, the plant-filled interior caught my eye right from the entrance — greenery placed throughout. It was clean but not cold, thanks to all the plants, giving the space a comfortable feel.

The 1st floor is where you order drinks and brunch, with seating on the 2nd and 3rd floors. We took the elevator by the entrance up to the 3rd floor first to grab a seat. Since it was still early morning, there was plenty of room at first.

While we ate, more and more customers kept coming in, and before long almost every table was full. There were a lot of families as well as couples out for a brunch date. Most tables had ordered brunch along with their drinks rather than just coffee, which made it clear this is a popular brunch café in Cheonan.

Let's take a look inside. From the entrance, Siyudang is decorated cleanly and elegantly with plant styling. The 1st floor only has the ordering counter for drinks and brunch, with seating starting from the 2nd floor. We took the elevator up to the 3rd floor first to find a seat.

2nd floor or 3rd floor: which seat is better?

At Siyudang, the 2nd floor suits families, while the 3rd floor is better for a quiet meal for two. After checking out the 3rd floor, we walked down the stairs to see the 2nd floor too.

The 2nd floor is spacious with lots of tables and good group seating. There's also comfortable floor seating, which a lot of families with kids were using. Maybe because of that, the 2nd floor had a livelier atmosphere.

The 3rd floor, on the other hand, felt calmer and more relaxed — much more to my liking for eating brunch slowly with my husband. If you're visiting with family, the 2nd floor would be more convenient, but if you want a quiet brunch for two like us, the 3rd floor is the better fit.

The Siyudang rooftop, with Taehaksan views and a windmill

Looking out the window on the 3rd floor, I noticed a rooftop space. Curious, we decided to check it out before ordering. The elevator only goes up to the 3rd floor, so you need to take the stairs to reach the rooftop, Baegilhong Garden.

The rooftop is run as a care-kids zone for safety, and kids aren't allowed up there unaccompanied. Brunch or meal items also can't be brought up to the rooftop, so we just took a quick look and came back down. Still, once we got up there, the atmosphere was better than expected.

The space is styled to feel like a cabin, giving it a nice atmosphere. But what really caught my eye was the lush green Taehaksan view spread out right in front.

With no tall buildings around, the view is wide open and you can see the whole ridge of Taehaksan at once — it felt refreshing, like a weight lifting off your chest. Add the windmill scenery into the mix and it was even prettier in person than in photos.

It was a shame we couldn't go for a walk because of the rain, but looking at Taehaksan glistening with rain had its own charm. On a nice day, I think it'd be worth coming up to the rooftop just to rest and look at the mountain for a bit.

House-made brunch and bakery baked the same day

Now we headed back down to the 1st floor to actually order brunch.

Siyudang's menu isn't just drinks — there's a wide range of meal options including pasta, risotto, pizza, and sandwiches. In particular, all the sauces used for the meal menu are made in-house, and the pizza dough is also hand-kneaded and fermented on site. I remembered a friend who recommended Siyudang telling me the spinach pizza dough was chewy and delicious. Since the arugula prosciutto pizza happened to be on the best-menu list, I decided to go with pizza this time.

The bakery items were also hard to pass up. Siyudang says they bake everything fresh every early morning and follow a same-day-made, same-day-sold rule.

The donuts and other baked goods looked delicious too, and I hesitated for a while, but since we were having pizza and a sandwich this time, I saved the bakery for the next visit. Next time I want to pick out something from the bakery to go with coffee.

Arugula prosciutto pizza and shrimp open sandwich

Here's what my husband and I ordered that day. Since the brunch items are made by hand and take a bit of time, they came out together with the drinks. After a short wait, the buzzer went off and we headed down to the 1st floor.

With so much food ordered, we had two trays, which made carrying them a bit heavy. Handily, there was a tray holder installed inside the elevator, which was really convenient.

Later I also noticed there's a food cart on the 1st floor for moving food around. I liked that they'd thought of even these small details to make it easier for customers to carry their food.

On top of that, the basil pesto's aroma paired really well with the arugula. I usually get sick of pizza after a few slices because of the cheese, but with the arugula's fragrance and the basil pesto balancing that out, this one felt fairly light and clean to eat.

That said, since the toppings were piled generously on top of the bread, it took a bit of effort to eat at first. Even trying to cut it neatly, the shrimp and vegetables kept sliding off to the side. Still, the taste itself was satisfying. I think it'd be a good order on a day you want something light with vegetables and shrimp, rather than a heavy brunch first thing in the morning.

Taehaksan in the rain, seen from the 3rd-floor window

The original plan for the day was a walk through Taehaksan Nature Recreation Forest, but the rain completely changed our route.

It was a little disappointing not to get our walk in, but sitting at Siyudang eating brunch while looking at Taehaksan glistening with rain turned out to have its own charm. It was nice to be able to slowly take in scenery that we'd normally just walk past. Even though we were only a short distance from downtown Cheonan, eating brunch with the mountain right in front of us made for a different kind of weekend morning than usual. By the time we'd had good food, coffee, and dessert, the disappointment over the rain-ruined plan had mostly faded.

A Cheonan brunch café worth pairing with a Taehaksan walk

Siyudang, the Cheonan brunch café we visited for a rare weekend morning together — the large space had a slightly different mood on each floor, and I liked the view of the Taehaksan ridge through the window.

On top of that, with hand-kneaded, fermented pizza dough, in-house-made meal items, and a same-day-made, same-day-sold bakery, there's still plenty left on the menu for us to try next time.

If you're with family, the 2nd floor would be more comfortable, but if you want a quiet brunch for two like us, the 3rd floor is a better fit. The rooftop isn't a dining space, but the view of Taehaksan together with the windmill was impressive, so I'd like to go back up there on a nicer day. Most of all, missing the walk through Taehaksan Nature Recreation Forest because of the rain was the biggest letdown of the day. So next time, I want to visit on a nice day, take a slow walk through the recreation forest first, and then stop by Siyudang to try the bakery and other brunch items we missed this time.

If you're looking for a relaxed weekend morning in Cheonan, or a place to combine a walk through Taehaksan Nature Recreation Forest with brunch, this is a spot worth stopping by at least once.