Anyang brunch café: fresh grapefruit tea for a cold, Saechamcoffee

Saechamcoffee at the 10 a.m. Sunday opening: book ahead and walk straight in

Saechamcoffee (새참커피) is a café in Anyang's Daengridan-gil area that opens at 10 a.m. I booked ahead and visited right at opening on Sunday, October 11. It was a day with a cool breeze, and I set out early to enjoy a relaxed weekend.

I got ready as soon as I woke up and made an opening run to arrive at 10 a.m. Since I had reserved in advance, I could walk straight in with no waiting, which was nice.

Does Saechamcoffee have seating for solo visitors, groups and conversation?

Saechamcoffee has solo window seats, group seating along the wall and an open private room, so it works whether you come alone or with a crowd. The interior felt much bigger and more pleasant than I had expected. The window seats are set up well for one person, so coming alone is no burden at all.

The seats along the wall have plenty of room and looked perfect for groups sitting together.

On one side there is also an open private room, which felt just right for anyone who wants to chat in relative quiet.

Restrooms and parking at Saechamcoffee

Saechamcoffee has separate men's and women's restrooms inside, and if you drive, the Samdeok Park underground car park gives you 1 hour 30 minutes of free parking. The restrooms were tidy and comfortable to use.

Looking around the middle of the café and the display case, I saw a wide range of cookies and tempting cake slices.

Until what time can you order weekend brunch sandwiches at Saechamcoffee?

The weekend brunch (sandwiches) at Saechamcoffee is weekends only, and orders are taken until 4 p.m. Today, this special weekend-only brunch menu was exactly what I came for!

You can choose from caprese basil, spicy chicken, truffle jambon-beurre (ham and butter sandwich) and more, but you have to order before 4 p.m. to try them, so check the time!

This time I ordered the weekend-only truffle jambon sandwich (₩11,000) and the caprese basil sandwich (₩12,000). I also felt a bit of a cold coming on, so I added a grapefruit tea (₩6,000) to warm me up.

How the caprese basil sandwich tastes

The caprese basil sandwich at Saechamcoffee has fresh mozzarella, tomato and arugula with house-made basil pesto, and I liked that it came cut neatly in half for easy eating.

The freshness of the mozzarella, tomato and arugula came through, and the house-made basil pesto added depth, giving it a clean, healthy flavor that I loved.

It isn't overly strong and tastes very fresh, so it's an easy, tasty pick for a weekend brunch.

How the truffle jambon sandwich with Isigny AOP butter tastes

The truffle jambon sandwich at Saechamcoffee has jambon (French-style ham), Isigny AOP butter and house-made truffle mayo sauce, and I was amazed from the first bite! It was generously filled with flavorful ham and exceptionally rich Isigny AOP butter.

The salty, mild ham and the smooth butter blend in your mouth, and the house-made truffle mayo lifts the savory depth even more. The chew of the ham, the soft butter and the freshly baked bread worked so well together that I enjoyed it down to the last bite.

How was Saechamcoffee's hot grapefruit tea when coming down with a cold?

I asked for the grapefruit tea (₩6,000) hot, and fresh grapefruit pulp floated on top, so I was happy with how it looked before even tasting it. It had the natural taste of the fruit rather than artificial sweetness, and I felt it was clearly better than at most ordinary cafés.

It was a satisfying, filling and tasty weekend lunch. I came early and stayed quite a while in the café's comfortable atmosphere, and it turned into a healing time for me.

Cake slices and cookies at Saechamcoffee

Saechamcoffee offers cake slices such as milk cake, black sesame, carrot and tiramisu, plus levain cookies (thick, soft-centered cookies) like matcha. I'll try the ones I missed today on my next visit!