Konkuk Univ. bakery café with a crisp croissant sandwich: Stack Bakery

Stack Bakery, a bakery café in Konkuk Univ.

One Sunday afternoon, before an appointment, I wanted some healing time all to myself. I arrived a little early and followed the nutty smell of butter to a quiet, atmospheric bakery café in Konkuk Univ. that people in the know seek out as one of Seoul's best croissant spots: Stack Bakery. Let me introduce it!

Awake your weekend vibe

Who is Stack Bakery, a Konkuk Univ. café, right for?

Stack Bakery suits anyone who wants to avoid the noisy center of Konkuk Univ. and relax over croissants and coffee. Here is who the writer recommends it to:

• Anyone looking for a calm, atmospheric bakery café in Konkuk Univ., away from the crowds and noise
• Anyone planning a café date near Ttukseom Hangang Park who wants a pretty space with good vibes
• Anyone who wants a proper Seoul croissant spot, baked by hand every dawn, crisp outside and moist inside
• Anyone looking for a Konkuk Univ. dessert café where they can relax with sweets and coffee

Stack Bakery location and opening hours

• Address: 5 Ttukseom-ro 31-gil, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul (1st and 2nd floors)
• 600m from Exit 5 of Konkuk Univ. Station
• Hours: 8:00-21:00
• Closed on Wednesdays

The moment you step into Stack Bakery, it feels like a bakery on a little French side street, with an exotic atmosphere and the smell of baking that makes you happy.

It sits on a quiet residential lane you reach by walking a little away from the busy center of Konkuk Univ. Station toward Ttukseom. It is in the middle of the city but not noisy, and the street keeps its calm charm. It is a walking route I really love, and it turns out this pretty place was hiding right here.

It is also very close to the café street by Ttukseom Hangang Park, so it is a good stop before or after a trip to the Han River.

The rich smell of butter at the tip of your nose, French-style music wrapping your ears

Stack Bakery menu, prices and how to order

At Stack Bakery I ordered the americano + croissant set for ₩7,700, a plain kouign-amann for ₩4,500, two pain au chocolat for ₩4,800, and a croissant sandwich for ₩7,500. I've posted a photo of the menu for reference.

• Americano + croissant set ₩7,700
• Plain kouign-amann ₩4,500
• Pain au chocolat (2) ₩4,800
• Croissant sandwich ₩7,500

Stack Bakery doesn't use the usual style where customers put pastries on a tray themselves. You order at the counter and the staff pick them out for you, which feels much more hygienic. The pastries sit in a showcase, so it all looked clean. The downside is that it's hard to remember the pastry names, so I took photos and ordered while looking at them, haha.

Inside Stack Bakery: atmosphere and seating

Stack Bakery has outdoor tables on the 1st floor and 2nd-floor seats with floor-to-ceiling windows, so it works for spending time alone, a date or a get-together. The smell of bread at the tip of your nose and the gently enveloping French-style music put me at ease.

The modern, stylish interior has emotive posters on every wall that show off the owner's good taste.

I hear Stack Bakery puts care into everything from kneading the dough to baking every dawn, serving freshly baked pastries such as a plain croissant with real butter flavor, a kaya croissant with kaya jam (coconut egg jam) and gourmet butter, kouign-amann and pain au chocolat. I came because of its reputation as a Seoul croissant spot, and after tasting it myself I could feel why.

What is the 2nd-floor window seating like?

Go up to the 2nd floor of Stack Bakery and the big windows look out on lush green trees, like a painting that captures the changing seasons, and it works as the decor.

The unusual slanted roof also adds a cozy, exotic feel. I thought it would be perfect for sitting with a hot coffee and a croissant, quietly reading or doing creative work. If you're looking for a good place for a Konkuk Univ. date, or a Konkuk Univ. dessert café with great bread and atmosphere, this is a vibe I'd definitely recommend.

How does the coffee at Stack Bakery taste?

The americano at Stack Bakery has acidity that doesn't stand out too much, while you still taste the beans' own nutty flavor. I hear it's brewed with beans blended by a roaster with 15 years of experience.

I drink coffee on weekdays just for the caffeine, so on weekends I really crave a truly good cup. This coffee filled that craving.

The signature plain croissant: how are the layers?

The plain croissant, Stack Bakery's signature, has a light texture that shatters crisply, and inside it is moist and chewy at the same time, with the flavor of premium butter. Even from the outside, the deep brown color and clearly defined layers made me look forward to it before I took a bite.

It showed the textbook form of pastry, with thin, tightly packed layers of air.

What's in the croissant sandwich (₩7,500)?

The croissant sandwich at Stack Bakery is a very basic build with cheese, fresh vegetables and sliced ham. They say the most classic combination is the scariest, and the buttery aroma and the salty ham go together well.

The filling is basic, but because the bread underneath is so good, the whole thing came together beautifully. The whole-grain mustard seeds popping against the crackly croissant texture was great fun.

I wanted to capture this layer-by-layer crumbling feeling, so I'm posting a video too.

Even after finishing, nothing greasy or oily lingers in your mouth. It just ends clean.

Any drawbacks?

The one downside of Stack Bakery's croissants: I wanted to eat neatly and prettily, but the surface is so crisp that all the flakes scattered across my tray... You bread lovers know, right? That's proof it's a properly made croissant!

The crisp, flaky surface touches your lips first, then a soft buttery aroma spreads, and finally the deep tartness and sweetness of dark chocolate fills your mouth, a layered, complex flavor

Pain au chocolat: the cross-section and the chocolate

The pain au chocolat at Stack Bakery (2 for ₩4,800) has defined layers, crisp outside and moist and soft inside. Cut it open and you see a honeycomb cross-section, a perfect network of air pockets that only forms when the butter layered between the dough melts in the oven and the flour layers puff up.

In the center of this pretty honeycomb sits a stick of bittersweet dark chocolate. The quality of the chocolate inside is especially good: not a cheap sweetness, but a rich, luxurious one.

Is Stack Bakery worth going back to?

Stack Bakery is a space where you can enjoy high-quality bakes and rich coffee while looking out at a cozy, friendly lane and lush green trees. If you want a Konkuk Univ. bakery café for relaxing quietly or for a trip to Ttukseom Hangang Park, it's a place to remember.

Instead of "crisp outside, moist inside" (겉바속촉), I'd call it "crackly outside, moist inside" (겉빠속촉) (bbajak!), pastry skill you can taste. When you're craving that kind of bakery, put Stack Bakery on your list!