Road-trip bakery café in Yangju: Alligator, blueberry brioche, Doasis

Doasis, a brunch café in Yangju, already has lots of big Christmas trees up. It's a four-story café that's just right for lunch or dinner.

Where is Doasis, and what are the hours and parking?

Doasis is at 25-5 Hwahap-ro 1402beon-gil, Yangju, Gyeonggi, 537 m from Exit 1 of Deokjeong Station. It's open every day, Monday to Sunday: 10:00–23:00 on the 2nd floor and 10:00–21:00 on the 3rd floor.

• Parking: free in the large lot in front of the building
• Group seating on the 2nd floor can be reserved
• Naver reservations available

A drive from Seoul to a big café in Yangju

I end up at big cafés a lot, because when you can get sweet desserts and a meal in one place, you can chat all day. 🍭🍭

There aren't many big cafés in Seoul, so when I heard there was a four-story one in Yangju, I made a drive out of it and visited Doasis.

Is Doasis good with kids? Nursing room and layout

Doasis has a nursing room, so it's a good place to come with a little one. I had only seen this big Yangju café on social media, but in person it turned out to be really good for kids.

First, parking is free right in front of the café. You can leave without any registration, so there was no need to get a parking ticket from staff. So easy!

Take the elevator up one floor and you'll find the main counter. You can also reach the 3rd floor by the inside stairs, just so you know.

Is Doasis dog-friendly?

Dogs are not allowed on the main 2nd floor or the 3rd floor; only the 4th floor is open to them. And if you come with your dog, you have to stay on the 4th floor the whole time! I wasn't sure about the dog policy either, but it turns out it's split up by floor like this.

A space full of Christmas trees from October

We first picked a spot on the 2nd floor and decided to look around. There were so many kinds of plants that I wondered if it was a botanical garden café, and the animal figures were realistically designed too.

It's still only October, but there were loads of trees, like an early Christmas, a "Merry Christmas in advance." There are trees in the main space on the 3rd floor, and sparkling ones in the passage up from the 2nd floor, so it's perfect for photos :)

How to order at Doasis, and how big the breads are

You can order drinks at a kiosk, and if you're getting bread too, you can pay for everything at the counter. Food first, as the saying goes (even Mount Kumgang is better after a meal), so we decided on drinks and bread. I was ordering with bread, so I paid at the counter. It's a bakery café, so the variety is huge.

The size is XXL. Unlike other cafés where the price is high and the bread is small, lots of the loaves here are big, so even two felt hefty.

Staff will help you pick breads too, so feel free to ask if you're curious. So many looked delicious that I had a hard time choosing myself.

The breads I picked at Doasis: walnut bread, Chocococo, Alligator

Cube walnut bread

The walnut bread is packed with walnuts inside, with a single walnut piece on top as the highlight. It's a cube style and I wanted to try it, so I grabbed one.

Chocococo ₩4,800

I also picked up a chocolate bread for a sugar boost. When you're out like this, you end up trying things you wouldn't normally eat. It was called Chocococo, and the price, ₩4,800, was reasonable.

Sangtu gwaja and red bean bread

If you come with family, there's also sangtu gwaja (a topknot-shaped Korean pastry) and red bean paste bread, great for munching on while laughing together. If you like nutty, toasty desserts like me, give them a try.

The hit recommendation: Alligator, ₩8,000

The Alligator was Doasis's hit recommended item, and its bumpy, crocodile-like texture was the highlight. It's ₩8,000 and packed with pecans.

The best one: blueberry brioche

The brioche-style bread piled with blueberries was so soft you could eat it with just your gums. Personally, I think this was the most delicious.

Sausage bread, served warm

There's an oven for warming bread, so I really recommend having the sausage bread warm :) The cheese piled on top added a nice saltiness too.

A hot coffee with the bread

Doasis has plenty of drink options too, but coffee is the perfect match for bread, so I ordered it hot. I liked that they made latte art.

How to use the self-serve ovens and takeaway bags at Doasis

Take the bread you picked to the self-serve bar and heat it yourself in an oven or microwave. There are several ovens plus a microwave, so you can cook each bread however it needs, and doing it myself and carrying it back was actually convenient.

If you have a lot of bread left over, put it in the bread takeaway bags at the self-serve bar, and doing it yourself is kind of fun. Next time I want to try the brunch menu, like the pizza, at Doasis. Come by on a weekend!