Gwangalli brunch café, chewy panuozzo & financier: Working Holiday

There are lots of brunch cafés in Gwangalli, and new ones keep opening. Working Holiday just opened a Millak branch, so I went. Working Holiday is already well known as a brunch café, and above all, the Gwangan Bridge view at the Millak branch was so pretty.

Where is Working Holiday Millak, and how is the parking?

Working Holiday Millak is on the 7th floor of the Bada Maru building, at the very end of Millak Raw Fish Center, and it's open 09:00–22:00. For parking, use the underground lot behind the building: you get 1 hour free per ₩10,000 spent, with parking support for up to 4 hours.

Hardly any cafés in Gwangalli offer parking support, so I was happy that Working Holiday Millak does.

There's a kiosk and restrooms before you enter the café, and baby chairs are available, so I think it works well for families too.

Inside the café: Gwangan Bridge views

The whole 7th floor of Bada Maru is this one brunch café, so it's spacious, which I liked. It's all floor-to-ceiling windows, so you see not just Gwangalli Beach but the whole Gwangan Bridge too, and it feels wonderfully open.

They say it's a bright, sunny brunch café by day and you can enjoy a dazzling night view after dark, so day and night each have their own charm.

Overall it's a clean, modern mix of white tones and warm wood tones, with hip décor and plants dotted around that give it an exotic, resort-like feel. Maybe that's why there were lots of foreign visitors, too.

There's also an outdoor terrace, so on a nice day brunch out there would be lovely. The place is stylish yet comfortable, and the lighting is moody and cozy, so it's great for a relaxed brunch.

Working Holiday menu and what we ordered

The brunch menu at Working Holiday Millak includes eggs Benedict, sandwiches, pasta, pizza, steak and more. The signature item is the panuozzo sandwich, and since I'd never had one, I ordered a panuozzo sandwich and, from the pastas, the Bolognese.

It's a café, so there's a wide range of drinks too. We ordered two coffees and a financier (small almond butter cake) to share for dessert.

How long did the food take?

The food came out about 10 minutes after ordering, all at once, which was great for photos. Brunch with a Gwangan Bridge view is just... pure healing.

What does the panuozzo sandwich taste like?

Working Holiday's panuozzo sandwich is Italian wood-fired pizza dough split in half and filled with arugula, cheese, tomato, ham and more. It was my first time trying one; think of it as a pizza folded in half.

I split it open and looked at the cross-section: it's definitely pizza, but it feels like a sandwich. I liked the chewy texture, different from sandwich bread or ciabatta. The savory umami of the salty ham and the nuttiness of the cheese went together nicely, and the bitter, fragrant arugula kept it fresh and clean.

Panuozzo side: sweet corn soup

When you order the panuozzo sandwich, a sweet corn soup comes alongside as a side. On its own it's sweet with a slight saltiness, and it's tasty; dipping the sandwich in it is good too.

Bolognese pasta

The Bolognese at Working Holiday is minced meat simmered for a long time in a deep, rich tomato meat sauce, so you get tender meat and deep juiciness. The tomato's tang and a faint herb aroma suit the meat well, and it's even better if you put the meat sauce on the freshly baked bread that comes on the side.

How were the financier and coffee?

I ordered the financier as a dessert, and it was better than I expected, like, oh?! This is good! It tasted like it had almond flour, with a subtle nutty richness.

The coffee had little acidity and a nutty flavor, and it isn't very strong, so I think it suits most people.

If you're looking for a brunch café in Gwangalli, head to Working Holiday Millak and enjoy brunch with a view of Gwangan Bridge.