Dog-friendly Gonjiam café with cod roe baguette: La Cuesta

Today I'm bringing you a review of La Cuesta, a café near Hwadam Botanic Garden that I visited not long ago! When you go on an outing near Hwadam Botanic Garden, you usually want to look around, eat something good, and finish off with a relaxed stop at a café, right? We felt like it'd be a shame to just pass by after our visit nearby, so we looked around and ended up at La Cuesta. Best of all, they have a wide variety of breads and the interior is pretty spacious, so it was a nice place to spend some unhurried time.

Where is La Cuesta, and what are its hours and parking?

La Cuesta is at 278 Gyeongchung-daero, Gonjiam-eup, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do. It's open daily from 10:00 to 22:00, last order at 21:30, and there's a dedicated parking lot right in front of the café.

• Location: 278 Gyeongchung-daero, Gonjiam-eup, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 10:00–22:00 / last order 21:30
• Parking: Dedicated lot in front of the café

The place looked really big and the ceilings seemed high too. An even better part was the dedicated parking lot right in front, so it was nice to be able to drive there comfortably.

The waterfall at the entrance and La Cuesta's interior

In front of the entrance to La Cuesta there's this... waterfall? Fountain? Something like that. The sound of the water felt refreshing and kind of cleared my head, haha. The owner clearly put a lot of care into both the exterior and interior design, so it was really fun just to look around!

Indoor seats or outdoor seats at La Cuesta?

The indoor space at La Cuesta was bigger than I expected, and the tables were spaced out generously. Even with a decent number of people around, it didn't feel cramped, and it seemed like a comfortable spot to chat with family or friends. If you're looking for a café near Hwadam Botanic Garden, this one seemed like a good fit to add to your outing route just based on location alone.

La Cuesta also has outdoor seating that's really well set up. On a nice day, sitting outside for coffee just has a different vibe than sitting indoors, right? Haha. Especially if you're coming from Hwadam Botanic Garden, sitting outside to rest for a while seemed like a great option.

How the cod roe baguette, salt cream bread and sausage bread taste

Being a bakery café, La Cuesta had a really wide range of breads. Beyond bread, they also had brunch items, which seemed like a great option if you're stopping by on an outing nearby.

We picked three: salted cod roe baguette, salt cream bread, and sausage bread, and overall the breads were pretty tasty. Especially with coffee, I kept reaching for more. The salted cod roe baguette had a savory, salty flavor that paired well with the plain bread base, the salt cream bread was soft and sweet, great with coffee, and the sausage bread was light and easy to eat, good for sharing a few kinds among us. If you pick several kinds like we did and eat them with coffee, each menu item tastes different, so there's fun in choosing which to try.

Is the La Cuesta latte worth ordering, or the iced Americano?

First I tried the La Cuesta latte, which I'd been curious about. Unlike a regular latte, it had a cream layer on top. It was fine on its own, but when I mixed the cream and coffee together it tasted soft and sweet, and it was really good. The bitterness of the coffee combined with the sweet, smooth cream worked better than I expected. If you like sweet coffee like I do, this one's worth a try, haha. The iced Americano was clean and easy to drink, and paired with the sweet breads, an Americano really can't be skipped.

If you're planning an outing near Hwadam Botanic Garden, instead of heading straight home after sightseeing, it seems nice to stop by a café like this one for coffee and bread. I especially liked that La Cuesta has both spacious indoor seating and outdoor seating, so you can choose a spot depending on the weather or your preference. If you're coming with a dog, you can just use the outdoor seating, so it could be a good option for anyone planning a Hwadam Botanic Garden outing with their dog too. We had a great time enjoying the bread and coffee and resting comfortably that day, haha.

Visiting La Cuesta with a dog: outdoor seats only

At La Cuesta, if you're visiting with a dog, only the outdoor seating is available. I liked that the owner had a sign posted at the entrance marking which seats allow dogs. Still, the outdoor space is quite well put together, so it seemed like a fine place to visit with a dog. Finding a dog-friendly café isn't always easy when you're out on outings with your dog these days, so if you're looking for one near Hwadam Botanic Garden, this could be a good reference.

We visited with our dog today too, and having her with us made everything feel that much more comfortable and nice, haha. If you're looking for a café near Hwadam Botanic Garden where you can enjoy good bread and coffee together, give La Cuesta a try. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a comfortable place to rest after a Hwadam Botanic Garden outing.