Roastery café in Gyoha, Paju with window bar seats: Paun Coffee

Why we chose Paun Coffee Gyoha branch for a weekend healing date

Paun Coffee Gyoha branch (파운커피 교하점) is a bakery and roastery café in Gyoha, Paju. Gyoha and the Unjeong new town are close neighbors you can hop between by car, and this place is already the talk of local bread lovers as a proper Unjeong bakery hotspot.

After a whole week of work stress, nothing blows it away like sweet bread, fragrant coffee and a relaxed space, right? This weekend my husband and I searched like crazy for "where can we go for some real healing?" and this treasure popped up right on our radar. We drove over, full of expectations.

What do the exterior and entrance of Paun Coffee Gyoha branch look like?

From outside, you can see right through the big glass windows into the warm shop. Seeing it with a fluttering heart made us hurry to get inside.

A black standing signboard, casually chic by the entrance, read 'We're OPEN, Coffee & Roastery'. You could feel right at the door that this place takes coffee seriously, roasting and handling its own beans, not just bread.

Interior and the best seat: the window bar table

Inside, Paun Coffee Gyoha branch is a spacious, pleasant minimalist space with white walls, a light wood counter and smooth gray floors. The best seat was the long bar table by the window, where sunlight pours in.

The moment we opened the door, the nutty smell of fresh-baked butter and the deep, bittersweet aroma of beans hit us, and my husband and I exchanged a look: "This date course is a total success!"

The interior is clean and minimal yet comforting, with the stylish feel you'd expect from a hot Unjeong bakery. The window bar table especially won our hearts: perfect for sitting side by side chatting quietly or just zoning out while looking at the view outside. We claimed our window spot first, then set off on our bread pilgrimage.

Does Paun Coffee Gyoha branch bake its own bread?

Yes. Inside the shop there's a baking room marked 'BAKERY' in big letters, separated by glass. It's solid proof that the bread is baked on site.

I charged up to the showcase and my bread-lover eyes started sparkling. The hygienically covered showcase held neatly arranged salt bread, croissants, madeleines and more. Everything was glossy and so tempting! The plump salt bread, which looked just out of the oven, was impossible not to put on my tray.

Honestly, the lineup holds up against any Unjeong bakery hotspot, and even beats many of them on quality.

The fun of browsing beans and goods

On the wood shelf next to the counter at Paun Coffee Gyoha branch, goods are on display: signature blend bean packages, a simple, pretty branded glass cup, and a black T-shirt with a coffee-brewing graphic. After ordering, we looked around the shop and these caught my eye. The T-shirt graphic is so cute!

Browsing the small items filling one side of the space was quite fun too, and gave a glimpse of its identity as a roastery café.

How was the coffee at Paun Coffee Gyoha branch?

We picked an iced Americano, an iced latte, salt bread and a financier. The iced Americano had a wonderful balance of acidity and nutty depth, ideal with bread.

Finally, the menu we'd been waiting for was set on the wood table! A cool iced Americano, an iced latte with layers of richness, the must-have salt bread, and a financier, the textbook crisp-outside, chewy-inside treat. From the number tag '03' on the table to the cutlery neatly wrapped in a napkin, every little detail showed the touch of a proper Unjeong bakery hotspot.

I took a sip of coffee first to wet my throat. The iced Americano in a tall glass looked refreshing just sitting there, and after one sip my husband couldn't stop marveling: "Wow, these beans are totally my style!"

My iced latte was also a work of art, with a gradient of espresso shot and milk, and a rich, smooth flavor that didn't turn watery even as the ice melted.

How did the salt bread and financier taste?

The salt bread at Paun Coffee Gyoha branch was crisp outside and moist inside, with rich butter flavor and a salty finish that pinned down the taste. The financier was chewy outside and soft like pound cake inside.

Dessert time at last! My husband took up a knife and fork with a solemn face for the salt bread cutting ceremony. (Can you see his skilled hands in the photo? 😆) The moment the knife went in, the bread cut with a cheerful crunch, and the inside was so moist and layered that my mouth watered as he cut.

Cut into bite-size pieces and popped in my mouth, it filled my mouth with rich, luxurious butter. The bronze-colored financier we ordered alongside was irresistible too, the kind that calls for coffee. After tasting this perfect crisp-outside, moist-inside texture with the coffee, I couldn't agree more, 200%, with why people name this an Unjeong bakery hotspot.

Enjoying good coffee and bread with green street trees swaying beyond the glass windows, the fatigue of the weekdays just melted away.

Our verdict as a couple: would we go back to Paun Coffee Gyoha branch?

👩🏻 Wife's one-liner (rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Perfect crisp-outside, moist-inside salt bread that hit a bread lover right in the heart! The clean white interior makes photos come out so pretty, so it's an absolute pass as a date spot.

👦🏻 Husband's one-liner (rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

A place serious about coffee roasting. I thought it was just a bakery, but the coffee balance was so good it surprised me. It's uncomplicated and relaxed, great for resting quietly.

• Atmosphere & interior: The ultimate in minimal and modern! The bar table by the sunlit glass windows is the best seat.
• Taste (coffee & bread): A fantastic combination of roastery-level coffee and bakery-grade bread. (Definitely get the salt bread!)
• Would we return: 200% yes. Next time I want to take a weekday off, come in the daytime and read a book here!