Gimpo bakery café for truffle mushroom pizza and pasta: The Nillai

The Nillai, a large café in Gimpo — brunch by chef 63, plus bakery galore!

I visited The Nillai, a large café in Gimpo where you can settle in and take your time. As a proper large-format café, the space is spacious, and you can enjoy bakery, brunch, coffee and tea all in one place — good for when you want a meal and a café visit at once. At first I thought a basement level (G-floor) might feel a bit dark and cramped, but once I actually walked in, the vibe was nothing like I expected. The space was split into three zones. The main zone had the ordering counter for brunch and bakery items, plus wide sofa seating comfortable enough for families. The adjoining space felt almost resort-like thanks to a water feature, and further inside the main zone was a media space that was great fun to look around.

Why The Nillai's basement floor doesn't feel closed in

The Nillai sits on the basement (G) level on Yangchonyeok-gil in Yangchon-eup, Gimpo. The lot out front is large and free, so parking and getting in was easy. I worried a basement floor might feel stuffy, but once inside I barely noticed I was underground — one whole side is a massive floor-to-ceiling window that opens up to an outdoor view.

With your eyes naturally drawn out toward the window, the space felt even bigger, and the sunlight coming in kept it from feeling closed-in. The landscaping outside was pretty enough that it almost felt like being on a trip! When I'm looking for a large café in Gimpo, space matters, but so does a comfortable atmosphere for staying a while — and The Nillai nails that.

Three zones at The Nillai: where to sit

Inside, The Nillai's seating isn't clustered in one area but split across three distinct zones. That makes it easy to choose a spot depending on your group size or the mood you're after — sit near the big window looking out, or pick a cozier spot to settle into instead. Given the scale of the place, the tables don't feel packed together, so it was easy to slow down and enjoy a coffee.

Bakery and brunch in one Gimpo café

The Nillai isn't just a coffee café — it's a place to enjoy bakery and brunch together. Browsing the bread on display, you naturally end up picking a dessert to go with your coffee, and if you want something more filling, there's pizza and pasta on the brunch menu.

So whether someone just wants a light dessert or a proper meal, choosing what to order isn't hard even if you're visiting together. We couldn't settle for just one bakery item that day, so we went all in and ordered pizza and pasta too!

The choco-egg tart that caught our eye

Looking over The Nillai's bakery case, the first thing that caught my eye was the choco-egg tart. The look of it alone was so cute I couldn't just walk past — kids would love this one, right? It's pretty enough to photograph, but once I tried it, it was sweet with a soft texture that worked well as a dessert. If you're picking out something light to have with coffee, definitely try this one! Really good.

63 tomato pasta at The Nillai

Along with the pizza, we also ordered the 63 tomato pasta. The Nillai is run by Chef 63, so this felt like a signature-menu kind of order. It'd be great to visit around lunchtime, work through brunch, then slowly settle into coffee afterward.

Truffle mushroom pizza at The Nillai

For brunch we ordered the truffle mushroom pizza. Topped with mushrooms, it was easy to share slice by slice, and it filled us up nicely on days when bakery alone wouldn't cut it. A subtle truffle aroma plus plenty of cheese made it a great match for coffee!

A large Gimpo café for a slow meal and coffee

Having visited in person, what I liked about The Nillai was being able to enjoy brunch, bakery and drinks all at once in such a spacious setting! The huge floor-to-ceiling windows opened up the space toward the outdoors, and with three separate zones to choose a seat from and plenty to look around, it's also a good spot for a weekend drive. If you're looking for a spacious café in Gimpo or want to slowly work through brunch and dessert in one visit, stop by The Nillai.