Sokcho café revisited: 3rd-floor Ulsanbawi relax chairs, Cafe Neorae

What is Cafe Neorae in Sokcho?

Cafe Neorae (카페너래) is an Ulsanbawi-view café on the 2nd floor of 114 Wonamhaksapyeong-gil, in Sokcho's Wonam HakSapyeongBlank village. It is open daily 09:00-18:00 and closed on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month. There is parking in front of the building, and there's an elevator too.

I went to Cafe Neorae in Wonam Hakpyeong village. This was my second visit. I still remembered how healing it felt to look at Ulsanbawi on my first visit, so I came back. The drinks and bakery are generally tasty, so it's a nice place to stop after a meal. On a clear day, the seats facing Ulsanbawi head-on and the big picture windows are the real draw.

Cafe Neorae interior and seating

Cafe Neorae has 2nd and 3rd-floor rooms plus a rooftop. Many people order on the 2nd floor, then head up to the 3rd floor for the better view. The rooftop has no seats; think of it as a wide viewing deck (?) where you can soak up Ulsanbawi.

The interior is built around red brick and white tones with plants mixed in, so it feels spacious and pleasant. Seating ranges from tables for two to larger group tables. There's an elevator, so it would also work well if you're visiting with older parents.

Cafe Neorae bakery: prices and taste

The bakery at Cafe Neorae doesn't have a huge range, but it has what you'd want, and prices are mostly cheap for a tourist area. The taste, though, isn't cheap at all. A salt bread tastes like a proper salt bread, and a Mont Blanc tastes like a proper Mont Blanc. You know what I mean?

This time I had the salt bread packed with Chodang corn and corn cream, and it was better than I expected. I was like, whoa!

Can you see Ulsanbawi from Cafe Neorae's 3rd floor?

Up on the 3rd floor of Cafe Neorae, there are seats with a front-row view of Ulsanbawi. They feel a bit like relax chairs, so they're great for resting comfortably while you take in the rock.

For reference, in the photos below the left is this visit and the right is from my June visit. The weather was clear this time, but clouds hung low around Seoraksan, so Ulsanbawi wasn't fully visible. Still, this is a view-worthy spot! Even half-tucked into the clouds, Ulsanbawi looks great.

What I ordered at Cafe Neorae, with prices

This time at Cafe Neorae I ordered the signature Sseoda Einspänner, the Golden Pear Sparkling and the sweet corn salt bread. On the menu, each drink was listed as 7.5 and the salt bread as 5.0 (that is, ₩7,500 and ₩5,000).

• Signature Sseoda Einspänner 7.5 (₩7,500)
• Golden Pear Sparkling 7.5 (₩7,500)
• Sweet corn salt bread 5.0 (₩5,000)

Signature Sseoda Einspänner

The Sseoda Einspänner, topped with a cute Ulsanbawi-shaped cookie, is the coffee I picked last time too. It has condensed milk at the bottom and fluffy, chewy cream on top, which reminds me of Vietnamese condensed-milk coffee, cà phê sữa đá.

Golden Pear Sparkling

The Golden Pear Sparkling is an ade that combines fresh pear and yuja (citron). I ordered it out of curiosity because it's not a flavor you see often elsewhere. The freshness and sweetness were nicely balanced, and I was really happy with it.

Chodang sweet corn salt bread

When I split the sweet corn salt bread open, it was full of corn cream, with quite a lot of corn kernels too, so it nailed both flavor and texture.

What is the rooftop deck at Cafe Neorae like?

The rooftop at Cafe Neorae is a viewing space with no tables, so it's great for taking photos freely with Ulsanbawi behind you. If you have time, definitely go up to the rooftop too.

Ulsanbawi fills the whole view there, so it's a good spot for souvenir photos, and it's quiet enough to take as many as you like. Oh, and the elevator serves every floor, so even if you're visiting with elders, you can all go up to the rooftop and take a family photo with Ulsanbawi in the background.

Verdict: Cafe Neorae, an Ulsanbawi-view café in Sokcho

For a tourist area, Cafe Neorae's drinks were average-priced and the bakery felt slightly cheap, so it was an easy place to visit without worrying about the bill. Most of all, the big draw is enjoying the Ulsanbawi view through the picture windows and from the rooftop.

I also liked the slightly quieter, neighborhood feel compared with the Sokcho seaside. It was a satisfying spot with a relaxed pace and healing moments. I'd go back. The end.