Icheon café for a work lunch: beef brisket poke salad at Cafe Arc

Today I'm introducing Cafe Arc (카페 아크), a brunch café in Baeksa-myeon, Icheon, right near my workplace. Let's jump straight into my honest review!

Cafe Arc, a café with a great atmosphere and plenty of brunch and bakery options

Where do you park at Cafe Arc?

The parking lot is right through the alley to the right of the GS25 convenience store next to the café! Even first-timers can find it easily once they spot the convenience store.

Cafe Arc opening hours and the bread display

Cafe Arc is open Monday to Saturday, 10:00–19:30, with last order at 18:30. It's closed every Sunday.

As a total bread lover, I was thrilled that the moment I walked in, I saw so many different kinds of bread on display 💛

Cafe Arc's best menu items and set prices

Cafe Arc's best sellers are its sets. On weekday lunchtimes there's a ₩13,900 lunch set, which is especially nice for office workers.

• Arc Signature Set - ₩41,900: Arc Plate + burrata cheese sandwich + 2 Americanos + today's mini dessert (sandwich and drinks can be swapped)
• Lunch Set - ₩13,900 (available weekdays 11:00–14:00): chicken breast poke + 1 Americano (poke type and drink can be swapped)
• Peach Brunch Set - ₩29,500: Arc Plate + 2 fresh peach smoothies

If you love bread, you have to stop by at least once. The moment you step in, the place is full of the smell of toasty bread, and with so many bakery and brunch items, choosing what to order is a happy kind of problem haha

The brunch menu was more varied than I expected, too. There's the Arc Plate, French toast, pasta, sandwiches and salads, so it's fine for popping in just for coffee and also solid enough for a filling meal 💛

We ordered French toast, a beef poke salad, a peach smoothie, an iced Americano and garlic salt bread.

Cafe Arc 1st- and 2nd-floor seating and atmosphere

The 1st floor has one table with a lovely view, but we sat on the 2nd floor!

The 2nd floor also has private seats for 3 or more people, and the seats are spaced far apart, so it's great for chatting. The wood and white-toned interior looked cozy and clean, which I loved!! 💛

Tableware, water, cups and small plates are set out on the 2nd floor. You can read books there too, which was nice haha

Looks delicious, right? It came out faster than I expected, which surprised me!!

How does the beef poke salad taste? Oriental dressing recommended

At Cafe Arc you can choose your poke dressing: oriental, balsamic, wasabi mayo, wasabi soy, yuzu ponzu, sriracha cream, sesame or cheongyang chili mayo. I went with oriental!

Fresh vegetables like cucumber, onion, lettuce, cherry tomatoes and corn give it a healthy feel, and the beef (sliced beef brisket, 우삼겹) with the oriental dressing tasted like galbi (Korean marinated short ribs), a really harmonious flavor. It was tastier than I expected haha I recommend it to anyone who loves veggies ☺️

The French toast has a great fruit balance

Cafe Arc's French toast comes topped with lots of fruit. The topping on top was blueberry jam, and the banana was lightly torched like crème brûlée, so it was sweet and delicious!

The yellow peach was more sour than I expected, while the blueberries and oranges were sweet. Since the toast itself is sweet, I think it could have gotten cloying if all the fruit were sweet, but the peach's tartness balanced it out haha

Americano and peach smoothie

The Americano had a dark, low-acidity taste, and it went really well with the peach smoothie topped with sweet yellow peach 💛

What does the garlic salt bread taste like?

Cafe Arc's garlic salt bread (salt bread is a buttery rolled bread) is drizzled with condensed milk. It has butter inside like a typical salt bread, but the taste was closer to a sweet garlic bread!

If I go back to Cafe Arc

Next time I want to time my visit to when the bread comes out. There's also a time when bread is discounted, so that's worth knowing. Since it's near my workplace, I'll pick some up to take home after work haha

With its nice atmosphere, plenty of healthy menu items and a varied bakery, I recommend stopping by Cafe Arc in Baeksa-myeon, Icheon!! 💛