Gwanghwamun after-work café with pistachio croissant: Lemangdoré

I'd had something to take care of near Jonggak since last year, and I finally picked a day to leave work early and go. But once I'd made it all the way to Gwanghwamun, wasn't it a shame to just head straight home?

So while I was looking for somewhere with good coffee and dessert, I found Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun. The name rang a bell somehow, and it turned out to be a bakery already famous in Seorae Village. So I decided to trust it and go — after finishing up in Jonggak, I walked along Cheonggyecheon (a stream running through downtown Seoul) to get to Lemangdoré.

Where is Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun? Walking over from Cheonggyecheon

Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun sits between Gwanghwamun and City Hall Station, but it's actually closer to City Hall Station. It's not far from Cheonggyecheon either, so it seems like a great stop if you're out strolling along the stream.

What bread is left at 5:30pm?

The breads greeted me the moment I walked in!!! I visited around 5:30pm, and sure enough — since it's such a popular bakery — quite a few breads were already sold out. I wanted to try everything, but I'd promised myself I'd have buldak (spicy chicken) omelet for dinner at home (a promise I made to myself lol), so I decided to hold back and pick the pistachio croissant I'd been curious about from what was left.

Lemangdoré also sells coffee beans separately, and I liked that they had decaf beans available. They sell socks too — apparently the brand makes all sorts of its own goods!!

Lemangdoré also seems to be a popular spot for gift shopping. The wrapping looked quite upscale, so I think anyone would love receiving it as a gift!

Ordering on the 1st floor, seating on the 2nd and 3rd floors

The Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun café is spread across three floors — the 1st floor is where you order, and the 2nd–3rd floors have seating.

The inside was bigger and cleaner than I expected, so it seemed like a nice spot to sit and get a little work done!

Staff kept coming up to check the seats and clean, so the space stayed tidy the whole time — I liked that. Lately I've seen a lot of cafés that aren't well maintained, so Lemangdoré felt even cleaner by comparison!!

I sat by the window because I wanted to catch a little sunlight!

What are the 3rd-floor seats like?

While waiting for my bread and coffee, I went up to check out the 3rd floor too — and it had a nice vibe as well.

Compared to the 2nd floor, there were more wide, sofa-like chairs.

The 3rd floor seats seemed better suited for people chatting together, and since I had some documents to look over, I decided to sit on the 2nd floor instead.

It's not just the coffee and bread — the interior design inside the café was really well done too!!

How the pistachio croissant and iced americano taste

I got an iced americano for coffee and the pistachio croissant for bread — the coffee was good, but that pistachio croissant was legendary!!! Honestly I was worried it would be too sweet, but it was really not sweet at all, just nutty and delicious,,,,

Honestly, the price isn't cheap compared to a regular bakery, but I think the taste more than makes up for it,,, Can you see how packed the inside is,, they just don't hold back on the pistachio, it's so good. I picked it because it was marked as the signature item and I was curious, but I think I'll come back just for this one,,, It's been a while since I found a bread that's exactly my taste haha

Why Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun works for an after-work evening

Lemangdoré was every bit as delicious as I'd hoped!

I'm a little jealous of anyone who works near Gwanghwamun, Jongno, or City Hall — they could come here all the time,,, And since it's open until 9pm, it also seems like a great spot for dessert after lunch or dinner! Anyway, this was a Gwanghwamun dessert café I visited after work, and I came home feeling recharged after good bread and coffee haha. Where to next~~