# Gwanghwamun after-work café with pistachio croissant: Lemangdoré - By Yuri Baem (https://superchart.com/en/@seorae-window-cup/) - Written Sep 22, 2026 - Local places › Cafés › Jung-gu, Seoul - Sponsored: This visit was sponsored by the business. - English edition: https://superchart.com/en/@seorae-window-cup/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant/ - Also in: [한국어](https://superchart.com/ko/@seorae-window-cup/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant/index.md) ## In short Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun is a three-story bakery café on Mugyo-ro in Jung-gu, Seoul, standing between Gwanghwamun and City Hall Station. Leaving work early and arriving around 5:30pm, I ordered an iced americano and the signature pistachio croissant, then went through some documents at a second-floor window seat. That nutty, barely sweet pistachio croissant alone was enough to make Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun a place I'll come back to. ## Good to know - **Location**: 17 Mugyo-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul (between Gwanghwamun and City Hall Station; City Hall Station is closer) - **Floor layout**: Ordering on the 1st floor, seating on the 2nd and 3rd floors - **What I ordered**: Iced americano, pistachio croissant (the signature) - **Time of visit**: Around 5:30pm (some breads already sold out) - **Hours**: Open until 9pm (as stated in the original post) - **Also on sale**: Coffee beans (including decaf), goods such as socks, gift wrapping *as written by the visitor on Sep 22, 2026* ![Exterior of the Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun building](https://img.superchart.com/images/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant-01-4r53p-900.webp) *Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun* 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. ![Breads displayed on the 1st-floor counter at Lemangdoré](https://img.superchart.com/images/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant-02-1gsav-900.webp) *Lemangdoré breads* ## 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 coffee beans and goods like socks on display](https://img.superchart.com/images/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant-03-dj59y-900.webp) *Lemangdoré coffee beans and goods* 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!! ![Gift-wrapped products on display at Lemangdoré](https://img.superchart.com/images/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant-04-q39ss-900.webp) 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. ![Floor guide sign at Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun](https://img.superchart.com/images/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant-05-pbrry-799.webp) *Floor information at Lemangdoré* ![Spacious, clean seating on the 2nd floor of Lemangdoré](https://img.superchart.com/images/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant-06-1qd0m-m-900.webp) *2nd floor* The inside was bigger and cleaner than I expected, so it seemed like a nice spot to sit and get a little work done! ![View of table seating on the 2nd floor of Lemangdoré](https://img.superchart.com/images/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant-07-1vw1r-900.webp) *2nd floor* 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!! ![Sunlit window seat on the 2nd floor](https://img.superchart.com/images/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant-08-dwy7m-900.webp) *My seat haha* I sat by the window because I wanted to catch a little sunlight! ### What are the 3rd-floor seats like? ![Seating area on the 3rd floor of Lemangdoré](https://img.superchart.com/images/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant-09-yjaum-900.webp) *3rd floor* 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. ![Sofa-style chairs on the 3rd floor](https://img.superchart.com/images/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant-10-97vyj-900.webp) *3rd floor* Compared to the 2nd floor, there were more wide, sofa-like chairs. ![3rd-floor seating arrangement good for chatting](https://img.superchart.com/images/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant-11-16m6f-900.webp) *3rd floor* 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. ![Well-designed interior inside Lemangdoré](https://img.superchart.com/images/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant-12-mq9a4-900.webp) *Inside Lemangdoré* 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 ![Pistachio croissant and iced americano](https://img.superchart.com/images/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant-13-1tczc-1200.webp) *Pistachio croissant and coffee* 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,,,, ![Cross-section of the pistachio croissant, packed with filling](https://img.superchart.com/images/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant-14-vw80s-900.webp) *Inside the pistachio croissant,,, drool* 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 ![Coffee and bread on a table at Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun](https://img.superchart.com/images/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant-15-otzgr-900.webp) ## 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~~ ## Where it is - Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun (레망도레 광화문점) - 17 Mugyo-ro, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea - 서울특별시 중구 무교로 17 1층, 2층, 3층 - 37.5674271, 126.9790862 - Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/search/%EB%A0%88%EB%A7%9D%EB%8F%84%EB%A0%88%20%EA%B4%91%ED%99%94%EB%AC%B8%EC%A0%90/@37.5674271,126.9790862,17z --- Superchart · https://superchart.com/en/@seorae-window-cup/lemondore-gwanghwamun-after-work-pistachio-croissant/ · https://superchart.com/llms.txt