City Hall brunch café with avocado sandwich and egg tart: Lemangdoré

There are so many pretty cafés and great walking streets near Cheonggyecheon, but honestly, whenever I try to actually go in, it's either packed with people, the space is too small, or the desserts are great but the seating leaves something to be desired.

Where is Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun? 17 Mugyo-ro, between City Hall and Gwanghwamun

This time, though, I went somewhere a bit special.

Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun! This isn't just a café you go to for bread and coffee — it's a place where the space itself is fun to explore.

Tucked into a Gwanghwamun alley, Lemangdoré sits at 17 Mugyo-ro in Jung-gu, Seoul. It's an easy stop between City Hall and Gwanghwamun, so office workers can pop in on lunch break or after work, and since it's close to Cheonggyecheon too, it's a great start or finish to a walk.

The three things we ordered for brunch

Here's what I had that day:

• 🥪 Ham cheese avocado sandwich
• 🥧 Choco egg tart
• 🫖 Imperial herbal tea

I'm a coffee lover but... taking a break because of an antibiotics issue... sigh~ (everyone watch out for colds and rhinitis!)

The exterior is clean and sleek, catching your eye even from a distance, and once you step inside, the first thing you see is the bakery display case and coffee counter.

From pastries to baked snacks to sandwiches, a bread lover like me was in trouble. Choosing what to order is really~ not easy.

Floor by floor at Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun: 1st, 2nd and 3rd

The real charm of Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun is the space itself. It stretches up to three floors, so the moment I walked in I thought, 'huh, it's bigger than I expected?' — and since each floor has a different mood, it's fun to climb up and explore.

The 1st floor was great for ordering and browsing the bakery, while heading up to the 2nd floor opens up a more relaxed atmosphere for sitting, chatting, or just spending time.

How does the ham cheese avocado sandwich taste?

🥪 Ham cheese avocado sandwich. The first item that day! Ham + cheese + avocado — this combo is honestly hard to mess up lol. Since the space alone might feel like too much, let me show you the food first~~

Going up to the 3rd floor reveals yet another mood, different from the floors below. (heart racing)

The nutty, soft avocado combined with the salty ham and cheese made for a fairly rich bite. First you get the salty, savory flavor from the ham and cheese, and then the avocado softens that richness in your mouth.

Imperial herbal tea instead of coffee

🫖 A cup of Imperial herbal tea. I took my time enjoying the aroma first — after the sweet dessert, it left my mouth feeling refreshed. Since it's not a strong-flavored drink like coffee, it didn't compete with the other dishes and was easy to sip slowly.

The choco egg tart at Lemangdoré is impossible to resist

🥧 And the dessert I picked: choco egg tart! The combination of crispy pastry and soft filling gets a chocolate boost, making it richer and sweeter than a regular egg tart.

A bite followed by a sip of tea left the sweetness lingering in my mouth before the tea gently cleared it away — the pairing worked really well.

🤎 Why the 3rd floor at Lemangdoré is worth the climb

The way the lighting and furniture come together here is really pretty, and overall it feels more like a relaxed lounge.

The furniture and lighting pieces especially don't feel randomly placed — everything's arranged to fit the overall mood, so just sitting there puts you in a good mood. It's a space done with Fritz Hansen furniture and lighting, and personally, I really loved it.

Having separate floors also means that even with a fair number of people around, it doesn't feel as crowded as being packed into one space.

And the view out the window is healing too~

Filling up on the savory, hearty sandwich, adding dessert with the sweet choco egg tart, and finishing with fragrant herbal tea — the combination worked really well. You have to go all the way up to the 3rd floor at Lemangdoré to see the full beauty of the place! 🤎

Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun: address, hours and menu

• 📍 Address: 17 Mugyo-ro (33-1 Mugyo-dong), Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• ⏰ Hours: Daily 8:00 AM – 9:00 PM, open year-round