Yeongdeungpo window-seat café with chuck flap steak: Mela Times Square

The weather's been so nice lately that I went shopping at Times Square and ended up having a meal at Mela, a super special European-vibe brunch café. Times Square has tons of restaurants and cafés, but I'm confident this one's the top pick for both atmosphere and taste!

I'd passed by often and always thought I should visit someday because the interior looked so fresh and green. Worried there might be a wait, I made a same-day reservation for an off-peak time on purpose, and luckily I got to eat in a pretty relaxed atmosphere. They even set up cute little reserved-seat markers^^

Where is Mela Times Square, and what are its hours?

Mela Times Square, a popular Yeongdeungpo brunch café, is on the 1st floor of Times Square, so it's super easy to find. If you're already at the department store or mall, you can basically walk straight in, haha. And since both driving and public transit access are excellent, getting there is a breeze.

• 🗺️ 서울 영등포구 영중로 15 103-9호
• 🚉 217m from Yeongdeungpo Station Exit 6 (Times Square 1F, opposite H&M – GATE 4)
• 🕒 Daily 10:30–22:00
• 📍 Group seating, takeout, reservations, high chairs

Mela Times Square sits right by Gate 4, so you can spot it from outside nearby. I visited around 4pm and it was fairly quiet. By the time I finished eating, the dinner crowd was starting to trickle in — good timing, indeed^^

Inside Mela: sunlight through the floor-to-ceiling window

One whole wall of Mela Times Square is a huge picture window, so natural sunlight pours straight in, making the interior bright and never cramped. The ceilings are super high too, and the fresh, crisp interior design made me feel like I'd stepped into a European castle(?).

There are plenty of seats, and the tables are spaced generously so you can really relax over brunch without being bothered by other tables. Besides brunch-goers like us, there were also lots of friends and couples just popping in for coffee or tea between other activities. The vibe was so fresh, crisp, and cute... just pretty!

What's on the menu at Mela Times Square

Mela, a popular Yeongdeungpo brunch café, is run on recipes from a chef who trained at ICIF, an Italian culinary school. Maybe that's why the menu is so varied — steak, pasta, gnocchi, salads, pizza — giving you plenty of choice. There were also lots of desserts, coffees, and teas. I'll have to come back just for a simple coffee break next time!

After much deliberation haha, we ordered two things: striploin steak (₩39,000) and grilled corn rose gnocchi (₩22,000). Picking just two dishes from that beautiful menu was way too hard, haha.

How does the 39,000-won chuck flap steak taste?

Mela Times Square's striploin steak is ₩39,000, and it comes as-is with no need to specify doneness. Here's the unedited, straight-from-the-camera photo I took at that window-side table I mentioned. Looks so mouthwatering, right?

Wow... the look of it... (gulp!) At first I thought the portion might be a bit small, but once you slice that thick cut of meat into bite-size pieces, it's more generous than it looks! I usually eat steak medium-well, but I liked that Mela Times Square just serves it a set way without you having to choose. When you cut into it, the juices run out beautifully — looked about medium-rare to me. There wasn't a single tough tendon or bit of fat, and the striploin was clean-tasting, not dry at all, and incredibly savory!

The garnish also came with a variety of vegetables sautéed in butter, and that intense buttery aroma just... melted in my mouth. There was quite a variety too — broccoli, cherry tomatoes, sweet pumpkin, and more, not a single miss among them, so I scraped the plate clean! The potato salad was pure softness itself — I've tried making it at home several times but somehow it never comes out that good, haha.

Grilled corn rose gnocchi, 22,000 won: a first taste of gnocchi

Next up was Mela's grilled corn rose gnocchi, ₩22,000. Honestly, this was my very first time ever ordering gnocchi, haha. I was a little worried it might not suit my taste, but as expected... Mela doesn't disappoint. With the rich rose cream sauce and the chewy, soft rice-cake-like gnocchi, one bite in and I actually said out loud, wow, this is so good!

Dipping the cute little corn kernels and mushrooms on top into that thick rose sauce is pure heaven, honestly. It's just so, so good. It's not overpowering at all — how does it taste this refined? I usually dislike anything too sour, but Mela's rose sauce hit exactly the right balance: savory, creamy without being heavy, and just the right amount of tang.

Salty-savory! The sauce has just the right thickness, and I felt like it would go amazingly with basically any pasta or even tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes). Plus, dipping that smoky, char-grilled corn into the special rose sauce was the sweet-and-salty combo textbook definition, if you ask me.

Who should visit Mela Times Square?

Just because I happened to be at Times Square and the interior caught my eye, I made a last-minute reservation at Mela, this Times Square favorite. The steak had a rich, deep flavor that other places really can't imitate, and the striploin especially was so tender, clean-tasting, and savory. This was also my first time trying gnocchi, but the sauce and every ingredient worked together so well that I think I'll be ordering it again often.

Taste, interior, ingredients, atmosphere — Mela Times Square doesn't fall short on any front!!! Definitely stop by sometime with your partner, friends, or family for a treat, or just for a light tea break. Highly, highly recommend it^^