Yongsan brunch café for creamy gnocchi and sunny seats: Ongfleur

On a day with truly gorgeous weather, I went out to Itaewon and stopped by Ongfleur (옹플뢰르). It is a date-course brunch café that captures the cozy feel of Honfleur, the beautiful coastal town in Normandy. When the sunlight pours in, it becomes such an atmospheric space, and it seemed to be quite well known for brunch. The interior was actually pretty spacious and felt very clean overall, making it a café worth visiting on a day when you are craving brunch—and dogs are welcome too. Here is my honest review of Ongfleur.

Ongfleur basics and menu

The address is 52 Hoenamu-ro 44-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It is closed on Mondays and open from 9 AM to 6 PM Tuesday through Sunday. Parking is not available.

Brunch and drink menu

The popular dishes are brioche French toast, smoked salmon eggs Benedict, shrimp oil pasta, and bacon cream gnocchi. The iced Americano, blueberry smoothie, and cherry ade are said to be the popular drinks.

There are set menus too.

A restaurant memorable from its white pebble path

The neat exterior made a good impression from the start, so I went in feeling happy.

The first thing I noticed upon opening the door was the white pebble bed on the floor! The unusual layout has you follow stepping stones across this pebble path to reach the tables. The all-white palette made it bright and fitting for a brunch café, and I got the feeling that a lot of care had gone into cleanliness too. The Polaroid photos covering one wall added an extra dash of atmosphere.

The self-service bar comes into view as soon as you head toward the back. It had lemon water ready.

The interior was quite spacious. The inner area did not have windows, but its white-and-wood arrangement felt cozy, and there was a room that looked great for group gatherings.

The sunlit window seats are the best spot

But my favorite area was the one with the windows. Since it was morning, sunlight was pouring in, and it looked so beautiful. There was even a piano decoration on one side, which made the mood feel even more alive. Someone was already sitting at the window seats, so I did not get to try them, but even from afar it was obvious that was the best spot!

I took a photo of the space after the guests left. The window area really is the best spot...

Creamy gnocchi and an iced Americano

Ongfleur is famous for delicious brunch, so I hesitated a little, but for some reason I was really craving rich, creamy gnocchi that day. In the end, I ordered gnocchi and an iced Americano.

This is the basic table setup: pepper, salt, and sugar. Water is self-service, so you need to bring it over yourself.

The gnocchi arrived with pickles.

It was a cream-sauce dish with some seasoning overall, and I liked that it was not sweet. In particular, I do not enjoy ingredients in the sauce when they are cooked so soft that they lose all texture, but these were cooked just right and still had a satisfying bite.

The chewy potato gnocchi was crisp on the outside, with potato still discernible inside, so it was savory and nice.

Gnocchi is naturally a somewhat rich food, so I thought it would go well with an iced Americano—and sure enough, perhaps because the coffee here was good, it paired so well. It made for such a clean finish!

There were plenty of ingredients too, including olives, bacon, broccoli, and garlic, so it was fun to chew through. Wonderfully chewy gnocchi.

The table next to me was having brunch with visuals that were absolutely incredible, and for a brief moment I wondered, “Should I have ordered that too?” Still, I left after a satisfying meal. Ongfleur seems like a nice place to drop into for a meal while walking a dog around Itaewon, and dogs are welcome. Next time, I absolutely need to come back on a nice day and sit in that window seat I missed.