Gyeongbokgung café with coffee refills: 2 salt breads ₩5,000, Respire

Today I came to Respire Bakery Cafe Seochon, a salt bread favorite in Seochon that I'd also recommend as a café near Gyeongbokgung. Let's get straight to the review!!

Where is Respire Bakery Cafe Seochon?

Respire Bakery Cafe Seochon is a salt bread hotspot and Gyeongbokgung-area café at 40-7 Hyoja-ro 13-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Respire Bakery Cafe Seochon

Respire Bakery Cafe Seochon menu and americano refills

Respire Seochon is a Seochon café where you can get an americano refill if you order one drink per person. Check the photo for the menu! There was a wide range, from americano to lattes, tea and ades, haha. There are also brunch items like salads, sandwiches and toast, so it's a great Seochon spot for a date and a brunch café near Gyeongbokgung.

Decaf is available too, and nearby office workers and residents get a discount on takeout drinks, haha. And the best part: one drink per person gets you an americano refill! The coffee prices are on the cheaper side and you can still refill, so there's no reason not to come to this Gyeongbokgung café.

How much is the salt bread at Respire Seochon?

The basic salt bread at Respire Seochon is ₩3,000 for one or ₩5,000 for two. Across from the counter, a whole lineup of bakery items is on display, haha.

Since the café is famous as a Seochon salt bread spot, there were lots of kinds of salt bread. The basic one starts at ₩3,000, two for ₩5,000, so it's cheap, and it was fun to browse the salt breads with different toppings and the other bakery items, haha.

Gift sets, review event and parking near Respire Seochon

Respire Seochon has a good selection of gift sets too, and the wrapping is pretty, so I'd recommend it if you're looking for gift sets around Gyeongbokgung, haha.

Heads up: if you write a receipt review for the event, you get free salt bread, haha. Gift cards and stamp cards are available too. For parking, use the nearby Hyoja public parking lot. The lot right in front of the café is the Cheongwadae security service's lot, so the public can't park there!

Respire Seochon exterior and outdoor seating

Respire Seochon has a wood-and-white exterior and outdoor seats. After ordering I took a look around, and first of all, the café itself was so pretty, haha. With outdoor seats, I think it would be even better to visit when the weather is cool, haha.

From the wood-and-white exterior on, the café felt warm and a little exotic.

Can you get a seat at Respire Seochon at 3 pm on a Saturday?

Respire Seochon has 2- to 4-person tables on the 1st floor, and on the 2nd floor 2- and 4-person tables plus a 6-person group table at the back. After ordering I looked around inside, so let me show you the 1st floor first, haha. The 1st floor, where the counter is, has tables for 2 to 4 people.

We went up to the 2nd floor, haha. You just take the stairs, haha. The 2nd floor also has 2- and 4-person tables and a 6-person group table at the back, so you can sit wherever you like, haha.

We visited around 3 pm on a Saturday and I thought there would be no seats, but it seems the groups ahead of us were just leaving! There was more room than I expected, which was nice, haha.

Also, the 2nd floor is much cooler than the 1st. The air conditioning was blasting and it was quiet, which I loved.

Right after we got lucky and sat down, people suddenly poured in and it was full in no time! Perfect timing on our visit!

KakaoTalk order alerts and where to find straws

At Respire Seochon, you enter your phone number when ordering and get a KakaoTalk alert when your order is ready. Our order finally came up, and thanks to the alert we could go pick it up comfortably. The straws are across from the bread display, so I recommend grabbing them before heading up to the 2nd floor!

What we ordered at Respire Seochon

• Lemonade
• Decaf americano
• Americano
• Salt bread

How do the lemonade and americano taste?

The syrup in Respire Seochon's lemonade sits at the bottom, so I recommend stirring it once before drinking! It looked great and was refreshing and sweet, so it was delicious.

We ordered americanos too: my mom got a regular americano and I got decaf. Both coffees were nutty and easy to like, so they went well with the salt bread, haha.

How does the basic salt bread at Respire Seochon taste?

The basic salt bread at Respire Seochon is crisp outside and moist inside, and not greasy, so it was light. I picked the basic salt bread, and at ₩3,000 for one or ₩5,000 for two, you know you have to pick two, right?

The salt bread was super crisp outside and moist inside, and not very greasy but light, so it was really delicious, haha.

How to get a coffee refill at Respire Seochon

To get a coffee refill at Respire Seochon, just take your receipt to the counter. I got my refill too, haha. If you bring the receipt, they mark it as refilled and make a fresh one for you, and note that for ₩500 extra you can have the refill as a decaf americano instead of the regular one, haha.

Mirror photo zone and photo spots at Respire Seochon

Respire Seochon also has a mirror photo zone on one side, so it's a good café for taking pictures, haha. The building itself is so pretty, the weather was nice, and the trees behind it are lovely, so any shot you take turns out like a life-changing photo, haha.

Before leaving the café we took photos like these, haha. It felt like being in some countryside village abroad. If you're looking for a Seochon café or a Seochon salt bread spot, why not visit Respire Seochon?