Gangneung hillside café: Best-pick coffee & corn sand, Gangneung Sand

Why we stopped at Gangneung Sand Main Branch on the way home

Gangneung Sand Main Branch (강릉샌드 본점) is where my husband and I stopped for souvenir snacks on the way back to reality after our Gangneung trip. Honestly, when sands named after regions were all the rage, I never tried a single one, and now I finally am, hahaha.

Better than expected! Gangneung Sand has pretty designs, tastes good and comes in lots of varieties. The size and price are great for gifts too, so I even left a reorder reservation for next time.

• Hours: daily 09:30–19:00
• Location: Gangneung, Gangwon (address on the original post: Gyo-dong 551-27)

Can you get to Gangneung Sand Main Branch without a car?

It sits deeper in the woods than I expected, so it's hard to visit without a car. After winding through country mountain alleys, a castle-like building appears quite high up, and it's a huge café, bigger than you'd imagine. Both my husband and I were surprised.

There's even a photo studio at the entrance, so I recommend visiting with time to spare.

What's the atmosphere inside Gangneung Sand Main Branch?

The interior is decorated in fresh, leafy greens. It was a bigger and nicer café than I'd imagined, so I walked in curious about the inside, and it was like, isn't this Santorini? Maybe that's the look they were going for, since there are even yellow lemons here and there. Such a fresh, zesty space!

Gangneung Sand's two Best sellers: Coffee Sand and Chodang Corn Sand prices

We took the staff's recommendation of the two Best items, Gangneung Coffee Sand (₩16,000) and Gangneung Chodang Corn Sand (₩17,000), ₩33,000 in total. We went for the sands, but the drink menu is super varied too? Samgye latte (ginseng chicken soup-style latte), dried persimmon latte and more, lol.

• Gangneung Coffee Sand ₩16,000
• Gangneung Chodang Corn Sand ₩17,000
• Total ₩33,000

While our order was being packed, I looked around the main branch, and Gangneung Sand has won loads of awards and is super famous! I heard the other desserts, not just the sands, have also won many awards and are said to be delicious.

Gangneung Sand's cherry blossom packaging: good for gifts?

Our two boxes came in pink packaging with cherry blossoms printed on it. It was sooo pretty that I took tons of photos. Price, size and packaging all make it perfect for gifting, don't you think?

How does Gangneung Sand taste? My husband's verdict: a luxury Cuckoo Das

Each box holds 10 sands lined up side by side. My husband loves desserts like this, so he ate nearly all of them in the car on the way home, lol. He said it tastes like a totally luxurious Cuckoo Das (a Korean crispy cream-filled biscuit snack)!

They're also mini, fitting snugly in one hand, so eating them in the car felt light and easy!

How long Gangneung Sand keeps

They say Gangneung Sand keeps easily for 2 weeks at room temperature. So I left the rest on the dining table to nibble on as we passed by, and it was gone the very next day. I recommend Gangneung Sand as a luxurious dessert!