Spring date café by Cheonggyecheon: Ruby Garden Refresher—Lemangdoré

This is my review of Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun (레망도레 광화문점), a Cheonggyecheon café I stopped by during a trip into Seoul after a long while! It's a café near City Hall Station that's great for solo coffee with a laptop or a book, and also for dates and small gatherings, so I'll start with my recommendation 🤍

Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun location, hours and parking

• Location: 17 Mugyo-ro, floors 1, 2 and 3, Jung-gu, Seoul (220 m from City Hall Station Exit 4)
• Hours: 08:00–21:00
• Parking: not available; use a nearby public lot or the SFC Mall parking lot
• Restrooms: separate men's and women's restrooms inside the café
• Other: roastery, hand drip / takeout and delivery / group use available / waiting area, Wi-Fi

How do you get to Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun from City Hall Station?

Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun, a Cheonggyecheon café near City Hall Station and Gwanghwamun Station, is a 3-minute walk from Exit 4 of City Hall Station (Lines 1 and 2).

Right there on the Mugyo-dong street between Seoul City Hall and Cheonggyecheon, the pretty white building standing proudly is Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun!!

Every floor is different: inside Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun, 1st to 3rd floor

1st floor: kiosk ordering and bar tables with outlets

As soon as you walk into the 1st floor of Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun, you see a kiosk! Choose whether to eat in or take out, then place your order.

The 1st floor has a counter, a coffee bar, a display of beans and merchandise, and seating! Every bar table seat has an outlet, so it looked great for solo coffee with laptop work or charging your phone.

2nd floor: Fritz Hansen chairs and an open window view

Head up to the 2nd floor of Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun and you get a bigger space. Fritz Hansen chairs lined up in a row, why is that so stylish,,? The floor-to-ceiling windows give it an airy, open feel too, which I loved.

With the floor-to-ceiling windows you take in the whole view outside, and it's fun to look at the fresh green trees. Good, good.

The props scattered around were classy and stylish too! A tree-like prop covered in madeleines especially caught my eye, and it turns out Lemangdoré's signature madeleines are so well regarded that they've been given as VIP gifts by the Italian fashion house Gucci!!!!

3rd floor: Fritz Hansen lounge, available for meetings and group rentals

The 3rd floor of Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun is a special lounge created with Fritz Hansen, the world-famous Danish furniture brand, and it can also be used for meetings, community gatherings and group rentals.

A space where you can try all sorts of Fritz Hansen furniture! Oozing luxury and looking so comfortable~~

Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun coffee, non-coffee and bakery menu

Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun has a wide range of coffee, from espresso, Americano and latte to hand drip and cold brew. For coffee you can choose between bright and acidic, nutty, or decaf. There were also quite a few non-coffee drinks for people who don't drink coffee, which I liked!!

The coffee of the day was ready too! Acidity, sweetness, body and so on are written out in detail, so choosing looked much easier.

It was packed with bakery items that go well with coffee and drinks: pistachio cream croissant, Dubai croissant, financier, madeleine, chausson aux pommes (apple turnover), pain au chocolat, cardamom bun, caramel pecan scone, original butter scone and more.

Madeleines and financiers can be gift-wrapped separately. It's a package that works well for event items or thank-you gifts!

An early-morning date with my boyfriend: what did we order?

After agonizing over what to eat, my boyfriend chose the White Cream Latte, I chose the Ruby Garden Refresher, and for dessert we picked the Yuzu Lemon Madeleine and the Caramel Pecan Scone.

Ruby Garden Refresher (₩6,800): a spring seasonal blended iced tea

The Ruby Garden Refresher is a spring seasonal drink, an iced tea blending three teas! You can taste the freshness of strawberry and lemon. Since we visited early in the morning, I went for a smooth, easy-to-drink non-coffee rather than something fizzy. It wasn't too sweet, so it was perfect with the madeleine and scone. Above all, the color is so pretty,, 🤍

White Cream Latte (₩7,000): Noir beans and white chocolate cream

As the name suggests, the White Cream Latte had white cream piled up on top of the latte. For the beans I chose Noir, which has a nutty richness!

The cream was more creamy than thick, and the sweetness of the white chocolate spread through my whole mouth. The latte had the soft nuttiness of nuts and the deep flavor of a dark roast. The latte itself isn't sweet, so it paired well with the sweet cream!

Yuzu Lemon Madeleine (₩3,900) and Caramel Pecan Scone (₩4,500)

I absolutely love baked sweets, so seeing the showcase at this Cheonggyecheon café, Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun, made me so happy,, I really wanted to eat every single one, but I chose very carefully,,

The Yuzu Lemon Madeleine is full of the fresh taste of lemon and yuzu~~ Thanks to the lemon glaze, the outside gives a slight crunch when you take a bite. You can taste the rich butter, and it's so moist that I felt I could eat 20 on my own,,,, 🤍

The Caramel Pecan Scone, with coarse sugar sprinkled all over the outside, looks incredible! At first glance I thought it would be super hard~ but when I cut it with a knife, the inside wasn't that hard. That classic scone dry, chokes-you-up texture! You know what I mean? It has that crumbly dryness along with a bit of moistness too, so it was quite delicious.

Even with that much sugar on the outside, it wasn't sweet, which was actually nice,, The premium butter flavor, the subtle sweetness of caramel, and nutty pecans on top! So many flavors, it was pure honey. Next time I'll try the financier too~ Thanks for having me 🤍

Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun in a nutshell

• A dessert bakery café near City Hall Station and Gwanghwamun Station in Seoul
• Each floor, from the 1st to the 3rd, has a different atmosphere
• Elegant, high-quality desserts
• Outlets all over, so it's great for solo coffee with laptop work
• Good not only for going solo but also for dates and small gatherings
• If you're looking for a Cheonggyecheon date café, Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun is a big recommend, bang bang