Gongdo bakery in Anseong: corn loaf toast & flower cake, Chat Baker

I visited Chat Baker, a roomy and comfortable café with a lovely mood in Gongdo, Anseong.

Let me tell you about a brunch spot with great atmosphere: more than 80 kinds of handmade bread baked fresh every morning, in a 500-pyeong space where LP records play.

On a relaxed weekend afternoon, there's a nice café I often go to: Chat Baker, a large brunch café in Gongdo, Anseong.

Every time I go, the cozy, stylish space and the delicious bread leave me completely recharged. It's comfortable, and the music and the dessert quality don't compromise on anything. Here's a rundown of what I love about Chat Baker.

How big and quiet is Chat Baker?

Chat Baker is about 500 pyeong, introduced as the biggest café in Gongdo, Anseong, and the sense of openness the moment you walk in is so good. It's not just big: the seats are spaced far apart, so you can enjoy your own time without being disturbed.

Big cafés are often chaotic because sound echoes, but I hear Chat Baker was designed so that sound doesn't bounce around. So even with plenty of customers, it stays calm enough to enjoy the music. The Yamaha piano on one side of the café suits the mood so well.

With LP music playing, the emotional mood works for coming alone to use a laptop or read, and it handles dates and family gatherings perfectly too.

How is the bread at Chat Baker made?

The most decisive reason I keep coming back to Chat Baker, a brunch café in Gongdo, Anseong, is its delicious, back-to-basics bread.

I hear Chat Baker kneads and bakes all its bread by hand every dawn, and there are over 80 kinds, which is really a lot.

Rather than flashy, pretty-looking showpieces, you get well-made bakery bread with a faithful-to-the-basics taste, where the flavor gets deeper the more you eat.

It started getting word-of-mouth fame for its salt bread, and now the lineup is dazzling: croissants, cube loaves, Gongju chestnut loaf, pain au chocolat, pain de campagne, baguettes and more.

They say they use generous amounts of cream and fresh chocolate made in-store every day. The philosophy of not compromising on even a single ingredient comes through in the taste, and I'd recommend every bread I've tried so far.

Best breads to take home from Chat Baker

Every time I go, I enjoy bread with coffee in the café and then come home with a big takeout haul. Here are the irresistible ones. The quality is so good that even after a few days the bread doesn't turn dry and stays moist.

Salt bread

Chat Baker's salt bread (a buttery roll with a salted, crisp bottom) is superb: a crisp outside and a chewy inside with a soft butter aroma. It's the most basic item, but you can feel the skill behind it; it's anything but ordinary.

Red bean butter salt bread

The red bean butter salt bread (angbutter) puts sweet red bean paste and thick, nutty butter between plain, lightly salty salt bread, the textbook sweet-and-salty. It's a popular combination everyone will like.

Gongju chestnut loaf

The Gongju chestnut loaf is packed with sweet, nutty chestnuts, so it's no exaggeration to call it half bread, half chestnut. It's a popular item that sells out quickly if you're even a little late, so grab it if you see it. It's also the best value bread at Chat Baker.

Corn loaf

The corn loaf is so good toasted in the morning with butter spread on it. I've tried a really wide variety of bread at Chat Baker and haven't had a single miss.

Are Chat Baker's cakes good as gifts?

Every time I go, the cakes in Chat Baker's showcase look really gorgeous and pretty. Next time I definitely want to try a Chat Baker cake.

This visit, the artistic flower-shaped cakes especially caught my eye, and they looked high-quality and luxurious.

The bread is so good that I'm confident the cake will taste great too. I've marked it down: next time I need a gift for someone special or there's an anniversary, I'll order a cake from Chat Baker. It looks like something the recipient would really love.

Which is prettier at Chat Baker, inside or outside?

Look around every corner of Chat Baker and there are so many spots with a great interior sense.

• Exterior: A clean, modern white building with a fresh green 'chat baker' sign as an accent. Golf shops are in the same building.
• Minimalist seating: A tidy, minimalist white space with warm wooden tables and chairs for a calm mood. The soft indirect lighting on the walls and neat furniture layout make it a good spot for quiet conversation.
• Stylish stone interior: A second-floor area with modern gray stone tables beneath white and green partitions. Moon jar (달항아리, round white porcelain) objects and green plants create an Eastern yet refined, gallery-like mood.
• LP and piano corner: A music space on one side, with a black Yamaha digital piano and a rug shaped like a giant LP record underneath, adding classic, analog charm.
• Big windows and water curtain wall: The highlight of the space, a huge-scale window zone. Beyond the glass, a water curtain interior lets water stream coolly down.

Who would like Chat Baker?

Anyone looking for a quiet, spacious, stylish café in Gongdo, Anseong

Anyone who wants brunch with properly made handmade bread and deeply flavored drip coffee

I recommend Chat Baker to anyone who wants to escape a busy routine and recharge alone with good music, or have a special date, and to anyone who wants to take home life-changing loaves and desserts that stay delicious for days.

Chat Baker opening hours and parking

Chat Baker's hours are 09:00 - 23:00 for bakery and drinks, and 11:00 - 20:00 for brunch and pasta.

Chat Baker has a seriously huge parking lot, so even beginner drivers can park easily.

The address is 4391 Seodong-daero, Building 3, Unit 101, Gongdo-eup, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do. Taste, atmosphere and the maker's philosophy are all in Chat Baker in Gongdo. If you're a bread lover, do stop by when you're in Anseong. You won't regret it!