Gwanghwamun coffee shop with hand-drip coffee tasting: Lemangdoré

I went on a little outing to Gwanghwamun today. On a precious weekday off, I wanted to spend the morning well — and you all know how precious weekday days off are, haha. I wanted to start the day leisurely with a coffee, and there was a café I'd visited before that I loved so much I wanted to go back. That's Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun, a café in the Gwanghwamun/City Hall area.

The coffee is great, but the variety of desserts also makes it a wonderful spot to pair with your coffee. It's popular with nearby office workers at lunchtime, so I hurried over in the morning instead. Here's my review of Lemangdoré.

Where is Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun and what are its hours?

Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun is close to City Hall Station — about a 5-minute walk from Exit 4. From here, both Gwanghwamun and Euljiro Entrance are walkable, so it's a great spot for a coffee and a stroll around the area.

• Hours: Monday–Sunday 08:00–21:00 (last coffee order 20:30), open year-round
• Parking: No parking available — use nearby public lots or SFC Mall parking

Floors 1 to 3: the floor-to-ceiling window seating

This is the exterior of Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun — the café uses an entire building. With three floors, the seating is spacious and plentiful. Still, this wide seating fills up completely at lunchtime, so I'd recommend avoiding that window.

Here's the first floor — in front of the order counter there are seats along a floor-to-ceiling glass window. The full-height glass makes the space feel wide and bright, which I really liked.

On one side there was a display of coffee beans, tumblers, glass cups, and other goods. You always end up browsing the merch at cafés, don't you? The shapes were so pretty I almost got tempted, haha.

The hand-drip coffee offered for tasting by the entrance

They have hand-drip coffee on the menu, so there was a tasting cup set out by the entrance too. I only noticed it after ordering, so I tried it a bit late — but wow, it was rich, nutty, and so delicious. Next visit I should get a hand-drip for myself.

I went up to the second floor to find a seat. Since each floor spans the whole space, every level has these full floor-to-ceiling windows too. The vibe — so good!! And the restroom is right on the 2nd floor, which made it super convenient.

I settled on the 2nd floor, but of course I had to check out the 3rd floor too — let's go up.

Even the 3rd floor... so pretty, haha. Honestly, I had already picked my seat on the 2nd floor, but I seriously considered moving up. There are way more seats on the 2nd floor, while the 3rd floor felt somehow more relaxed. One customer was sipping coffee while looking out the window on the 3rd floor, and the mood looked amazing.

Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun dessert menu and prices

Lemangdoré is fairly famous for its desserts too. Let me introduce the dessert and coffee menu at this Gwanghwamun/City Hall café.

Madeleines and financiers are also sold as gift sets — 6 pieces for ₩30,000. At first I was only looking at desserts, but I noticed they also have sandwiches. I'd already eaten breakfast, but if I'd known there were sandwiches, I could have had breakfast here instead.

• Choco baguette ₩6,800
• Kabocha cream cheese country bread ₩6,300
• Pistachio croissant ₩8,800
• Plain financier ₩3,200 / Nutmeg financier ₩4,000 / Maldon salt choco financier ₩4,200
• Red berry madeleine ₩4,500 / Yuja lemon madeleine ₩3,900 / Double vanilla madeleine ₩3,900

• Pain au chocolat ₩6,200
• Chausson aux pommes ₩6,300
• Cardamom bun ₩5,400
• Salted choco egg tart ₩4,500
• Classic egg tart ₩3,700
• Caramel pecan scone ₩4,500 / Original butter scone ₩4,200

They also sell jams and cream butter to spread on scones or bread, in case that's useful.

Coffee menu and prices at Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun

• COFFEE Noir > dark chocolate, roasted almond, ripe cherry, forêt noire
• Blanc > green apple, berry sweetness, clean finish, like summer light
• Decaf > roasted sweet potato, soft sweetness, gentle acidity (Blanc and Decaf +₩1,000)
• ESPRESSO Signature ice cream float ₩8,500 > where ice cream meets latte
• Signature white cream latte ₩7,000 > white chocolate wrapped in soft cream
• Espresso / Americano ₩5,500, Latte ₩6,300, Oat milk latte ₩7,000
• Flat white / Cappuccino ₩6,300, Vanilla latte ₩6,700
• BREW Coffee of the day ₩5,200 > autumn blend (ripe persimmon, chestnut, peanut)
• Hand drip from ₩7,000, Gold brew ₩6,000
• Oat milk swap / extra shot +₩1,000
• NON-COFFEE Signature crème de marron ₩7,000 > fragrant Earl Grey cream meets cozy chestnut latte
• Signature Norwegian Wood ₩8,500 > matcha-strawberry latte inspired by Murakami's Norwegian Wood

There are plenty more drinks besides these, so check the menu for the full lineup.

The order: ice cream float, iced Americano and cardamom bun

With so many options, I agonized for a while. In the end, at Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun I went with the signature espresso ice cream float, an iced Americano, and a cardamom bun. Cardamom is a spice, so a bread made with spice — how could I not be curious? I gave in to that curiosity and ordered it.

The weather was so nice that day, and being at the café genuinely put me in a good mood. Not many people around, so it was quiet — I felt like I was enjoying my own little pocket of time. Aren't the drink photos pretty too? Shooting by the window let the bright light in, and there's this magic where the coffee just looks even more delicious, haha.

Last time I visited I tried the Norwegian Wood, and the matcha flavor was strong — I was pretty surprised at how well matcha and strawberry went together, haha. If you're curious, give it a try!! As for the ice cream latte — honestly, it was nothing short of delicious, and while Lemangdoré's coffee is already good on its own, that ice cream in particular was amazing. The milk flavor was really strong — like this deeply nutty, delicious milk feeling, haha.

How did the cardamom bun taste?

I was torn on the cardamom bun, but a friend had tried it abroad, so I got curious too and ordered it. Cardamom is a spice made from a ginger-family plant's seeds, apparently nicknamed the "queen of spices." I'd once tried a cardamom cappuccino at another café and thought — a spice, in coffee? — but it turned out to be an unusual yet somehow familiar flavor (I had zero resistance to it, personally).

This bread doesn't use the cardamom spice directly — instead it's made with cardamom sugar, sugar infused with the spice. The outside was crisp like it had a coating, and the inside was moist and soft. Since there's no sharp, aggressive aroma, I think even people wary of spices could give this one a try.

I was satisfied with the drinks, the desserts, and the atmosphere at this Gwanghwamun/City Hall café. There's also Cheonggyecheon Stream nearby, great for a walk afterward. Do stop by Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun sometime.