Old-house café in Gwangalli, Busan with nutty-bean coffee: Deokmi

Traveling around Busan, after eating lunch near Gwangalli I really wanted a cup of coffee and some relaxed downtime.

Since I'd already eaten, I couldn't skip a sweet dessert haha, so I wanted a delicious dessert alongside my coffee and looked up cafés near Gwangalli.

Taste mattered that day, but it was also a mid-trip break, so I wanted somewhere with a nice atmosphere too!

That's when I found out there was an emotional café made from a renovated old house, and even from the photos I could feel the vintage mood I love, so I went straight for Deokmi Atelier Gwang-an Branch!

Gwangalli has so many cafés, including big ones right on the beach, but that day I wanted a place with a different vibe. Which is exactly why a café tucked in an alley in an old house pulled me in even more haha. In the end, great choice!

Where is Deokmi Atelier Gwang-an Branch and how do you get there?

Deokmi Atelier Gwang-an Branch is an old-house café at 25 Gwangnam-ro172beon-gil, Suyeong-gu, Busan, 1st floor. It's about a 15-minute walk from Gwangan Station Exit 3, so not super close to the subway, but it's not far from Gwangalli Beach, so it was nice to stroll over while taking in the sea view.

If you're on a Gwangalli trip and want to walk a bit further for a café with real atmosphere, it's worth adding to your route.

Walking down the alley, Deokmi Atelier Gwang-an Branch came into view, and even from a distance I liked the vibe. It kept the shape of an ordinary old house while adding a European vintage feel, and it looked really good from the first glance.

The point wasn't that the whole building felt newly done up as a café — it kept the feeling of an old house. The windows, exterior walls, and entrance all came together so it felt like a small European house had been moved here and turned into a café.

There's terrace seating outside too, so on a nice day it'd be lovely to have coffee outdoors.

Inside Deokmi Atelier: European vintage rooms, each with its own mood

Stepping inside Deokmi Atelier Gwang-an Branch, the European vintage mood from the outside carried straight through. The furniture, props, and wall decor were all styled to evoke an old European house, so I ended up slowly wandering around and taking it in.

What I especially liked was that it didn't feel like all the tables were crammed into one space — each area had its own slightly different mood!

On one side there were about two tables with posters on the wall, and this space felt cozy but slightly like a vintage workshop.

Near the front counter there's also a spot displaying dessert models. There's a pretty wide lineup of cakes and toasts, so it was fun to browse before ordering, and even as models the menu items looked appetizing enough that I naturally picked out an extra dessert.

Further in there are tables for 2–4 people, good for coming with a friend, and each seat had a slightly different vibe, which felt distinctive.

Mirrors were placed here and there, great for mirror shots, and having a restroom inside was convenient too. So overall it was less a café where you just grab a drink and leave, and more one where you slowly browse the space and rest.

It matched exactly the image I had in mind of a nice-atmosphere Gwangalli café, and it was naturally a pretty space for photos while traveling!

Isn't it the perfect course — see the Gwangalli sea, then duck into a quiet alley and rest?

Personally, when I'm looking for a nice-atmosphere café in Gwangalli, I care as much about whether the space has its own character as about pretty interior design, and here the basic character of the old house itself gave it a mood I really liked.

And!! I didn't notice at first, but on my way out I spotted the cat! A total sweetheart, so cute I almost cried haha.

Menu at Deokmi Atelier: choose-your-beans coffee and desserts

Deokmi Atelier Gwang-an Branch's drinks range from basic coffee items like americano and café latte, and for coffee you can choose the beans to suit your taste. The signature coffee item is the royal vanilla bean latte, and on the non-coffee side there's a milk tea called rose thé noir.

And honestly, here the dessert lineup caught my eye even more than the drinks.

There was a good variety, including the seasonal white peach tiramisu, sindang corn cheesecake, pistachio raspberry cheesecake, and matcha brûlée cheesecake.

They also have crème brûlée French toast and sandwiches, so it felt like a place you could visit for brunch, not just coffee and dessert. For anyone looking for Gwangalli desserts, the lineup alone makes it hard to choose!!

What we ordered at Deokmi Atelier and what it cost

• Iced Americano ₩5,500
• Rose Thé Noir ₩6,500
• NEW) White Peach Tiramisu (peach) ₩12,000
• Crème Brûlée French Toast ₩13,000

Once the order arrived, not just the food but even the tableware was European-style, and it looked pretty on the table. The café's atmosphere matched the desserts' look so well that it made me want to keep photographing everything.

Iced americano with nutty beans, 5,500 won

For the iced americano I chose the nutty beans, and a subtle roasted nutty aroma came through with a deep, rich flavor.

It leaned more nutty and heavy than acidic, so it paired well with sweet desserts and especially cut through their sweetness cleanly.

Rose thé noir, the signature milk tea, 6,500 won

True to being the signature item, the rose thé noir was gorgeous just to look at.

On top of a sweet, smooth handmade milk tea sits a fluffy cream with a subtle rose scent, so you get the milk tea's rich flavor together with the rose's fragrance.

The rose scent wasn't overpowering, just fragrant enough, which made it easy to sip slowly, and it went well with the sweet Gwangalli desserts.

White peach tiramisu, 12,000 won

The white peach tiramisu was a new item to me, so I was excited, and with a big chunk of pink fresh peach on top, my first reaction was basically what is this visual haha.

Inside the square mold there's tiramisu cream and sponge layered underneath, topped with Greek yogurt and fresh peach, and the peach chunks were plump enough that the fruit's presence was clear in every spoonful.

The fresh peach had a sweetness like it had been lightly sugared, while still keeping the fruit's natural tartness, and with the Greek yogurt the overall dessert didn't feel heavy.

Mixed with the soft, rich tiramisu cream and moist sponge, the sweetness and freshness balanced out nicely. Especially the combo of peach and Greek yogurt was flawless.

It seemed like a good option even for people who love sweet desserts but find heavy cake-style menus a bit much.

Crème brûlée French toast, 13,000 won

Personally, out of everything I ate that day, this is the one I'd recommend as a Gwangalli dessert! And the one I was most looking forward to, the crème brûlée French toast, was overwhelming just to look at.

It's French toast made from thick bread soaked in egg and milk and grilled, so the inside was fluffy, moist, and had a rich roasted flavor, and on top was a crème brûlée with cream and sugar torched right on the surface.

Tapping the surface with a spoon cracked the sugar coating crisply, revealing soft cream and toast underneath, so the texture contrast was clear. Eating the sweetly caramelized crème brûlée together with the fluffy bread and soft cream basically switched on happiness mode.

It leaned sweet, but eating it with the iced americano worked great — the coffee's nutty bitterness kept resetting my palate in between.

Above all, the bread was thick enough that after a few bites it was surprisingly filling, so it was great to share between two. So on that day, coming to Gwangalli for French toast was totally worth it!!!

With crisp crème brûlée texture layered onto soft French toast, it was a bit different from just a plain sweet toast, and if you're looking for a dessert that pairs well with coffee, I'd recommend this one. If you're in Gwangalli after lunch craving coffee and something sweet, do come to Deokmi Atelier Gwang-an Branch!!

Who should visit Deokmi Atelier Gwang-an Branch?

Deokmi Atelier Gwang-an Branch is an old-house café near Gwangalli Beach, and the space itself had great atmosphere while the dessert menu felt distinctive too, making it a good place to rest.

If you're looking for a nice-atmosphere café in Gwangalli and love European vintage interiors, this one will probably suit your taste well.

One-line summary — a Gwangalli café where old-house charm and desserts go well together

• European vintage space built from a renovated old house
• Each area has its own distinct atmosphere
• Wide variety of distinctive desserts
• Crisp and moist French toast
• Great for mirror shots and terrace seating