Brunch in Seoul is some of the best I’ve had, and there are so many good brunch places in the city. I’m a qualified chef, and I used to run a brunch café in Dublin and I am obsessed with good brunch. I usually judge the brunch based on the coffee, presentation of food, menu options, and just overall good vibes of a place.
During my time in Korea, I have had many meals where there are items on the plate that should not be there, I believe the best brunch plates have items on the plate that go together and accompany each other in harmony.
# 1 Grain
This place is every picky eaters dream. They have a Build Your Own Brunch option, you choose exactly what you want to eat and it’s honestly such a genius concept. Upon being seated, you are given a menu card to fill out with a little pencil and you can choose the options you want.
- 4 items are ₩12000.
- 5 items are ₩14000.
- 6 items are ₩15500.
The options are sourdough bread, a croissant, earl grey zucchini bread, homemade yogurt with muesli and fruit, avocado, smoked salmon, scrambled egg, sunny side up eggs, bacon, roasted mushrooms, barley soup, and more.
They also have other menu options such as pancakes, sandwiches and cakes. They have juices, ades, teas and coffees. It is a very busy place so expect to wait a little for a table on the weekends.
Opening hours:
Weekdays: AM 9:00 – PM 19:00
[Last order: PM 18:00 ]
Weekends and Holidays: AM 9:00 – PM 20:00
[Last order: PM 19:00 ]
Closed on Tuesdays.
Address: 385-6, Yeonnam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
서울특별시 마포구 동교로46길 23
Phone Number: 02-336-7559
Website: https://www.instagram.com/grain_seoul/
#2 Sarr
When I moved to Korea, this was one of the first places that I had brunch in Seoul. Sarr is a niche café that specializes in soufflé pancakes, which are a Japanese style fluffy pancake. Due to the size and fluffiness of the pancake, they take longer to cook than a regular pancake. Expect to wait 25-35 minutes for your pancakes, depending on the business of the café.
Believe me, they are worth the wait! There are two locations one in Hongdae and one in Jamsil, I visited the one in Hongdae.
The menu consists of five types of pancakes: the house original Sarr Pancake (₩10,000), Banana Pancake (₩11,000), Tiramisu Pancake (₩13,000), Berry Berry Pancake (₩13,000), and Green (Matcha) Pancake (₩13,000). I ordered the banana pancake and it was delicious, so light and airy, it was such a treat. They also have a selection of coffees and teas available.
Opening hours: Hongdae Branch
Daily: PM 12:00 – PM 22:00
Address: 260-25 Yeonnam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
서울 마포구 동교로36길 3
Opening Hours: Jamsil Branch
Daily: PM 12:00 – PM 22:00
Address: Baekjegobun-ro 33-gil, Seokchon-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul
송파구 석촌동 6-14
#3 Thanks Oat
This place is a little further out of the main area of Hongdae, so if you’re looking to walk to a place for brunch in Seoul, it can be a little tricky to get here but I really loved this place so I think it’s worth the trip. It mainly serves homemade granola and yogurt but it also serves bagels as well.
Just to note: the menu is in Korean so if you can’t read Hangul make sure you have Papago on hand to translate it.
I ordered the granola with chocolate and strawberries. It was incredibly delicious and decadent. My boyfriend ordered the salmon bagel which was really nice and it was served with a sparkling lemon seltzer.
Disclaimer: This place doesn’t serve coffee! But it serves tea and hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was some of the best I’ve ever had, it had the most gorgeous chocolate shavings on top so I didn’t even miss coffee!
The place is small so you may also expect to wait for a table, we arrived 20 minutes before opening time and a queue had already formed. We were the last people to get a table inside when it opened so we were lucky!
Opening hours:
Daily: AM 11:00 – PM 21:00
Address: 375 113, Yeonnam-dong Mapo-gu, Seoul
서울특별시 마포구 연남동 375-113
Phone Number: 02231440890
Website: https://www.instagram.com/thanksoat/?hl=en
#4 BimBom
This was the first time I had ever seen brunch served in the style of an afternoon tea. Such a clever concept, as you get to taste several different brunch favorites, which is great if you’re like me and can never decide which brunch dish you want.
- Bottom Tier- Savory buckwheat crepe with ham, bacon, an organic egg and rucola, it was topped off with a balsamic glaze.
- Middle tier- Mushroom eggs Benedict- an English muffin with caramelized onion, mushrooms, and Canadian bacon, topped with a poached egg and lathered in hollandaise sauce. Tomato meatball stew-topped with spinach and ricotta cheese.
- Top tier- Brioche french toast with vanilla sauce and berries.
This brunch set also comes with two Americanos. This brunch was delicious and very well thought out. The set costs ₩44000. It’s definitely pricey so I think it’s a nice treat for an occasion brunch in Seoul, such as a birthday or if you have friends over to visit, etc. Their menu also contains regular portions of these dishes plus some other dishes such as pancakes, pasta and salads.
Opening Hours:
Weekdays: AM 09:00 – PM 17:00
Weekends: AM 09:00 – PM 18:00
Closed on Tuesdays.
Address: 210-1, Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul 1F
서울특별시 용산구 회나무로 51 1F
Phone Number: 02-790-6245
Website: https://www.instagram.com/bimbomcafe/
#5 Urban Plant
I love this place, it’s a plant lovers dream as the whole café is covered in hundreds of plants. I feel bad for the person/people who have to water and take care of these plants, as I’m sure it’s a full time job in itself.
The menu in this place is quite small and they don’t have as many options as some other places but when I found out they did omelettes I knew I had to check this place out. I feel like the omelette is a slept-on egg preparation, I personally love them and I especially love omelettes filled with cheese. I ordered the Spinach Omelette which was filled with spinach, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, brie, and pesto, it is served with rye bread, sour cream, tomato salsa, and salad. It was delicious, the flavors went so well together and it just felt like a nice light summery brunch.
Their menu also consists of salads, sandwiches, and pasta. They also have a great selection of teas, coffees, and juice. Prices are reasonable, with most options costing ₩14,000. Again if you’re looking for brunch in Seoul that’s within walking distance of the main areas. The location of this place is a little bit further out of the main Hongdae area, it is located in between Hapjeong and Sangsu station, but it is definitely worth the trip.
Opening Hours: Daily: AM 10:00 – PM 23:00
Address: 363-28, Hapjeong-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
서울특별시 마포구 독막로4길 3
Phone Number: 070-4192-0378
Website: https://urbanplant.business.site/
