One of my favourite places to roam in Seoul is Garosu-gil at Sinsa-Dong. The name Garosu-gil comes from the Korean word meaning "tree-lined streets", as the area is adorned with ginkgo trees, making it one of the most picturesque and Instagram-worthy parts of town in Seoul!
Garosu-gil is also famous for the many stylish cafes, boutiques and restaurants it is home to. Armed with our cameras and empty stomachs, my girlfriend Tammi and I set out for a day of cafe-hopping down the streets of Garosu-gil!
My camera of choice is the Olympus E-PL8 - The perfect travel companion with its lightweight and compact build as well as features like Built-In Wifi, Art Filters and an 180 degree-flip down LCD screen optimised for selfies!
5 Cafes To Visit At Garosu-Gil
As I've mentioned, Garosu-gil is practically the cafe capital of Seoul - There are so many cafes along Garosu-Gil that it's impossible to visit them all in one day! We spent an entire day at Garosu-gil and here are the five cafes that we visited and loved - With gorgeous interiors and delicious food, these cafes will be a treat for both your Instagram and your tummy! Hehe.
Directions to Garosu-Gil
Take the Seoul subway to Sinsa Station (Line 3).
From exit 8, walk straight for about 5 minutes - The second intersecting street is Garosugil.
1. Line Friends Store & Cafe
535-15 Sinsa-dong,
Gangnam-Gu, Seoul
Line Friends Store & Cafe is without a doubt one of the most charming cafes you'll step foot in on the street of Garosu-gil - Even for a non-Line fan like me, I found the Line-themed merchandise and food irresistibly cute! Just look at this huuuuuge Brown bear that everyone was queuing up to take a photo with!
Browse the merchandise if you will, but be warned that everything is ridiculously priced and costs a pretty penny - I really liked some of the merchandise but couldn't bear to spend my precious Korean won on them.
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Head downstairs to the basement, and you'll find the endearing Line Friends Cafe!
Where you can dine with a life-sized "Brown" next to you, or choose from lots of cutesy Line-themed desserts, cakes, and food!
I bought myself a "Coney"-themed soft serve that was surprisingly delicious and waaaayyyy tooooo cute! Gotta say I wasn't expecting much, but this was goooood. (And it garnered me 1500 likes on Instagram too, what is this obsession with cute food?!)
2. The Hwawon @ Eight Seconds
535-12 Sinsa-dong,
Gangnam-gu, Seoul
For those of you who love eclectic decor and botanicals, pop by The Hwawon @ Eight Seconds!
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With its dimly-lit and cozy interior that's been spiced up with little potted plants, colourful Middle-Eastern tapestry and an entire ceiling-full of dried flower bouquets, The Hwawon makes you feel like you've stepped into another universe altogether.
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It was the perfect hide-out from the freezing temperatures outdoors as we indulged in hot tea and honey bread!
Here's the perfect shot of our Honey Toast - Served toasty warm, drizzled with honey and then topped with whipped cream and cacao nibs!
Confession: Despite struggling with our frozen fingers, we brought this outdoors to the very pretty coffee table right outside the entrance for its own editorial shoot just because outdoor lighting is full of win. Don't judge us.
3. Deux Crèmes
45, Dosan-Daero 15-Gil,
Gangnam-Gu, Seoul
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Deux Crèmes might not look like much from the outside, but I highly highly recommend this cafe if you love tarts and pastries - They do an incredible selection of fresh fruit pies that taste as good as they look!
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Oh, and they also have gorgeous full-length windows with a great view for people-watching as well as perfect lighting for portrait and food shots! Definitely a win!
Here's a tip for your table flat-lay photos: It always looks better with a bit of human action, so get a hand (or two) into the frame for a more enticing shot!
We had the strawberry pistachio tart, and it was delicious! The crust was light and flaky, and the fresh strawberries complemented the light cream and nutty pistachio filling so well. It was the perfect balance of sweet and tart, crisp and creamy.
Olympus E-PL8 Art Filter - Partial Color Mode
See what I mean about the full-length windows for beautiful portrait lighting conditions? ;) The use of the Partial Color Art Filter really brought out the feels for this photo too!
4. Skin Food Store & Cafe
12-37 Apgujeong-ro, Sinsa-dong,
Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Walking further down Garosu-gil, we stumbled upon Skinfood Cafe right above its concept store on Level 1 - Both Tammi and I are Skinfood fans, and we had to head upstairs to check out the cafe!
I LOVED the cheerful and happy atmosphere with sunny yellow and white accents all over! There's a little section where you get to play with Skinfood's skincare products and another where different makeup products are all laid out too. Really fun and chirpy vibes going on that's totally in line with Skinfood's branding.
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They sure know how to make a place photogenic. Definitely my kind of #interiorgoals!
Food-wise, the menu is refreshing and reflects Skinfood's healthy brand philosophy - Great for health-conscious eaters. It's not mind-blowing by any means, but the cafe is a lovely and cheery place to rest the feet after an intense Skinfood marathon shopping downstairs on Level 1!
PS. I bought the Skin Food Avocado & Honey Lip Serum SPF8 and really, really like it. Moisturises well and gives my lips a natural reddish tint!
A quick selfie made easy with the 180 deg flip down screen on my Olympus E-PL8 - We all deserve to be a little narcissistic sometimes, yes? (Note: There's actually an E-Portrait mode on the Olympus E-PL8 for flawless skin too!)
5. O'Sulloc Tea House
580-5 Sinsa-dong,
Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Osulloc Tea House is one of those cafes that I've heard a lot of raves about, so naturally, we made it our last stop for the day. They actually do have a few different outlets - One in Myeongdong and another one at Insadong if I'm not mistaken.
Green tea and matcha fanatics should give Osulloc Tea House a visit because just about every single thing on its menu is green tea flavoured! The green tea used in their products is organically grown and comes from Jeju Island.
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All kinds of green tea goodness on our tray. Yay!
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We both loved the Green Tea Latte - It was creamy and frothy with exactly the right taste of matcha that was neither too bitter nor too artificial. Good stuff!!
Tammi preferred the Green Tea Roll Cake while I liked the Green Tea Torte. The roll cake was sort of bland and didn't have a strong enough matcha kick to me, while the Green Tea Torte was sweeter and richer.
Pretty much done with the sweet stuff by the time we finished up at Osulloc Tea House, but it was a super fun day together with Tammi!
Five cafes in one day - Sounds hectic, but we really had a very relaxed time, and I would have loved to visit even more cafes, had we the stomach space to try more food!
Even if you don't follow my cafe recommendations above, do set aside a day in your itinerary to head over to Garosu-gil to explore the area. It's a treasure trove of hidden gem cafes, cool boutiques and interesting shops to uncover!
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It was evening time when we left Garosu-Gil to the sight of a cloudless canvas of brilliant hues as the sun set. Dazzling, ain't it?
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Pictures used for illustrations in this entry were taken with my Olympus E-PL8.
Hope you enjoyed the read, and let me know if you've got any cool cafes to recommend around Garosu-Gil! Psst. More Seoul travel posts are coming this way, so keep a look out! ;)