Seoul / Coffee notes
These Seoul cafés keep serving beyond the usual afternoon close.
Options include Fritz Coffee Company, Lowkey Coffee, and Anthracite Coffee. Closing times vary by day, so check each café’s hours before heading out.
Fritz's Dohwa cafe combines roasting and baking in a converted 1960s house off Saechang-ro 2-gil. Wood, tile and seating across the old rooms frame the coffee bar and bread counter.
Ask which beans and filter methods are available on the day. The roasting programme also supplies retail bags if you want to brew Fritz at home.
17 Saechang-ro 2gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, Korea
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Lowkey's Seongsu cafe sits on Yeonmujang 3-gil, with a broad counter and basement seating. There is more room to sit here than at nearby standing-bar cafes.
Filter is a good way to explore the single-origin range. Espresso drinks provide a quicker option when you do not have time for a hand brew.
6 Yeonmujang 3-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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Anthracite's Hapjeong cafe occupies a former shoe factory on Tojeong-ro 5-gil. Concrete, steel and a conveyor-belt counter remain visible, with more seating on the second floor.
Choose between blends and single origins, then ask which beans are available for hand drip. The filter menu is a useful way to compare the roaster's current coffees.
1F-2F, 10 Tojeong-ro 5-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
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Bunker Company's Apgujeong cafe occupies two floors at 23 Eonju-ro 167-gil. Concrete, wood and a central coffee bar fill a converted house on a quieter street near Apgujeong Station.
Coffee comes with information about the beans and the choices behind the blend. Ask about the brewing options; espresso is accompanied by carbonated water.
1F and 2F, 23 Eonju-ro 167-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
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Cafe Onion Anguk occupies a hanok on Gyedong-gil, with timber beams, a courtyard and areas of floor seating. The bakery counter and seating queue can both be busy.
Coffee accompanies the bakery selection here. Espresso drinks, teas and other drinks give mixed groups options, but the main reason to choose Anguk is the pastry-and-hanok combination.
5, Gyedong-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
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Coffee Libre's Yeonnam cafe is a small alley shop with bean displays and an old herbal-medicine cabinet. The counter and retail coffee occupy much of the room.
Espresso and single-origin brewed coffee are the main reasons to visit. Ask about the current beans and any upcoming public cupping before planning a tasting visit.
20-5 Seongmisan-ro 32-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
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Coffee Hanyakbang is tucked into a narrow Euljiro alley near Euljiro 3-ga. Dark wood, mother-of-pearl counters and antique medicine cabinets fill the small rooms, linked by stairs.
Order hand-drip coffee here. The house roasting and brewed-coffee menu make it a useful stop for drinkers who prefer a fuller roast to the lighter styles found at many Seoul tasting bars.
16-6 Samil-daero 12-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
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Namusairo occupies a hanok near Gyeongbokgung, with low eaves, timber and seating beyond the narrow-looking entrance. It is an easy coffee stop between the palace and Sajik-dong.
Ask for a bean recommendation if the filter list is unfamiliar. Describing whether you prefer fruit, florals or a fuller cup is a useful starting point.
21 Sajik-ro 8-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea 03169
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