Bakery counters in Seoul worth queuing for: levain breads, laminated pastry, regional bakes and the morning ritual.

Where to queue for bread and pastry

Tartine Bakery Seoul (Hannam) ★ 4.7

Itaewon and HannamMon-Sun 07:00-22:00Walk-in onlySan Francisco-style sourdough and laminated pastries

The Seoul outpost of Chad Robertson's San Francisco bakery, in Hannam-dong since 2018, quickly setting the standard for open-crumb sourdough in Korea.

Worth the queue: Country loaf sourdough and morning bun

22 Hannam-daero 18-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Artist Bakery Anguk ★ 4.5

Bukchon and SamcheongDaily 08:00-20:00Salt butter bread variations in a restored hanok bakery

Artist Bakery is the salt-bread sister project to London Bagel Museum, set in a restored hanok off Yulgok-ro with more than 20 versions of the viral salt butter loaf, from plain to truffle pretzel and basil pesto.

Worth the queue: Classic salt butter bread with truffle pretzel and squid ink cheese variants

45 Yulgok-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Fritz Bakery (Dohwa) ★ 4.6

Hongdae and YeonnamMon-Fri 08:00-21:00, Sat-Sun 10:00-21:00Walk-in onlyCroissants, cream-filled doughnuts, and sourdough

Fritz operates its bakery counter from the same Dohwa building as the roastery, and the baked goods match the coffee programme in seriousness.

Worth the queue: Fritz croissant and konpeito cream doughnut

17 Saechang-ro 2-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul

Passion5 ★ 4.4

Itaewon and HannamDaily 10:00-22:00French patisserie and Korean-inflected cakes

Passion5 is the patisserie arm of Paris Baguette's parent company SPC, but it operates on an entirely different level from the parent chain.

Worth the queue: Saint-Honore and yuzu tart

272 Itaewon-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Cafe Onion Bakery (Seongsu) ★ 4.3

Seongsu and DongdaemunMon-Fri 08:00-22:00, Sat-Sun 09:00-22:00Walk-in onlySourdough, layered pastries, and oversized toast

Cafe Onion's Seongsu warehouse space runs a bakery counter with honey butter thick-cut toast that draws a pre-opening queue on weekend mornings.

Worth the queue: Honey butter thick-cut toast

8 Achasan-ro 11-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul

Weirdough ★ 4.5

Seongsu and DongdaemunWed-Sun 10:00-18:00, closed Mon-TueWalk-in onlyVegan sourdough and plant-based pastries

Weirdough in Seongsu is a small-batch vegan bakery renowned for seaweed sourdough and plant-based pastries, rated 5.0 on HappyCow across 28 reviews.

Worth the queue: Seaweed sourdough loaf

32-7 Seoulsup 2-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul

Ma Pause ★ 4.5

Hongdae and YeonnamTue-Sun 10:00-18:00, closed MondayWalk-in onlyFrench-Korean pastries and vegetarian baked goods

Ma Pause in Hongdae is a French-trained baker's response to Seoul's generic patisserie scene, producing black sesame canele and laminated pastries.

Worth the queue: Black sesame canele

33-1 Hongik-ro 6-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul

For Four Bread ★ 4.4

Hongdae and YeonnamThu-Tue 11:00-19:00, closed WednesdayWalk-in onlyVegan milk bread and Korean-style pastries

For Four Bread in Hongdae specialises in dairy-free and egg-free Korean bakery classics, with vegan tangzhong milk bread that rivals any conventional version.

Worth the queue: Vegan tangzhong milk bread

12 Wausan-ro 29-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul

Paris Baguette (Gwanghwamun) ★ 3.7

Jongno and InsadongDaily 07:00-22:00Walk-in onlyKorean bakery staples: cream bread, red bean pastries, garlic butter loaf

Paris Baguette is the ubiquitous Korean bakery chain that appears on every high street, but the Gwanghwamun branch is the right flagship to experience.

Worth the queue: Cream-filled sweet bun (soborobang)

58 Saemunan-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul
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