Anthracite Coffee Hapjeong ★ 4.6
Anthracite converted a 1970s shoe factory on the Hapjeong waterway into Seoul's most atmospheric specialty cafe with single-origin pour-overs.
Signature drink: Single-origin pour-over
Coffee shops, bakeries with seats and the places Seoul lingers in over a cortado.
Where to sit and slow down
Cafe Layered Anguk ★ 4.4
Cafe Layered's Anguk branch sits a minute from Bukchon Hanok Village with an English country-kitchen counter heaped with scones, tea cakes and a properly built earl grey latte.
Signature drink: Earl grey latte with plain scone
Fritz Coffee Company (Dohwa) ★ 4.7
Fritz Coffee Company in Dohwa is the roaster that reshaped Seoul's specialty coffee culture, serving own-roasted single-origins in a converted factory.
Signature drink: Fritz house espresso blend
gml Coffee Hannam ★ 4.6
gml Hannam runs an espresso-free filter-only program with more than 20 single-origin pour-overs from roasters like Prodigal, Dak Amsterdam and Hatch Ontario, written up with tasting notes on a chalkboard wall.
Signature drink: Filter pour-over from rotating single-origin board
Cafe Onion Seongsu ★ 4.4
Cafe Onion turned a crumbling concrete warehouse in Seongsu into one of Seoul's most-photographed spaces, with a thick-cut honey butter toast counter.
Signature drink: Vanilla latte
Tea Therapy ★ 4.3
Tea Therapy is the most design-conscious teahouse on the Insadong strip, selling hand-blended teas named after Korean folklore characters in ceramic.
Signature drink: Korean dokkaebi blend (rooibos, citrus peel, chrysanthemum)
Center Coffee Seoul Forest ★ 4.6
Center Coffee sits at the Seoul Forest edge of Seongsu, a three-floor specialty cafe from past UK Barista Champion Sang Ho Park, pouring single-origin Geisha and Esmeralda on the rooftop with park views.
Signature drink: Hand-drip single-origin filter
Cha Masineun Tteul ★ 4.5
Cha Masineun Tteul (the tea-drinking garden) is a traditional hanok teahouse in Bukchon with a courtyard view of the Samcheong rooftops, serving a long Korean tea list with steamed rice cakes and red bean soup.
Signature drink: Jujube tea with steamed pumpkin cake
Holly's Coffee Insadong ★ 3.8
Holly's is a Korean-born cafe chain that has held its audience while Starbucks expanded, with its vanilla latte and toasted sandwiches as the reliable menu.
Signature drink: Vanilla latte
Thanks Nature Cafe ★ 3.9
Seoul's original sheep cafe (2011) near Hongik University: resident sheep in a garden pen have become a Hongdae landmark alongside waffles and fruit drinks.
Signature drink: Waffles with fresh fruit ade