8 Great Cafes in Garosu-Gil (Seoul)

Garosu-gil is an area in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam (Seoul) that is very popular with café lovers (like us!). ‘Garosu-gil’ means ‘tree-lined street’ in Korean, and indeed we found that the entire stretch of street was lined with beautiful tall Ginkgo trees. Amidst this pretty setting, there is an eclectic mix of retail stores, art galleries and cafes with tastefully done up spaces. We spent a whole day here, checking out as many cafes as we could. And here we bring to you the BEST cafes of Garosu-gil!

If you really love cafe hopping, you may consider staying at Dormy Inn Premium Seoul Garosugil. The hotel is located just round the corner from Garosugil, and is a few minutes walk from Sinsa station. The hotel rooms even has free spa and sauna facilities for you to recharge after exploring the cafes in Garosugil.

#1 Banana Tree

Located at a corner off the main stretch of Garosu-gil, this quaint café is one not to be missed as the desserts are not only tasty but also Instagram-worthy. When desserts and cute comes together, who can resist? We definitely couldn’t! Star items of Banana Tree Cafe include the Signature Flower Paap and Cotton Candy Latte. Flower Paap is available in banana, strawberry or espresso flavour. We ordered the espresso. You must definitely drop by this café if you are in Garosu-gil !

Banana Tree Cafe
English Address: 526 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Korean Address: 526 신사동 강남구, 서울
Tel: +822 34426050
Operating hours: | Mon – Sat: 11am to 9pm | Sun: 12pm to 8pm |
Website: http://blog.naver.com/banana_526

Directions to Banana Tree Cafe
This cafe is a short 10 minute-walk from Sinsa metro station.

#2 O’sulloc Tea House

Green tea lovers, you’re in for a treat! O’sulloc is a themed café that specializes in green tea-flavoured desserts such as pastries, drinks and ice-creams. We ordered the green tea ice-cream, roll and latte. Despite the high price tag, we had a great time here as the quality of the food made up for it. Be sure to settle down at a table by the window with a cup of green tea latte to people watch and get a feel of the beauty and rhythm of Garosu-gil.

O’sulloc Tea House
Tel: +822 5960546
Operating hours: Daily 9am to 10.30pm
Website: www.osulloc.com

#3 Remicone (레미콘)

We all know Seoul is famous for desserts, soft-serve ice cream and never-ending cafes. But a laboratory-inspired cafe housed inside a truck that serves soft ice-creams with laboratory beakers and droppers? Now that’s a first. Remicone is a cafe that serves delicious soft ice-creams, and is for famous for its signature item: the innovative concoction of THUNDER BOMB! With vanilla soft-serve as the base, this stupendous dessert is covered with a gigantic lump of grey fluffy cotton candy, and topped off with a cutesy lightening bolt candy. We were hooked from our first bite – the dessert was lip-smackingly delicious! The cotton candy also contained minty popping candies which created popping sensations inside our mouth and took us by surprise. Other popular items include Hawaiian Blue and Salted Caramel. Be sure to drop by this interesting café if you’re in Garosu-gil!

Remicone (레미콘)
English Address: 547-12 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Tel: +822 62071029
Opening hours: 11am to 10pm

Directions to Remicone (레미콘)
The cafe is a 15-minute walk from Sinsa metro station.

#4 Good Night and Good Luck

This has to be one of our favourite cafés in Garosu-gil! When we stepped in, we knew we were in the right place as the place was filled with Korean locals – if the locals like it, it should be pretty good. We looked around and every table ordered the cheesecake, hence we knew we must have that as well. And so we ordered the signature 80% Cheese Cake and boy, it was really good. The cheesecake was beautifully placed on a plate with powdered sugar stencils and it was the best dessert we had for the night. Would we go back again? YES!

Good Night and Good Luck
English Address: 552-1 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Korean Address: 강남구 신사동 552-1
Tel: +822 7422 02014
Opening hours: 12pm to 10pm

Directions to Good Night and Good Luck
The cafe is a short 15-minute walk from Sinsa metro station.

#5 Iki Roll Katsu

When we talk about the best cutlets in Garosu-gil, Iki Roll Katsu definitely comes to mind. This is a small homely restaurant with simple wooden furnishings and can seat about 25 people. Serving over 13 variations of cutlets, the menu offers the usual Pork and Chicken to Mushroom Cheese to even Flying Fish Roe Cheese Roll. We ordered the Chicken Cheese Roll Cutlet and it came with two side dishes (one creamy soup and one miso soup). Fried till golden brown and covered in luscious creamy cheese, our cutlet was served piping hot. The aroma of the savoury chicken cutlet filled my mouth even before I sank my teeth into it. This is definitely how a good chicken cutlet should be done: crispy golden-brown skin with succulent tender meat. Delicious!

Iki Roll Katsu
English Address:  537-4 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Korean Address: 서울시 강남구 신사동 537-4
Tel: +822 5143347

Directions to Iki Roll Katsu
The restaurant is a 7-minute walk from Sinsa metro station.

#6 Café De Paris

If you’re the type that fancies sitting by a open window to people watch while sipping a cup of latte, Café De Paris has to be your top choice. This Parisian-inspired joint has a clean and cozy design, and their top seller is the Strawberry and Mango Bon Bon. Although the price is on the higher end, this dessert definitely deserves to be on your “to eat” list in Seoul. It is made up of four layers: mango sherbet, mango cubes, creams and big mango cubes on the top. The dessert tastes fresh, refreshing, and is not cloyingly sweet. It is located on top of Sambazon Boto Acai.

Café De Paris
English Address: 551-2 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Korean Address: 강남구 신사동 551 2층
Tel: +822 5148282

Directions to Cafe De Paris
The cafe is a 15 minute walk from Sinsa metro station.

#7 Sambazon Boto Acai

If you have not heard of it, Acai bowl is the next big thing and people are going crazy over it. Located just below Café De Paris, it is a small joint with both indoor and outdoor seating. Who doesn’t love pretty desserts and what’s more, this is a healthy dessert packed full of nutrients. With only one item on their menu, your only headache will be over which size to get. The portion was generous and we loved the organic pureed acai berry along with the fresh antioxidant fruits like blueberries, strawberries and goji berries.

Sambazon Boto Acai
English Address: 551 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Korean Address: 신사동 551Seoul, Korea
Tel: +822 5163686
Opening Hours: Daily 12pm to 9pm

Directions to Sambazon Boto Acai
The cafe is a 15-minute walk from Sinsa metro station.

#8 Deux Crèmes

Two words to describe this place: Absolutely brilliant. With a facade that is made up entirely of glass, Deux Crèmes radiates contemporary splendor like no other. This is a popular three-storey pastry house that caters to sweet-tooth connoisseurs. From tarts to latte to bingsu, the cafe has it all. We ordered a Strawberry Moose Tart and a cup of Sweet Potato Latte to share. When it comes to sweet potato latte, Deux Crèmes wins hands down. The tart was decent but the Sweet Potato Latte was our favourite as it was so creamy and fragrant. Be sure to grab a seat by the window overlooking the streets for a great café experience!

Deux Crèmes
English Address: 533-11 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Korean Address: 강남구 신사동 533-11
Tel: +822 5457931
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 12am

Directions to Deux Crèmes
The cafe is a 13-minute walk from Sinsa metro station.

How to get to Garosu-gil?

Getting to Garosu-gil is easy. All you need is to take the metro on line 3 and alight at Sinsa Station. For all cafes except Banana Tree, go out from exit 8 and walk straight for about 250m before turning left, and you will be in the land of cafes. For Banana Tree, check out the Google Maps directions to Banana Tree. See the map below to get a rough idea of the cafes’ locations.

This article is part of our completely free and fantastic Ultimate Seoul Travel Guide. Why spend days researching when all your holiday information is simply a click away?

Map of Garosugil