Café Saru 사루

Hidden in the back alleys of Itaewon/Noksapyeong, Café Saru was one of the best hidden gems that we found in Seoul. With its small and unassuming shop front, it is easy to miss the Café if you weren’t keen-eyed enough!

Café Saru’s modest decor, warm lighting, and soft music definitely brought about a cozy and almost casual ambience to it. In fact, it’s interesting to note that unlike the other cafes, Saru doesn’t have a counter or even a cash register! 

The Café has very limited seating but this only adds on to the cozy environment.

We had a Mosabuka (5,000 won) – one of Saru’s signature drinks –, and a Question Mark (7,000 won) which is a mystery ‘coffee-of-the-day’. When we went the Question Mark was a batch of coffee beans that the owner's brother had brought back from South America. Aside from being delicious, the drinks at Saru are very much like the Café itself – simple but elegant.

The Mosabuka is a thick and chocolatey drink that is only served chilled. It’s definitely not the biggest in portion size but is perhaps a good example of quality over quantity. The rich cream together with the chocolate and coffee made it especially delicious and memorable!

One of the motifs of the Café is its use of flower arrangements in its decorations. The shop is full of varying flower bouquets which adds another dimension to the aesthetics of the cafe. While we were there, the owner also gave us a beautiful bouquet of flowers (which we forgot to take a picture of in our hurry to make pressed flowers and into bookmarks ☹). It seems that most of the patrons who come to the cafe receive flowers from the owner as well!

Address: 6-3 Hoenamu-ro 28-gil, Itaewon 2(i)-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Opening Hours: Closed on Mondays 

                                   Tues - Thurs & Sun: 12pm to 10pm

                                   Fri - Sat: 12pm to 11pm

Nearest Station: Noksapyeong Station (Exit 2) / Itaewon