Secret nature in Seoul Cafe – Mountain Nook
Mountain Nook is a beautiful cafe near Seokchon lake that feels miles away from the busy city streets of Seoul. Sticking closely to its name, the interior of the cafe makes you feel like you’re in a secluded mountain retreat, surrounded by nature. However, luckily unlike being in nature, there are delicious drinks and mouth watering desserts available here.
Sometimes we all need to step away from the hustle and bustle of life. It’s important to take a breath and indulge in an afternoon in a nice cafe – and we’ve got you covered for just that!
The cafe occupies two floors. On the lower floor there is a large tree with vines that stretch up around it to create a rather magical look. Adding to this feeling is the trail of flat stones that lead you from the door to the counter which sits next to a table full of sweet and savoury treats. In this corner are also little booths, secluded by narrow but tall archways.
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There is also a photo zone where visitors can take a picture of themselves, print it and add it to a tree full of these pictures to give the illusion of leaves. We absolutely love this interactive and fun idea.
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While the lower floor is slightly darker and filled with purple lights and green walls, the floor above gives the feeling of a log cabin with its wood interiors and warm atmosphere. The lighting is soft and ambient and the whole floor is full of luscious green plants and decked out with fairy lights.
This is where we spent most of our time while not drooling (figuratively – don’t worry!) over the desserts.
There’s also a gorgeous outside area on the second floor but the cold kept us inside. When it’s warmer we’ll definitely venture out there.
Mountain Nook – Menu
So let’s talk about all that Mountain Nook has to offer in terms of food and drink!
We went after having a meal somewhere else, so unfortunately couldn’t try out their brunch menu. But it’s definitely something we’d like to go back for since the pictures looked great. I was also intrigued by their signature Songridan-gil cream latte (pictured below) and plan to have it next time.
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Instead, we decided on a matcha latte and a royal milk tea latte because you can never go wrong with those. Both of them were delicious as expected.
When it came to dessert, we were enticed by a number of their cakes. I was even interested in some of their slightly more savoury options (I was intrigued by their basil and tomato scone). However, as soon as we set our eyes on their black sesame basque cake we were powerless to resist. And wow am I glad we didn’t resist!
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The black sesame basque cake was simply incredible. I still think about it all the time! It was the perfect blend of sweet, slightly salty and earthy thanks to the sesame. It also matched with our drinks perfectly. Honestly if you asked me what I’d like to eat right now it would be that cake… actually, please excuse me. I have to make a quick trip to Seokchon lake!
Matcha latte: 7,500 KRW
Royal milk tea latte: 7,500 KRW
Black sesame basque cake: 7,500 KRW
Mountain Nook – Location
Mountain Nook, while it feels secluded and far outside of Seoul, is actually located in the beautiful and classy Songpa area of Seoul. Specifically, it’s less than a minute’s walk from Seokchon lake, which is another place you should take note of for cherry blossom season.
Mountain Nook sits along Songridan-gil, an area where numerous small coffee shops and unique restaurants have opened up over the past two years. Songridan-gil alleys are now full of distinctive coffee shops and restaurants frequently uploaded on social media.
You’ll never run out of places to see, eat or drink in this area so we recommend spending a whole day there. You could brunch at Mountain Nook and then take a walk around the lake and then go for a coffee somewhere else. Or you could do what we did – eat and then eat again at Mountain Nook!
Conclusion
Breathe in. Breathe out. A sip of latte. A bite of cake. We all deserve to treat ourselves and take a break to lounge in beautiful cafes and enjoy the moment. Mountain Nook is one of the best places you can do that. We hope you have the chance to visit – and if you do let us know!
