Café
Onion Seongsu
The original branch of the Onion bakery café, set in a stripped-back 1970s building in Seongsu that once housed a factory, known for pandoro and butter…
A dessert café a minute from Anguk Station, styled like an English country kitchen and best known for its lightly toasted scones and seasonal cakes.
Good to know
Layered is a bakery café that helped make the English-style scone a fixture of Seoul's café scene. The Anguk branch sits on a short lane just off Bukchon-ro, a minute's walk from the subway, and its counter is styled like a country kitchen, with scones, loaf cakes and tarts piled high on wooden boards and cake stands. The look is as much a part of the appeal as the baking, and many visitors photograph the display before they order.
Scones are the speciality. The plain homemade scone is the classic choice, and it comes lightly toasted, while flavoured versions such as strawberry, Earl Grey and blueberry rotate with the seasons. More unusual creations, such as cranberry and cream cheese or black sesame with butter and red bean, show the Korean love of combining Western baking with local flavours. There are also cakes and seasonal bakes, and the drinks menu covers coffee and teas, with an Earl Grey latte being a popular pairing.
The café suits couples, friends meeting for an afternoon treat and anyone who wants breakfast before exploring Bukchon. Because it is so close to the hanok village, it is easy to fit in before or after a walk through the lanes, or between visits to Changdeokgung and Gyeongbokgung. Children usually enjoy the cakes, though the space can be tight with a pushchair at busy times.
Layered opens every day from 08:00 to 22:00, according to Seoul's tourism listing. It can get crowded from late morning and at weekends, and seats fill quickly, so an early visit is the easiest way to get a table and the widest choice of scones. If it is full, takeaway is a good option, and the scones travel well for a picnic later in the day. Prices are moderate for Seoul's dessert cafés.
Scones are priced individually, so it is easy to share a few flavours between two people and compare them.
The café is about 60 metres from Exit 2 of Anguk Station on Line 3. Hansik Space E:EUM, a centre for Korean food culture, is a few steps away, and Bukchon Hanok Village, Insadong, Changdeokgung Palace and the restaurants and cafés of Ikseon-dong are all within walking distance.
Lightly toasted English-style scones, along with cakes and seasonal bakes.
The plain homemade scone is the classic; strawberry, Earl Grey and blueberry are popular flavoured options.
Seoul's tourism listing gives daily hours of 08:00 to 22:00.
Early mornings, especially on weekdays; it gets crowded from late morning and at weekends.
Yes. Takeaway is a good option when the café is full.
Coffee and teas, with an Earl Grey latte a popular match for scones.
Walk about 60 metres from Exit 2 of Anguk Station on Line 3.
Bukchon Hanok Village, Insadong, Changdeokgung Palace, Ikseon-dong and Hansik Space E:EUM.
Hotel
The first Four Seasons in South Korea, a luxury hotel near Gwanghwamun with palace and Namsan views, a year-round pool and the Michelin-starred Yu Yuan.
Thing to do
One of Seoul's oldest traditional markets, dating from 1905, where rows of food stalls serve mung bean pancakes, mayak gimbap and noodles beside fabric merchants.
Attraction
The first and largest royal palace of the Joseon dynasty, founded in 1395 and home to the throne hall Geunjeongjeon and the Gyeonghoeru banquet pavilion.
Restaurant
Chef Mingoo Kang's tasting-menu restaurant in Gangnam, holder of three Michelin stars, which reworks Korean fermented sauces and seasonal produce with modern technique.