Our Bakery, located near Dosan Park, is without a doubt one of the hottest coffee and bread places on social media right now. The bakery began as a collaborative project of stylist Seo Hanyoung (known for her high-fashion styling work with several K-pop stars including Boa and 2NE1) and food culture brand CNP Food. Hence, it's no surprise that it first gained its fame through the many celebrities that came to check out and hang out at the place — after a while, however, it's become a hot spot among all types of Seoulites looking for great bread and coffee. Its selection of bread is quite wide — among which, the pastries may remind you of Le Alaska's, while some other types of bread are similar to what Hongdae's Paul & Paulina makes. The most popular items here are the Tiramisu with a great balance between fresh cream and pastry, the well-layered Dirty Chocolate and the Butter Pretzels made with gourmet butter.
Our Bakery is also well known for their specialty coffees, which go perfectly with all the scrumptious pastry options, making the place stand out in the huge competition in the Dosan Park district (it’s still not easy to find a place with decently-priced coffee made from quality ingredients, especially in an area known to be quite ritzy). The coffee machine used here is of the Netherlands' Kees Van Der Westen (a brand known to take pride in its excellent design and functionality), while the grinder is from Compak. Different beans are selected during each season, with the current selection being Ethiopia Yirgacheffe G1 Chelelektu and Guatamala Antiqua Medina. The most popular café menu here is the Flat White and Green Tea Double which has a good amount of matcha, espresso and milk. The Flat White, made with a double shot of espresso and a mixture of thick condensed milk, is well-balanced, has a stunning visual by itself and tastes great, although it is a bit on a sweet side. The best part is that none of the café menus here will cost you more than 4,000 won.
With the great pastries and delicious coffee drinks available here, Our Bakery seems to qualify as both an excellent bakery and a coffee shop. Yet, according to the reviews, some of the experts and professional critics seem to disagree: especially considering the high-quality beans and top-notch machines used here, the extraction method has room for improvement, while the bakery menu lacks any specialty of its own, with many of the selections that are easily found at other bakeshops in the city. Yet, despite such criticism, Our Bakery has been doing more than well as a relatively new player, with its shortcomings possibly providing good lessons for the industry as a whole. One thing I can say for sure is that we should be welcoming diversity which will help the market grow and flourish, and that this particular establishment has been continuously trying its best to deliver great products — I hope that the efforts which Our Bakery has been making in the midst of the economic downturn will pay off in the long run.
Author JB is a Q-grader credentialed by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) as well as a freelance coffee and travel writer.