Cafe Review: Sonmokseoga 손목서가 Café in Busan
Welcome back to my café review series, where I review the pretty cafes I visit!
Now this is a café I’d been trying to get to for ages. Seated right over the water on Yeong-do, the island off of Busan, Sonmokseoga is one of the most peaceful and charming cafes I’ve found in Korea. I did a whole write-up for Busan here but I wanted to give this place its own review.
Price: 5,000 won for drip coffee, 6,000 for rooibos tea, 8,000 for shakerato
Hours: Fri-Tue 11am-7pm, Wed-Thur 1pm-7pm
Address: 부산시 영도구 흰여울길 307
As always, let’s rate it. Bolded means recommended. This café is best for:
Good brew | Tea | Socializing | Studying | Aesthetics | Desserts | Alcohol | Food |
While I was in Busan, I took a short bus to Yeong-do, which is a 5 minute drive away from Gukje markets (near where they host the Busan Film Festival). When you stop off at Huinnyeoul Culture Village, take the nearest staircase down to the main walkway, where you can see lots of shops and cafes overlooking the ocean.
You’ll find Sonmokseoga 손목서가 Book Café—probably the most beautiful café I’ve ever seen. It’s hard to find on Naver, but luckily it’s so insta-friendly you can find lots of info about it—try searching #손목서가 or the owner’s twitter. Honestly, my pics don’t even do it nearly justice.
It’s very small. When I walked in, I was a bit surprised to see three baristas. They were a bit surprised to see me too, I think lol. But they were very friendly, and explained the handwritten menu to me. Their menu isn’t big—the biggest things to get are their drip coffee, rooibos tea or ade, or their shakerato (shaken espresso).
I ordered their house drip coffee, which was 5,000. The first floor is mostly for the counter and shelves of books. All in Korean or Japanese (unfortunately for me). Most of the seating is outside, overlooking the water, but it was too chilly for that, so I waited upstairs.
Their tiny second floor is lined with windows overlooking the sea. I took a seat besides the record player and snapped some photos.
By then, it was sunset. I spent about an hour sipping my coffee, with complimentary chocolate, to the sight of pink ships rocking back and forth on the waves.
There’s cats somewhere—I’ve seen them in many pictures—but maybe they were sleeping somewhere when I went.
After some people left, I took a seat by the window and spent forever just looking out. It was one of the most beautiful café views I’ve ever seen. Finding a café on the water is not hard in Korea—there’s more beautiful cafes than you’ll ever get to patronize—but this one felt worth the wait.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get a shot of their menu, but I hope you can get the chance to check it out!