This is the last of my Sokcho posts. Prior to my trip to there, I researched and discovered a cafe in the area I was to stay in called Cafe A to Z. Being a big fan of cafes and coffee houses, I was thrilled to know that a local, independent cafe was in the area — a little village north of Sokcho called Bongpori.
During my stay in Bongpori, I visited Cafe A to Z three times. I was hoping to sit on their terrace one of those visits and enjoy my view of the East Sea, but that didn’t happened due to the rainy weather during my visit. Luckily, the interior of the cafe was nicely designed. The wooden floor and furnitures gave the place a warm feel. There were plenty of tables and chairs, and I could see the place being very popular during the summer seasons. When I was there, the place was never packed, but that was because I came during their slow season.
This cafe offers typical cafe beverages like coffee, tea, ades, smoothies, lattes, cocktails, and beers. For food, they serve double toasts, waffles, bagels, cakes, French fries, grilled squid with dried filefish, and deep-fried cheese sticks. For frozen treats, they have ice cream, frappuccino, and various bingsus. This place has quite a variety of drinks and food!
My first visit there, I sat at one of the tables by the window so I could watch the East Sea. I ordered an iced vanilla latte for 5,000 won. It tasted good, but I much prefer the coffees at Chansbros Coffee and Berkeley Coffee Social. However, for a neighbourhood cafe, the coffee tasted decent.
On my second visit, I came and sat the at the bar with my Chromebook. That day I ordered a mint chocolate smoothie for 4,500 won. I forgot to take a photo of it, but it was more of a mint chocolate milkshake (and it was green!), and it tasted quite good! I really enjoyed their “smoothie” that day.
My last and final visit occurred after I walked around in the rain for an hour. I came famished, thirsty, and cold. I chose to have some hot green tea latte (4,000 won) and a double garlic toast for 6,000 won. The green tea latte tasted fine, but the double garlic toast . . . was unique. It was a thick piece of garlic bread in Korean style. I’d forgotten that Korean garlic breads are sweet — not savoury — and that with whipped cream was a truly bizarre combination. I still ate it because I was hungry, but now I regretted not trying the cinnamon or caramel ones instead.
In the end, Cafe A to Z was a nice experience. All the drinks I had were good and they were priced about the same or a bit cheaper than what I’d pay for in Seoul. The ambience in the cafe was good, and I loved the sea view. If you’re ever in Bongpori area, it’s a good cafe to stop by after a day out on a beach or after a day of hiking or sightseeing!
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Business Info
033-633-5567
103, Toseong-Ro, Toseong-Myeon, Goseong-Gun, Gangwon-Do, Korea
강원도 고성군 토성면 토성로 103
From Sokcho Intercity Bus Terminal, take bus number 1 or 1-1 to “Bongpori”. At the bus stop, facing the sea, look to your left and go up the main street. After about a minute or two, you will see Cafe A to Z across the street.
3,000 ~ 10,000+ won budget per person