At the start of this year I visited South Korea and had a few days in beautiful Busan. There is so much to see and do in Korea that I never discovered some delicious spots. I’d hate the same fate to befall you, so allow me to write up this list of the best cafes in Busan.
Best cafes in Busan
This list includes brunch style cafes as well as the best coffee in Busan. As a little bonus, I have also listed some of the great cocktail bars I had on my list.
These venues were researched using a number of methods. TikTok cross-referenced with Reddit is my current favourite way to uncover new places. Because they are answering a specific question (like ‘where is the best brunch in Busan?’) I find they are hugely helpful.
Cafes open and close all the time in Korea, from my understanding. My aim is to keep refreshing these recommendations to ensure everything is still the best of what Busan has to offer.
Little Aus (Gwangalli Beach)
Little Aus is a brunch spot location in the backstreets at Gwangalli Beach. It was on my list of places to go, but unfortunately we missed out on a bit around the New Years period. A peek at their Instagram reveals that they have recently started offering a gluten free bread option, which is huge for Korea! I didn’t find that anywhere, including in Seoul. At the time of writing, Little Aus is open from 10-4pm every day except Tuesday.
Or Whatever (Jeonpo area)
We stumbled into this cafe and decided to stop for brunch. An excellent decision, they had lovely good and a smaller but yummy menu with vegetarian options. Another Australian themed cafe! At the time of writing, Or Whatever is open from 9.30am-6pm every day.
Working Holiday (Gwangalli beach)
Yes, they do have an Aussie big breakfast on the menu. I swear I am not only choosing the Australian themed cafes! Working Holiday is hugely popular and has loads of good reviews online. The menu has a few vegetarian options and a few without bread as well (hard to find when you are gluten free in Korea). At the time of writing, Working Holiday is open from 9am-11pm every day.
Your Type (Gwangalli Beach)
Your Type is a cute little spot behind Gwangalli Beach. We had a very pleasant brunch here and the Christmas decoration was so incredibly cute! At the time of writing, Your Type is open from 9am-6pm weekdays and 9am-7pm weekends.
Prahran (Haeundae)
Loving this Australian brunch inspired spot! Another delicious looking cafe I found that also has a deli and sourdough bake room next door. They have vegetarian options on the menu, too (only a few, but you might be able to take the bacon or meat off other dishes). At the time of writing, Prahan is open from 9am-5pm weekdays and 8am-5pm weekends.
More cafe suggestions in Busan
- April and May – a vegan bakery with sweets and sandwiches (apparently they also have some gluten free baked goods)
- Oh! Goodthing cafe – a vegan bakery with sweets and sandwiches
- Espom Kitchen – an Australian brunch cafe (sorry) with a delicious looking menu
Best coffee in Busan
Werk Coffee Roasters (Gwangalli Beach)
This was our absolute FAVOURITE coffee shop in Busan. Because I hadn’t researched coffee specifically, it was actually our favourite coffee shop of the entire trip (Busan and Seoul). The espresso was delicious, the lattes were delicious – everything was just so good.
The coffee was divine – so good that we went back the next day. I also bought some beans from there and some drip coffee as well. I highly recommend a visit. At the time of writing, Werk is open from 10am-6.30pm every day.
Tide Coffee Roasters (Dalmaji Hill area)
A gorgeous moody spot that overlooks the water and has stunning views (with delicious coffee to boot). At the time of writing, Tide Coffee Roasters is open from 9.30am-6.30pm every day except Tuesday.
Momos Coffee (Haeundae)
Momo’s Coffee was number 1 on my list for coffee in Busan. Sadly our schedule didn’t align with me visiting (I fully intend to go back) but hopefully you can try it for me. There are a few stores that I can ascertain (One in Yeongdo area) but the Haeundae one looks gorgeous and easy to go get to after a beach trip. At the time of writing, the Haeundae branch of Momo‘s is open 7am-6pm every day.
Blackup Coffee (various locations)
Blackup Coffee is a beloved coffee institution in Busan. Their Instagram says they have 9 stores in Korea. Seomyeon and Haeundae are two of the locations, but there are others in Busan as well. I’d recommend choosing the venue you want to visit and finding their specific opening hours, just to be on the safe side.
Aery Coffee (Jungang-daero)
With a blink and you’ll miss it exterior, Aery Coffee is a sleek and beautiful coffee spot with absolutely delicious coffee. They roast their own beans and have a lot of coffee tech that is fascinating to me. At the time of writing, Aery Coffee is open from 10-7pm every day.
Coffee Front (Haeundae)
A cute little coffee spot started by someone who lived in San Francisco for a time. Their coffee looks delicious and their Instagram suggests they serve Oatly, too. At the time of writing, Coffee Front is open from 8am-7pm weekdays and 9am-7pm weekends.
A few more coffee suggestions in Busan:
- Lie down coffee Roasters, Jeonpo area
- Cafe Dennis, Jeonpo area
- Month Coffee Bar, Jeonpo area
- Hytte Roastery, Jeonpo and Gwangalli Beach
- Oas Roasters, Gwangalli beach surrounds
- Mavis Coffee, Sukdeung area
- Melbourne Market, near Pusan National University
- Coffee Awake, near Pusan National University
Cute cocktail bars in Busan
- Joseph, Gwangalli Beach
- Roots Record Bar, Gwangalli Beach
- Corduroy Fellaz, Gwangalli Beach
- Alt Comma, Jeonpo area (Google says it is temporarily closed as of August 2025, so double check)
- Hongdan Busan, Gwangalli Beach
- Make Zero, Seomyeon area
- Goof, Jeonpo area (more about the cute vibe)
- Siwol, Jeonpo Area (more about the cute vibe)
Resources for planning your food and drink itinerary in Busan
Lists are helpful, but I find food and drink moves so quickly in Korea. In Australia, it feels like you can easily Google any restaurant, cuisine, etc and get a good list. In Korea, I felt like I stumbled on so many gorgeous and aesthetic little spots that I had never seen online.
- I found this Instagram and this Instagram very helpful for finding good coffee in Busan (and I daresay Seoul as well, but I only found them while writing this article).
- Before you go, flick through Reddit and TikTok to see if some new places and recommendations have popped up.
- If you can read Korean, Naver would likely be able to uncover some gems if you know what to search for.
- I have a Naver map for Busan which includes bars, vegetarian restaurants and some gluten free spots. You can find my Naver map here.
- A lot of restaurants in Korea accepted bookings through Catchtable. They do have a global app (the Korean app is, of course, in Korean) but we didn’t find it worked well. Worth a shot, though, because the more popular restaurants are often booked out. Another option is to try messaging the restaurant on Instagram. A lot of restaurants in Seoul accepted bookings via Instagram DMs, so it might also be a thing in Busan.
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