Yeonnam-dong is full of cafes, but if you want a proper dessert cafe in Yeonnam, Parole & Langue (파롤앤랑그) is a lovely pick. It’s a cozy spot in a converted house, known for its distinctive square pies — including a beautiful bonuibam (chestnut) pie that tastes as good as it looks. If you love pretty, well-made desserts, this is a place worth seeking out.
Getting there and the wait
- From Hongik University (Hongdae) Station Exit 3: about a 10-minute walk (821m), into the quieter Yeonnam back streets.
- Address: 8 Seongmisan-ro 29-an-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul. (Google Maps)
Hours: Tue–Sun 13:00–21:00. Closed Mondays. Cards accepted, and the menu is written with English.
It’s a popular cafe, so there’s often a wait. Register on the tablet at the entrance, which supports English, Japanese and Chinese — easy for visitors. If you only want takeaway, you can usually get your pie almost right away, which is handy if you’re short on time.
The space
It’s a converted house, with soft lighting and wood-toned furniture that make it feel warm and tucked-away. The lighting is on the dim side, which only adds to the calm, quiet mood — a nice place for a relaxed conversation.
The pies
The pies are the reason to come. There’s a rotating lineup — recent flavors include pistachio cherry (₩9,700), chestnut (₩9,500), yuja shine-muscat (₩9,200), blueberry lemon (₩9,200), cheesecake (₩8,500–9,000), corn (₩8,800), basil tomato (₩8,800) and choco banana (₩8,700) — most around ₩8,700–9,700 (about $6.50–7.20) — with seasonal additions. They’re square rather than the usual round, and each is beautifully finished. They also pack pies neatly into gift boxes, so they travel well.
Drinks aren’t a huge list but cover the essentials — coffees (including a signature Parole cream latte), teas like grün matinée and rooibos vanilla, plus milk tea, matcha latte, ube latte and fruit ades. Note there’s a one-drink-per-person rule. On a late-afternoon visit I had the grün (a green tea) and a rooibos vanilla tea — the latter with a lovely deep vanilla aroma.
The bonuibam (chestnut) pie
The one to order is the bonuibam pie (around ₩9,500 / about $7). Bonuibam is chestnut slow-cooked with its inner skin on, and it crowns a pie layered with chestnut cream, custard cream, whole chestnut and almond cream. The different creams blend softly into a gentle, pleasant sweetness, and the crust is crisp and pastry-like — a great contrast with the smooth fillings. It’s genuinely different from the round pies most of us know, and well worth trying.
Good to know
- Hours: Tue–Sun 13:00–21:00; closed Mondays
- Payment: cards accepted
- Menu: Korean/English bilingual menu; order tablet supports English, Japanese, Chinese; one drink per person
- Getting there: 10 min from Hongdae Station Exit 3, in the Yeonnam back streets
- Takeaway is often quicker than waiting for a table; pie flavors rotate, so check what’s available
Verdict
Parole & Langue is a lovely, low-key dessert stop in Yeonnam — a converted-house cafe with genuinely beautiful square pies and a calm room to enjoy them in. Come for the bonuibam chestnut pie, pair it with a pot of tea, and grab a gift box to take with you. It’s an easy, rewarding detour when you’re wandering the Yeonnam back lanes near Hongdae. If you’re making a meal of it first, the Korean-style rosé burger at Nikuking Burger is a short walk away in the same neighborhood. For the full rundown, see our guide to café-hopping and eating in Yeonnam.
