There are so many new veg-friendly cafes and restaurants popping up everywhere lately! And it seems like a lot of the newest veg-friendly spots are concentrated in and around the Hongdae area. I guess this shouldn’t be much of a surprise since Hongdae is where counter-culture thrives. I love this part of Seoul for its artistic, socially-active, progressive youths, artists, writers, and thinkers. And seeing more cafes and restaurants catering to the growing veggie demands is a sign that vegetarianism is slowly gaining more ground here in Korea. Small steps. Signs of improvement. I just hope I can keep track of them all and check ‘em out when I have time~
Well here’s a cafe that has been on my list for a while now. SLUNCH FACTORY. It’s a really awesome hip, artsy cafe that I’ve been to a few times now whenever I’m in the Sangsu area and it’s perhaps one of the more vegan-friendly cafes in Seoul. I love the name. I don’t even know what it means, but I like it. It’s probably a combination of the words ‘supper’ and ‘lunch’, but all I think of is being slouchy and slow like a sloth. I like.
I really love the interior of this cafe. They have great eclectic collection of furniture and there is plenty of open space so it doesn’t feel cramped. In fact, you kind of feel like you’re just chilling at someone’s apartment loft. It’s fabulous.
Several large tables for getting work done and being productive. Love the art house films being projected onto the wall.
In addition to the usual coffee and teas, they have a pretty good food menu~ A mix of fresh salads, and healthy Korean-style rice & veggie dishes. Their menu also clearly marks the vegan items in English, which just makes life so much easier for us. :P There are two vegan salad options: “Salami Salad” which is salad with tofu cubes… not sure what makes it “salami” but you’ll have to order it to find out~ And an Eggplant & Mushroom Salad which sounds pretty awesome.
As for meals, there are three vegan options, and all under 10,000won.
My friend ordered the mixed rice with vegetables (7,500won). It was basically various sauteed bibimbab veggies, with tofu scramble, and multi-grain rice. The tofu scramble was nice, but quite a small portion.
The gochujang sauce had chunks of shiitake mushrooms which I thought was delicious and unique. However, unless you just want bibimbab, I recommend trying something else.
I ordered the eggplant & tofu with rice. It came out on a large plate with salad, a tiny scoop of kabocha, pickles, and balsamic vinaigrette. My plate was definitely the better of the two dishes.
The eggplant and tofu was tasty~ certainly not anything I couldn’t just cook myself at home, but the presentation and the other components on the dish made it special.
A wee scoop of mashed kabocha. Ommy nom nom.
The best part was by far the dessert. They have three vegan dessert options: chocolate cake, berry-berry crumble, and carrot muffins. We went with the berry crumble and it was delicious.
They heated it up so it came out all warm like it was fresh out of the oven and the topping was soft and gooey– so good. And the raspberries inside were delightful. I was really impressed with their vegan baking and I look forward to trying their other items.
Here’s some lemon tea I got on a different day. They don’t have soy-milk drinks written on their menu, but if you ask them to use soy milk instead of dairy milk, they I’m sure they will~~ :)
So now y’all can put Slunch Factory on your list of places to visit. As a vegan, it’s a great place for getting work done without going hungry… I can see myself spending the whole day here. :) ta ta~!
Directions to Slunch Factory
Sangsu Station, Line 6, Exit 4. Come out the exit and turn around and walk slightly uphill. Follow the sidewalk as it curves to the right (don’t turn into the small alleys before that). Walk straight, passing Yiri cafe on your left. Slunch Factory will be further down, on your right. The cafe doesn’t have any big sign at the front, but it’s a pretty large cafe, so you shouldn’t miss it. 5-7 minute walk from station exit.
Naver map
02-6367-9870
Open noon-midnight
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