And so I finally came to this Harry Potter cafe in Hongdae on the first day of 2019, where there were few people compared to when the cafe first opened — queues were an hour long. And since time is money, I waited for the hype to die down before I came to check this cafe out.
Turns out I was glad I didn’t have to queue an hour to enter this cafe, because it’d not have been worth my time. While the decor would make any Harry Potter fan wish they could apparate over from any part of the world, the drinks and cakes were poorly made, and the music too loud. I came here a second time a few weeks later, and sadly, it didn’t change my first impression of it.
The food and beverages are not cheap given how mediocre they are, but if you think of it as paying a few thousand Korean won for an entrance fee that comes with a free drink that isn’t made to impress, you’d feel like there’s more value to it. There are four floors in this building, so don’t forget to visit all floors to get the most value out of your money, as there are photo opportunities everywhere inside and outside of this building.
Address: 서울특별시 마포구 서교동 417 | 417 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Opening Hours: 1130 – 2130 (Tues to Fri), 0930 – 2200 (Sat, Sun), Closed on Mon.
All photos taken with and edited on an iPhone 8.
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