Hello Kitty Apple Cafe Seoul Review. A Must Visit For Sanrio Fans in Korea
The Hello Kitty Apple Cafe is located in Myeongdong and is home to cute decor, and delicious themed food. There’s also a shop inside with exclusive Hello Kitty Apple Cafe merchandise, that you can’t find anywhere else.
If you’re wondering whether the Hello Kitty Apple Cafe is worth visiting during your trip to Seoul, the short answer is yes, but only if you’re a huge Hello Kitty fan (or your kids are big fans). If you take away the theming, there are other cafes across Seoul serving better dishes at lower prices.
My love for Hello Kitty is well documented: I started collecting Hello Kitty merchandise and memorabilia when I was a kid myself. For that reason, I loved every minute of our Hello Kitty Apple Cafe visit.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Hello Kitty Apple Cafe in Seoul to help you decide whether it’s really worth your time and your money:
Heads up! This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and make a purchase, I might earn a very small commission – at no extra cost to you. This helps to keep the blog going. Thanks for the support!
THE HELLO KITTY APPLE CAFE SEOUL QUICK VERDICT BOX:
Tor’s attraction rating: ⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Location: Myeongdong, Seoul
Time needed to visit: 30-60 minutes
Is it worth visiting? For Hello Kitty fans, it’s a fun coffee stop, but we’ve visited better global Hello Kitty restaurants and attractions
Where Is The Hello Kitty Apple Cafe
The Hello Kitty Apple Cafe is located right in the heart of the Myeongdong district. This is central Seoul’s main shopping area, and it’s famed for its evening street food market, so it’s an easy and convenient location.
- The full address is 15 Myeongdong 6-gil, Jung District, Seoul, South Korea.
The cafe is spread over 3 floors. We were seated on the first floor, which was nice as this is where the dessert counter is located. The boys liked being able to see everything before they chose what to eat!
The first and second floors are home the cafe area (with a small shop on the first floor) and then there’s a much bigger gift shop that takes up the whole of the third floor. There isn’t a lift, but if you’re able, it’s worth the hike up to the third floor to explore that store!
To access the café via public transport, you need to head to Myeongdong Station, and you’ll need line 4, exit 6 to be closest to the cafe.
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What We Ate At The Hello Kitty Cafe
We were in Myeongdong for an evening of street food, so we’d already stuffed our faces before we stumbled across the Hello Kitty cafe. We’d shared just about every single street food dish we could get our hands on, in fact! But as soon as I saw it I couldn’t resist dragging everyone into the Hello Kitty Apple Cafe, so we decided to just have desserts and drinks.
This is what most people seemed to be doing anywhere, and there were far more drink and dessert options on the menu than savoury food options.
We had the Hello Kitty Mousse Cake (a swiss roll type cake filled with cream and featuring Hello Kitty’s face on the front) and the Hello Kitty apple cake. This was my favourite! It was shaped like an apple with a crisp candy-type shell filled with rich cream and apple purée.
If we’d been hungrier, some of the other dishes on the menu included waffles served with fresh cream, hot dogs, and a selection of different sandwiches. As you can imagine from a cafe called the ‘Hello Kitty Apple Cafe’ alot of the dishes and drinks here featured apple fillings and apple flavourings.
The boys had an apple bubble tea drink while Mike had a caramel latte, which was sweet and rich.
The food here looked AMAZING but honestly? The taste wasn’t really the best. I like a rich and flavourful dessert, whilst these desserts were light and creamy with a very gentle flavour. They weren’t bad, and everyone’s palette is different, but i would have preferred a more pronounced and rich flavour profile.
This isn’t the first Hello Kitty cafe we’ve visited. We’ve also visited the Hello Kitty cafe in Edinburgh and SO many Sanrio cafes and restaurants in Japan. The theming of the decor here was amongst some of the best I’d seen, as was the design of the food. But the taste was amongst the worst.
👉 This also wasn’t the only fun cafe we visited in Seoul! You can check out our ultimate 5 day Seoul Itinerary here.
If exploring incredible food is your idea of a good time (it’s definitely our idea of a good time!) then you could consider taking a food tour as part of your visit to Seoul. The Seoul Euljiro Night Food Tour is a great choice, and we actually walked past a group taking this tour on our own trip!
🥙 You can book the Seoul Euljiro Night Food Tour here.
🎁 Use code THATMUMTRAVEL5KLOOK for a reader exclusive booking discount
Hello Kitty Apple Cafe FAQs
What are the opening hours for the Hello Kitty Apple Cafe Seoul?
The official opening hours for the Hello Kitty Apple Cafe are 10am – 10pm. We arrived at around 8pm and the cafe was very quiet, so arriving later in the day is a good idea if you don’t want to wait in line.
Can you pay with cash?
Both cash and card payments are accepted in the cafe, so no need to hit the cash machine on your way!
Is The Hello Kitty Apple Cafe gift shop worth visiting?
You don’t need to buy anything from the cafe to enter and explore the gift shop. So if you don’t want to food, you can still buy the exclusive merchandise.
Some of the generic items in the gift shop can be pretty pricey, but the cafe-exclusive merchandise is worth looking at. Head up to the third floor and look out for the plush toys, stationery, and branded mugs.
Are there any cool photo spots?
It was late and I wasn’t thinking about the blog, so I didn’t take enough photos during our visit. But there were LOADS of instagrammable photo spots including the giant Hello Kitty statues, themed seating areas, and cute decor everywhere.
Do you need a reservation to visit the Hello Kitty Apple Cafe?
No you don’t need a reservation to visit. In fact, the main dining area doesn’t accept reservation s in advance. You have to turn up and add your name to the waiting list by using the kiosk outside the cafe. During quieter periods you don’t have to add your name to the list and you can just walk in. We visited at 8pm a weeknight, and we walked in and were seated straight away.
Should You Visit?
Seoul is famous for its café culture, and its huge array of themed cafes and restaurants. And while the boys were more interested in cafes themed around animals and computer games, the Hello Kitty cafe was such a cute highlight for me! Highly recommended for Hello Kitty fans!
For many visitors (including myself!) the appeal isn’t just the food. It’s the themed experience, adorable interiors, and the opportunity to take fun photos as part of a day (or evening) exploring Myeongdong.
If you love Hello Kitty, want cute instagrammable photos of adorable pink and red décor, or are looking for a tranquil break from the chaos of Myeongdong then this is a great place to stop.
But if you’re looking for a hearty meal or (like me) are travelling with kids that have zero interest in Hello Kitty then it might be worth giving this experience a miss, and saving your money for Seoul’s many other excellent cafe experiences.
Other Fun Seoul Experiences
Looking for other fun experiences in Seoul? Whether you’re travelling with kids or going solo, we loved all of these experiences. Read our reviews of:
🐳 Visiting the Lotte World Aquarium in Seoul
🎢 The Ultimate Guide to Visiting Lotte World Seoul
👩👧👦 Pororo Park in Seoul: Everything You Need to Know
👗 Complete Guide To Renting A Hanbok in Seoul
🖼 Exploring Acorn Caricature in Myeongdong: Is It Worth The Hype?
🚫 Visiting the DMZ in South Korea With Kids: Essential Guide
Seoul was such an amazing city, and one we really loved visiting. And stumbling across the cute and themed cafes all over the city only added to the fun. How do you feel about themed cafes? Do you think they’re a gimmick, or do you enjoy visiting them? I’d love to hear what you think!
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Heads up! This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and make a purchase, I might earn a very small commission – at no extra cost to you. This helps to keep the blog going. Thanks for the support!
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