Thanks Nature Cafe

As many of us know, coffee is a big culture in Korea, especially in Seoul, you can find a cafe almost every 100 meters you walk. To stay relevant in the competitive cafe industry, Seoul started introducing animal cafes; the most popular ones are the dog and cats cafe and slowly more interesting animals were introduced like owls, meerkats and sheep

As the only sheep cafe in Seoul, the cafe is located in the busy neighbourhood of Hongdae where there are plentiful other themed cafes. From exit 9 of Hongik University subway station, walk straight for about 250m and turn left into the side street when you are at the junction where you can see LINE friends store opposite the road. This road leads towards the University so while walking upslope, look out for their signage which has a cute sheep

The cafe itself is located at the basement level of the building, so from the street level, you have to go down the stairs and you will see the sheltered outdoor area which is where the sheep are mostly kept

The owners also added photos of daily care for the sheep and the sheep at the farm when they are not at the cafe

The interior of the cafe is also filled with sheep ornaments and decorations. The side where the order kiosks and collection counter is located has a more simplistic set-up

I realised that they extended to the left shop space in my post covid visit and this side of the cafe is much more picturesque with some parts dressed up like a European garden complete with fake plants and grass

The cafe serves mostly sweets and desserts like waffles with ice cream and fruits, sweet and honey toast, bingsu as well as a wide range of hot and cold beverages

We ordered grapefruit juice, iced chocolate and a grapefruit ade which were all priced around KRW 5,000 to KRW 7,000. They were all not overly sweet and very refreshing, especially during the hot afternoons. Although we were there during winter, the drinks were still very nice

We also ordered the fresh strawberry bingsu which looked very pretty in the pictures, before trying it, I was very worried it will be too sweet but to my surprise, the strawberries were fresh and juicy and the puree used was fresh and not from artificial syrup. Paired with the finely shaved ice which is drenched with condensed milk, the entire dessert was so yummy we finished it in less than 5 minutes. As we were having dinner soon, we did not order any of the waffles or toast but they looked quite good when the tables near us got their dessert

All customers who purchased a drink can go to the sheep pen area and feed and pet the sheep. Before entering the area, the owner will remind you to disinfect your hands with the hand sanitiser just outside the sheep pen. There are benches where you can seat and feed the sheep and pet them although they might not be friendly all the time. The sheep pen is extremely clean and there is no smell at all as the owner is very conscientious in cleaning up any wet or dry discharge from the animals. It was really nice to see the owner giving everyone a chance to feed the sheep and nobody is left out

Overall, it was my 2nd visit to the Thanks Nature Cafe and it was even more crowded than the last time I visited. There were customers waiting for tables as they were full at one point as customers are all busy at the sheep pen leaving their food and drinks sitting at their empty tables. While it is nice the owners do not actually chase customers, they should perhaps limit the time spent in the sheep pen as there are customers hogging the benches and new customers cannot enter to play with the sheep. In terms of taste, I absolutely loved the bingsu and the drinks and will be back once I am in Seoul

Address: 10 Hongik-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Operating hours: 12 to 8 pm ( 9 pm on Sat and Sun)