Line Friends Store & Cafe

While Kakao Talk may be the dominant choice among messenger apps in Korea, Line seems to be dominating the world with its ultimate cuteness. Back in March, Line launched it’s 3 floor ‘Line Friends’ flagship store in Garosu-gil making it the largest largest amongst the 7 LINE FRIENDS stores across the globe. I just so happened to be in the area recently, so I decided to check it out and see what all the fuss was about. Upon entering, you are greeted by a cuddly 3.2 meter high ‘Mega Brown’ plush. On this floor you can find smaller and more practical sized plushies to take home with you, along with figurines, stationary, pens and a random assortment of other trinkets. Upstairs you will find backpacks, hats, headbands jewelry and clothes. Everything any child or adult Line fan could possibly want to get geared up from head to toe. Both floors have different character statues and cute photo zones for your picture taking needs. The basement floor houses more trinkets and plushies along with household items and decor, such as aprons, towels, tissue box covers and scented oils. Huge stuffed animals hang from the ceiling and of course there are more photo zones. More importantly, however, is its themed cafe and bakery! Here you can find all sorts of character themed chocolates, cookie and cakes packaged to take home. Of course if you plan to stick around for a bit, like I did, you can grab a table in the small seating area and enjoy a cup of coffee and some dessert. If you love cute food, the macarons will surely grab your attention as they did mine. Here you have 3 super adorable options to choose from: Sally (citron), Cony (raspberry) and Brown (chocolate). Unfortunately, all the cuteness in the world cannot make up for poor quality; these are mediocre at best. The cookies are a bit on the crumbly side, providing more of a hollowed shell to the filling than any actual substance. On the other hand, the filling was pretty flavorful and creamy, but it was kind of hit and miss with how much was put into each macaron. One of mine was practically empty and at ₩3,000 a piece, I was definitely expecting more than a cute face. So, if you want something cute to instagram this is definitely it, but don’t expect much more. As far as drinks are concerned, the Brown Chocolate Latte and Brown Milk Latte on the signature menu are by far the most popular. Both of these drinks are served iced. The Brown Chocolate Latte is basically chocolate milk with ice, so I opted for the Brown Milk Latte which, despite the alluring name, is just a regular latte. Both of these drinks are served in adorable glass milk bottles with Brown’s face on them. However, I was immediately surprised to see how small the serving size was especially at ₩6,000 a drink. While the drink itself was quite satisfying, a decent latte in my book, I couldn’t help but feel the drink was just too overpriced. So I went to the counter and asked if I was allowed to take the bottle home, to which they happily responded “Yes,” and all was right in the world. For a drink and a souvenir bottle, I’d say it’s quite a steal. I think it’s going to make a super cute vase in my house. Finally, after such a disappointing dessert, I didn’t want to write them off without giving something else a try. So I decided to try one of their puddings. The puddings come in two different flavors, Cheesecake and Choco Nutella at ₩5,000 a jar. To be honest, these are two of my favorite flavors and I simply couldn’t decide. So, the guy behind the counter confidently recommend the Choco Nutella. Like the Signature drinks, the puddings come in adorable souvenir containers with Brown’s face on them, but this time they were jars. The pudding was thick, rich and came topped with a dollop of whipped cream and garnished with chocolate shavings. Overall it was pretty tasty, but perhaps a bit too rich for my taste. Actually, I couldn’t even finish it but thanks to the souvenir jar I got to pack it up and take it home to enjoy later. I think next time I will definitely have to try the cheesecake! The Line Friends Store is pretty cute and definitely massive although I found it to be quite pricey and bit on the crowded side. If I’m in the area I may stop by the cafe, but it’s nothing I would go out of my way for. However, If you’re a fan it’s definitely worth stopping by, especially if you’re only in Korea for a short while. You will definitely get your fill of selfies here.

서울특별시 강남구 도산대로13길 27