Sheep Cafe in Seoul: Thanks Nature Cafe

Sheep Cafe in Seoul: When planning our trip to South Korea, one thing we heard over and over was that we needed to seek out the animal cafes.  We visited the Thanks Nature Cafe in Hongdae to pet fluffy sheep and eat fluffy waffles.

Animal Cafes aren’t really a thing in the US (that I know of)… so when I found out I can go drink coffee and pet meerkats, raccoons, a wallaby, or sheep… I was alllll in.  We decided to visit the sheep cafe in Seoul first.

The sheep, Ella and Ellie, are housed in an outdoor pen directly across from the restaurant.  They have a little barn they can retreat to and I didn’t see any animal… presents.  Patrons can purchase little packets of food pellets to feed them and they were very friendly.  (You can go directly in the pen with the sheep.)

In addition to the sheep, they also have a shetland sheepdog- Angel.  She was precious and reminded us of our own sheltie, Emme!  The kids loved petting her as we showed the owners pictures of our sweet girl at home.

Inside the restaurant, you can order coffee, tea, fruit-ades, and delicious waffles.  Most all of the waffles are served with a scoop of ice cream decorated like an adorable little sheep.

WAFFLES WE’VE TRIED:

• plain waffle
• ice cream waffle
• yuzu citron waffle
• blueberry waffle

All of the waffles were delicious. The plain waffle is super yummy on its own but the flavored waffles were definitely next level.  The ice cream waffle had a sweet cream flavor- not too sweet, very light.  The flavors are mixed in the batter and served on the plate with whipped cream.  (There is no maple syrup!)

The yuzu citron has a lemon/orange taste to it and was probably my favorite waffle.  We have been obsessed with yuzu tea since we arrived in Korea!

We tried the lemonade and grapefruit-ade, both were refreshing- a nice tart flavor with a little less sweetness than we’re used to in the US.  Emily also had a vanilla latte and the mozzarella bread at our second visit.  It’s a super thick slice of white bread topped with mild mozzarella and a drizzle of honey.  She said it reminded her more of brie than mozzarella in flavor.

They also serve a variety of bingsu (a popular Korean shaved ice dessert with sweet toppings that may include chopped fruit, condensed milk, fruit syrup, and red beans) but we haven’t tried any yet.

This sheep cafe in Seoul is below the street level and not super noticeable from the path.  Look for the green ‘Thanks Nature Cafe’ signage.  The closest subway station is Hongik University (line 2).  You can find them on Facebook here.