A few months ago I took a trip to Jeju island, south of the Korean mainland. Driving along the east coast of the island, near Dumun Port, almost in the middle of nowhere, is a massive grey building. With a courtyard covered in honey coloured sand with tall palm trees scattered in between is the cafe Costeno.
The huge cafe was much in contrast to it’s surrounding area. While the natural Jeju landscape was dark volcanic rock and lush green prehistoric looking ferns and plants, the building and it's premiter was more reminiscent of Mexico or California.
Entering into the building however, the cafe fit more into the location’s natural landscape. Here was the simplest part of the building and was where you could order. It had concrete walls painted white and a stainless-steel ordering counter and display. Behind this there was an entire wall covered in the iconic Jeju volcanic rock. This rock was carried throughout the cafe as decoration to connect with the island's characteristics. From here there was a large room that was where the coffee was made and which connected to the main seating area. Most of the building had concrete sheeting on the walls and the floors were also concrete.
The largest seating area was inside the main building. Next to this building was the 'Gallery' which was an exhibition like room with a ceiling covered in textured aluminium that also had a lot of seating. There was also a two-tiered rooftop. From here, you could see the ocean. There were also a large number of seats which would have been great to sit on a nice day. There was also seating in front of the café which was the best place to see the ocean. In each of the different areas throughout the cafe there were various seats which allowed for work, socialising and resting.
The main area was the most beautiful and was where my friend and I sat. The room was a large open room with a high ceiling. In the middle of the room there was a huge long table that ran most of the length of the room. Here there were many seats and there was also a garden running along the table, complete with Jeju rock. This wasn’t the only garden in the café, there were also three other low but large stainless steel tables that had small gardens planted in them.
These gardens were not only beautiful to look at, but also added a naturalness to the otherwise industrial space. There were also beautiful large windows that looked out on the front of the café. This not only showed the view of the courtyard but also the view of the restless ocean further out. Although the day my friend and I went was overcast, it was still spectacular looking out the windows.
Aside from the gardens, there were no other decorations. However with the greenery and the natural views nothing else was needed. The sheer scale of the space, alongside the minimal decoration and high-end finishes, gave the café a more high-end gallery feel. It had a relaxing atmosphere to it and with a lot of attention to detail.
As for the drinks, I got the Tashaui milk tea, my friend got an ice americano and we shared a salted caramel galette. The salted caramel galette was a cross between a scone and a cookie with caramel pieces inside and caramel on top. Though a little dry, the caramel was lovely and very buttery.
The milk tea was also super delicious, though at 8,000 won a little expensive. It had a cream on top to you were supposed to eat first before mixing. The cream on top was was a delicious vanilla cream that had a perfect sweetness with a silky texture. The tea itself had a very strong black tea flavour. It was slightly tart but when mixed in well with the cream, the flavour evened out. As for the coffee, my friend said the coffee was well balanced and had a good flavour.
Costeno is an amazing space that takes café architecture to the next level. In dead beat terms the café is more like a high end art space. The way the interior is decorated lends itself to the beautiful natural landscape of Jeju Island, and allows the visitor a unique experience. Not only that, the drinks and cakes were also top quality, so this is a must visit if you’re ever on the east coast of Jeju Island.
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