Touted as the café serving the best French toast in Seoul, Jo and Dawson came to life in the café abundant neighbourhood of Yeonnam-dong in 2021. It has been attracting a steady stream of customers, both locals and foreigners since then, and is known for having long queues.
Last year, they expanded to a more spacious, dedicated “Tearoom” just a few blocks away from the main store. I happened to be in the area, looking for a café to kill some time before my lunch reservation, and decided to pop by to take a look. Surprisingly, there was no queue at all around 1pm, so I took the opportunity to grab a seat.
Their Signature Classic French Toast (KRW10,000, SGD8.9) was good for 1 pax. The inside was extremely soft and moist with a custard-like texture, while the top was crusty and crisp with a layer of torched sugar and powder. On the side of the plate is a pinch of sea salt for dipping as you wish, and there is a layer of syrup at the bottom. Personally, I thought the sweet and savoury flavours were well-balanced, and I loved the overall texture.
Apart from their French Toast, Jo & Dawson is also known for their teas – the tearoom here had a dedicated display of their flavoured tea boxes on sale. These classic teas (white tea, green tea, black tea, rooibos tea) are also available on their drink menu.
Between their classic teas and milk teas, I chose the tearoom-exclusive Matcha Milk Tea (KRW8000, SGD7.1) since there was an option to change to oat milk (only for the matcha milk tea). The milk tea was blended with matcha powder from Marukyu Koyamaen and Okinawa brown sugar. The consistency was thick and rich, though I would prefer the sweetness level to be slightly lower and the matcha notes to be more bitter and umami. Do note that there is a minimum 1 drink per pax policy.
Overall, I thought my experience at Jo & Dawson Tearoom was above expectation, given that I’ve heard mixed reviews. However I might not say the same if I had to queue for it. I highly recommend to try heading to the Tearoom instead of the main store which is tighter in space with limited seats.
Also, just heard that they will be opening a third outlet in Gwanghwamun end of this month – if you’re curious to check it out.
Jo & Dawson (Main Store)
1F, 31 Donggyo-ro 41-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
12pm – 9pm daily
Jo & Dawson Tearoom
3F, 24 Seongmisan-ro 29-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
12pm – 9pm daily
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