Koriko Cafe Yeonnam

Tucked into a side street off Yeonnam-dong's cafe district, Koriko Cafe looks like it was lifted straight out of Kiki's Delivery Service: a butter-yellow converted house with green doors, red brick, an ivy-covered arch and a small garden full of trees. It is an official Studio Ghibli theme cafe, one of only two in Korea (the other is in Jeju), so the details are carefully done. Inside, part of the ground floor is a Ghibli goods shop with plush toys, keychains and stationery from Totoro, Spirited Away and other films, and you can browse while your order is prepared. The menu leans into the film: ribbon and Jiji mousse cakes, mug-shaped cookie tarts, a Jiji-shaped coffee ice cube in your americano, Dutch baby pancakes and a flaky meat pie modeled on the herring pie from the movie (it contains no herring), served as a set with salad and coffee. Seating spreads over the upper floor, and the sunny second-floor window seats are a favorite. Almost every corner works as a photo backdrop, which is exactly why it is busy.