Guri Greats #1: 봄날 (Bom Nal) Brunch

Hi friends!

So today I am bringing you the first in a hopefully long and victorious series. As y’all know, I love Guri with all of my heart and in my time here I have found a number of little gems (mostly food-related) which I feel everyone in Guri, Korea and perhaps anywhere else too (I’m very non-discriminatory) should know about. I am calling this series Guri Greats, and welcome to the first installment!

Since we moved to Guri, we have loved everything about it except for pretty much one thing: the lack of brunch. For the uninitiated, brunch refers to the time in between breakfast and lunch where we gorge ourselves on amazing and plentiful breakfast foods (usually cooked, often sweet, always calorific). Being a big brunch fan from way back, this gaping hole in an otherwise perfect place (okay, I may be a little bit biased) always niggled at me, forcing us to take trips into Sinsa when I really just want to have a “local” here.

And so, it seems my prayers have been answered.

Enter 봄날, pronounced “Bom Nal”, which means Spring Day in Korean. The owner, Sue, is lovely and also speaks perfect English, having previously lived in Australia. This may or may not be part of the reason why we like her so much! ^-^ On top of this, she is really welcoming, kind and warm – as is her fine establishment.

From the moment I saw this place, I was intrigued. Firstly, it’s just so cute! I happened to be walking past one evening and thought it looked like the perfect date restaurant. The menu featured pasta and a ricotta salad, which is pretty gourmet round these parts, so I couldn’t wait to tell Gav. We kept it in mind and swung round one time for dinner, indulging in a supremely tasty tomato pasta and gorgonzola panini. And that is when this love affair began <3

The space is small but cosy, cute and intimate. It’s the perfect date restaurant at night, and then it transforms into the perfect brunch hangout during the day. I really like how it’s decorated: quirky, neat and with heart.

So how about the food?!

If you couldn’t tell by now, I am 100% enamoured with this place and am so glad it came into my life. We have tried a number of things on the menu now, and all have been delicious. Gav’s favourite breakfast is the Bom nal Brunch (₩8,900), featuring scrambled eggs, bacon, hash brown, sausage and French Toast. Oh, and some salad on the side. It pretty much covers all of the food groups – and more!

I have tried two brunch items so far: the Everest Toast (french toast; ₩6,900) and a poached egg on toast with cream sauce (₩7,900). Sue made the cream sauce from scratch, and it is the perfect alfredo-esque pasta sauce that goes really nicely with a poached egg and a stack of toast. I really enjoy the simplicity of this meal, and it’s perfect when you want a slightly lighter hot breakfast (’cause cream sauce is light, right?!) 🙂

Speaking of stacks of toast, the Everest French Toast is just that, balancing precariously from three slices above ground. Couple this with a berry compote, honey and almond mix and fluffy whipped cream and you have a recipe for amazingness. This was so delicious and satisfied my sweet tooth (and then some). So yummy and so normal (meant as the highest compliment)! <3

Both the brunch and dinner is unique and you can tell there is a real attention to detail. We actually held a work party at Bom Nal last night and everyone had an amazing time. Sometimes there is a bit of a divide between us waygooks and the Korean teachers, but everyone relaxed in the warm, calm ambience (and with an abundance of food!). Sue and her staff were so accommodating to us and they managed to squeeze about 17 of us in and serve us with absolute aplomb. Bom Nal really does it all!

Bom Nal is open Monday to Saturday for brunch (from 11am) and dinner (until late). Gav and I have regularly been popping in for a brunch on our weekends, and we always leave so full and food-happy (lol). Sue also includes a coffee with brunch (already very reasonably priced), which is so kind and generous and pretty much represents the vibe you get from this place. I can’t recommend it highly enough!

Plus… there’s wine! ^-^

If you are in the Guri area and looking for a proper Western brunch, this is your ticket. On top of that, if you want a cute date restaurant or even a casual sandwich (gorgonzola panini, anyone?), Bom Nal has you covered.

Directions

Go to the corner of Doldari/Sutaek-dong where the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf/Hyundai dealership hybrid is (yes, this is a thing). Walk along this street past McDonald’s and a few more shops until you see the orange and white 봄날 brunch signage on the same side. It has a green mat outside with a table, and a sandwich board with white writing. And it looks super cute! ^-^

Address

526-9 Sutaek-dong, Guri-si, Gyeonggi-do
경기도구리시수택동 526-9
Bom Nal Facebook (with more photos!)

That’s it for today friends, I hope you enjoyed my review of this gorgeous cafe and I will be back with more Guri Greats soon! ^-^

Steph x