Bars and Cafes

For coffee, tea and a drink Ulsan will not leave you disappointed or dry. There are a number of excellent choices - both independent and chain - available throughout the city. The pick of the bunch tend to be located in or around the districts of Samsandong, Seongnamdong and Mugeodong though there are exceptions.

If in Samsandong the Lotte and Hyundai department stores serve up tasty caffeine stimulants on their higher floors. There’s one just inside of the Lotte Cinema complex. Across the road at Hyundai there is now a Satarbucks coffee built into its ground floor with a Nero’s a short walk down the street from too.

 La Scala is an upmarket coffee joint with its own donuts a few blocks away also.

In Mugeodong choose Da Vinci’s, a popular place with students from the nearby university. In this district it is best to dive in and discover a new one every time because there are so many.

It is Seonamdong that has the most popular places with foreigners in the whole of the city. Holly’s Coffee in the prime of locations almost always has someone you know drinking coffee on the veranda (in summer).

But it is J&J Coffee that steals the show in this district. Away down the side street beside Illy’s Coffee, one small block from Shigaetop, J&J does great drinks in beautifully designed premises. It is the best place for coffee and tea in all of Ulsan.

Very soon Starbucks will be joining these, almost directly across from Holly’s Coffee.

And of course Dunkin’ Donuts is everywhere if that is your preferred taste.

As for bars in the city there is a mix of foreign owned and foreigner friendly establishments. Tucked away on second or third floors down a none-descript alley it can be difficult to find them at first.

Foreigner operated Tombstone and Benchwarmers are the best places in the city to go, especially for western foods.

For extra variety Bar Mckenzies and The Royal Anchor are foreigner friendly in Seongnamdong.

If in Bangeojin head to the Korean Union, Ballentines, The Elephant and Castle all of which are locals for the British Engineers in the area.

Samsandong has a handful of decent bars including Be-Bop Jazz (complete with live Jazz music) and Route 66.

You may notice the Korean operated franchise Wa-Bar in every district. It is a western themed with a good atmosphere and usually good music. The food quality may be questionable but is an agreeable place to spend some time.

For café’s and bars then Ulsan is blessed with some excellent outlets and that’s not even mentioning those that are yet to be discovered by foreigners.