Dessert39 Menu Prices: 1L Drinks Under A$6

Dessert39 Sejong Naseong: why we went at midnight

In May 2026, on a weekend just after midnight, my wife and I drove out to Sejong because we were craving something sweet. It is about 15 minutes by car from Daejeon’s Sintanjin area, and our destination was Dessert39, a Korean cafe franchise known more for desserts than coffee. There is no branch near Sintanjin, so we ended up going all the way to Sejong. Dessert39 is a dessert cafe chain with stores across Korea. I had been once in Chungju and once in another area, so this was my third visit. Compared with coffee, the range of cakes, doughnuts and sweet bakery items is much bigger, so it is a handy Korean cafe brand to know if you are travelling here. My wife had been asking me for dessert for a few days, and honestly, Korea is a country packed with cafes. There are so many that even dessert-only chain cafes like this can survive.

First impression after midnight

Because it was a little past midnight, the sign was glowing bright outside. It was late, so we found a parking spot as soon as we pulled in, though daytime parking could be a different story. From outside, the shopfront is mostly glass, so the dessert showcase catches your eye straight away. A banner beside the entrance said Americano ₩1,900, about A$2.10, which is actually cheaper than many ordinary local cafes, even though this is a dessert-focused cafe. My wife looked at it and said, “Coffee is this price here?” She was genuinely surprised. I guess Dessert39 is not built around making its margin on coffee. The whole concept leans much more heavily on desserts.

How to order at the kiosk and pay

As soon as you walk in, there is a kiosk near the entrance. These days, most Korean cafes use self-ordering machines, and because Dessert39 is a franchise, it also supports an English menu switch. There is an English button at the bottom of the screen, and when you tap it, the whole menu changes over. A lot of independent cafes either do not have a kiosk at all, or the kiosk is Korean-only, so this is where chains feel much easier for visitors. Payment is by card or mobile payment only. Cash is not accepted at the kiosk. If you want to pay cash, you need to order at the counter during staffed hours. When my wife first came to Korea, she said ordering at cafes was one of the hardest everyday things to figure out.

The first kiosk screen had the ube series displayed in a big way. Ube is a purple yam, and it has become a trendy ingredient in Korean cafes lately. The drinks were priced from ₩4,500 to ₩6,800, roughly A$5 to A$7.50. Dessert39 has so many menu items that a first visit can be a bit overwhelming. That is why I have organised the main drink menu below. The kiosk only supports Korean and English, but on this blog you can check menu names and explanations in several languages.

One thing to note: Dessert39 is a franchise, but some drink prices can vary by branch. The official website also says that prices may differ at special-location stores, and when I compared other blog reviews, the same Americano was ₩2,900 at some branches and ₩1,900 at others. The prices below are based on the official website and the Sejong branch I visited. Opening hours also vary by store. Many branches run around 10 am to 10 pm, and only some, like this Sejong Naseong branch, operate 24 hours. It is worth checking the exact branch hours on a map app before you go.

Dessert39 drink menu and price list

Korean cafe takeaway cup rules: why the first kiosk screen matters

The first kiosk screen asks whether you are eating in or taking away before you choose anything. At many other Korean cafe kiosks, this question appears near the payment stage, but Dessert39 asks right at the beginning.

In Korea, this choice matters more than visitors might expect. Many cafes are strict about rules that limit disposable cups and plastic containers for customers dining in. Choosing takeaway and then drinking inside the shop can be treated as breaking the rule. At Dessert39, both dine-in and takeaway can be served in reusable cups, so it was not a big issue here, but many other Korean cafes take this part seriously. If you choose dine-in, your drink may come in a mug or glass. If you choose takeaway, you receive a disposable cup. If it is your first time using a Korean cafe kiosk, choose the option that matches what you are actually doing.

Dessert lineup inside the showcase

The showcase was packed with desserts, but they were not all real products. They were display models, made to help customers choose. Each dessert had an orange price tag, with names written in both English and Korean. There were heaps of cake slices: tiramisu for ₩9,800, about A$10.80, cheesecake for ₩6,800, carrot cake for ₩6,800, red velvet cake for ₩5,900 and crepe cake for ₩7,500. The upper shelves had bakery items like croissants and sausage bread, while the lower section displayed whole cakes.

Whole cakes were also displayed as samples. The Pure Milk whole cake was ₩35,000, about A$39, and the Custard Cream Double Crepe was ₩53,000, about A$58. The black ribbon decoration made them look like the kind of cakes people would buy for birthdays. My wife stared at the showcase for ages and said, “This place has more cake choices than a bakery.” For a chain cafe, the dessert range is broad enough that it does not feel far behind an independent cafe.

Counter menu screens and the little merch section

The monitors above the counter were crammed with drink options. Even the categories felt endless: seasonal drinks, coffee, non-coffee, blended drinks, protein drinks, tea, zero-calorie drinks and sparkling ades. My wife and I looked up at the screens for a while, and honestly, there were so many options that choosing became hard work. That is why I pulled the drink menu into a cleaner list above. The purple screen was promoting zero-calorie drinks and a menu called Milkshotchu, which is milk tea with espresso added. You can see how much Korean cafes are leaning into lower-calorie drinks these days.

Dessert39 merch prices and items

Dessert39 also sells its own merchandise. On the shelves I saw a bottle brush for ₩3,500, about A$3.90, a Tornado Shaker for ₩39,800, about A$44, a 39 Bunny Tumbler for ₩29,000, about A$32, a picnic camping plate set for ₩8,000, about A$8.80, double-wall glass cups for ₩15,000, glass mugs from ₩15,000 to ₩18,000, and a 39 Tumbler for ₩10,000. There were also character dolls and keyring-style bits and pieces. Compared with Starbucks, Korea’s most recognisable cafe franchise, the range is not huge, but the prices are more approachable. When you consider that Starbucks tumblers are usually in the ₩30,000 range or higher, Dessert39 even having a ₩10,000 tumbler feels much easier on the wallet. My wife picked up the pink bunny tumbler, said, “It is cute, but how many tumblers do we already have at home?” and put it back down.

Dolce latte and brown sugar milk tea: what we actually drank

That night, I ordered a dolce latte and my wife ordered a brown sugar milk tea with bubbles added. Adding bubbles cost ₩800, about A$0.90. After ordering, we waited around seven minutes. What surprised me was the cup size. The drinks came filled in 1,000 ml reusable cups. Considering a standard iced drink at a Korean cafe is usually around 400 to 500 ml, this was more than double the usual amount. Yet the price was about half to 60 per cent of what you might pay at a normal cafe, so in terms of volume for money, it felt very generous. The dolce latte was sweet, but not so sweet that it hurt your tongue. The condensed milk flavour sat gently underneath, so it was easy to drink. I like my coffee slightly sweet, and this level was just right for me. The only thing is that the milk settles at the bottom, so if you do not mix it well with the straw, the second half can turn bitter because the espresso is left behind. The trick is to stir it every now and then as you drink. My wife held the cup and said, “Can I really finish this by myself?” She still ended up drinking more than half. The Dessert39 character was printed on the cup, and the cup says it is made from material free from endocrine-disrupting chemicals, so it is designed to be washed and reused.

Looking at the bubbles sitting at the bottom, the extra amount was not huge. Honestly, for an added ₩800, I expected a little more. Still, the brown sugar milk tea itself was ₩4,200, and even with bubbles it came to ₩5,000, about A$5.50. That is roughly half the price of bubble milk tea at many other cafes, so I could not stay disappointed for long.

French butter salt loaf taste review

For dessert, we ordered the French Butter Salt Loaf, priced at ₩4,800, about A$5.30. On the plate, it looked like a small loaf of bread, with pearl salt sprinkled over the top. I cut it with a knife, and the outside was quite crisp. Inside, the crumb had layered sections with hollow pockets, probably where the butter had melted through. The menu says it uses premium French butter. The buttery aroma was definitely there, but to be honest, it tasted more like buttery loaf bread than classic Korean salt bread. It was not strongly salty, so my wife said, “I thought salt bread would be salty, but this is just a nutty, buttery bread.” The outside was properly crisp, and the inside stayed moist, so the contrast was nice. The downside is that it crumbles like mad, with crumbs dropping every time you take a bite. If you hold it in your hand without a plate, your clothes and table will cop it. If you eat it in store, keep it on the plate. Size-wise, it felt about the same as two regular salt breads, so it was fine for two people to share.

That day, the dolce latte, the brown sugar milk tea with bubbles, and the French Butter Salt Loaf together still came in under ₩20,000, about A$22. For two drinks and one bakery item between two people, somewhere around ₩15,000 to ₩20,000 feels pretty easy to justify.

Store atmosphere, seating and the honest downside

Inside the store, one side has the merch shelf, the other side has the dessert showcase, and the kiosk stands in the middle. There is not much seating. Many Dessert39 branches focus mainly on takeaway, so the atmosphere is quite different from the huge Korean mega cafes people often imagine. It is not really the kind of place where you sit for ages, relax with a laptop, or walk around taking photos in every corner. That part is honestly a bit of a shame. But in exchange, it works well as a street-style takeaway cafe, and you get the feeling the lower running costs are reflected in the prices.

Korea has loads of low-price coffee franchises such as Paik’s Coffee and Mega Coffee. Dessert39 does not have as many branches as those brands, but the drinks can be even cheaper while the serving size is much larger. When a drink filled to 1,000 ml costs under ₩5,000, about A$5.50, you almost expect the taste to be ordinary, because cheap and huge rarely sounds promising. But the dolce latte and brown sugar milk tea we had that night were both perfectly decent. My wife even said, “For this price, we could come here often.”

Still, this Sejong Naseong branch does have a small seating area on one side. There are white tables and chairs, and the space feels clean, but there are not many tables. If customers arrive in a rush, finding a seat would be tricky. Since many Dessert39 branches have fewer than 10 seats, you need decent timing if you plan to sit down and eat.

24-hour operation and the late-night unmanned cafe system

This Sejong Naseong branch runs 24 hours, which makes it handy when you want something sweet late at night. Not every Dessert39 store is open 24 hours, so always check the trading hours before visiting another branch. Naseong-dong has plenty of cafes and restaurants around the commercial area, but after midnight most places are closed, and Dessert39 was one of the few spots still lit up. That said, staff are not there all night. During late-night hours, the store switches to an unmanned system. These kinds of unmanned cafes are becoming more common in Korea. You order through a machine, pick up the drink yourself, and the store can keep operating without staff on site. When you visit late, there are usually fewer people, so it can actually be quiet and comfortable.

How the coffee machine works during unmanned hours

After midnight, an automatic coffee machine was running instead of staff service. Rather than ordering at the regular kiosk, you pay directly at the machine and receive your drink from there. Cash is not accepted; you need to use a card or mobile payment. There was also a separate ice dispenser beside it. The disappointing part is that desserts cannot be ordered during this time. The cakes and breads are still sitting in the showcase, but you cannot buy them.

Even so, being able to go to a cafe at 3 or 4 in the morning is a real advantage. In Korea, apart from convenience stores, not many places stay open through the early hours, so having somewhere to grab a hot coffee feels different. When we visited, it was already past midnight and there were still customers inside. While everything else nearby had closed, this place still had its lights on and people coming in and out. That is exactly why I would consider coming back in the early hours.

Dessert39 Sejong Naseong: the simple verdict

Dessert39 Sejong Naseong is not a big atmospheric mega cafe, but you can get large 1,000 ml drinks for under ₩5,000, about A$5.50, the dessert selection is broad enough to compete with plenty of independent cafes, and this particular branch is open 24 hours. It is mostly takeaway-focused, so it is easy to drop in quickly, and the unmanned coffee machine means you can still get coffee late at night. Just know that seating is limited, and desserts are not available during unmanned hours.

Korea has more cafe brands than you can count, from Starbucks, A Twosome Place and Ediya to Mega Coffee, Paik’s Coffee and Compose Coffee. I plan to visit and review them one by one. When you are standing in front of a Korean cafe and have no idea what to order, I hope this blog is the one that comes to mind.