24-Hour Café in Korea — Midnight Visit with Prices

Pascucci Daejeon Sintanjin DT is a large café that's open 24 hours a day, every day of the year, located in the Sintanjin area of Daejeon — South Korea's fifth-largest city, roughly an hour and a half south of Seoul by train. It has a drive-through, a generous free car park, and even in the small hours you can order coffee, gelato, cake and paninis. The self-service kiosks support English, Japanese and Chinese. There are two floors of seating, wireless phone charging built into the tables, and free Wi-Fi throughout, making it a genuinely comfortable spot to sit for hours well past midnight. Pascucci is an Italian coffee brand founded in 1883, operated in South Korea by the SPC Group. This is my honest, first-hand account of a midnight visit — what I ordered, what it cost, and whether it's actually any good.

Finding Pascucci Sintanjin at midnight

I couldn't sleep one evening, so I turned to my wife and said, "Fancy going to a café?" She was up and ready before I'd finished the sentence. The problem, of course, was the time. It was nearly midnight and every café near our flat had already shut. A quick search didn't turn up anything promising, so we ended up heading to the 24-hour Pascucci in Sintanjin. This was my third visit — the first two were also late at night. When you live in Sintanjin and there aren't many cafés open after dark, this place keeps coming up as the obvious choice.

The name Pascucci sounds properly Italian, and it is — the brand was founded in Italy in 1883 — but in practice it's been run in South Korea by the SPC Group since 2002. There are actually more branches in Korea than in Italy, so it's a well-established franchise here, though it doesn't have quite the same presence as Starbucks or A Twosome Place (another big Korean chain). I first got to know Pascucci years ago when I spent a few months working on a semiconductor plant construction site in Cheongju, a city a couple of hours from Seoul. I must have gone to the local branch three or four times a week — honestly, I lost count. That's where the familiarity comes from, so popping in now and again doesn't feel odd at all.

A frontage that looks better after dark

From outside, the interior lighting was glowing through the full-height glass frontage, and you could just make out trailing plants and floral decorations behind the windows — quite atmospheric. My wife got out of the car and immediately said, "It always looks lovely at night." Third visit, same comment. During the day it's just a big café, but after dark the light bouncing off the glass draws your eye from the street. The building is purpose-built as a drive-through branch, so it's a decent size, and that gives it an open, airy feel rather than anything cramped.

Walking round to the signage, the drive-through sign was lit up crisp and clear. Round the other side, a large mural of flowers and fruit was visible through the glass, framed by the trailing decorations. Worth noting: the drive-through doesn't operate at night. It's daytime only — in the evening you simply park up and walk in. Even at midnight I could see a fair number of people inside, which rather confirmed the "genuinely open 24 hours" claim.

Inside the café — two storeys of floral décor

Once inside, it felt considerably bigger than it looked from the pavement. The ceiling is open through both floors — a full double-height space — with flowers and trailing vines hanging all the way down, giving the impression of a small garden tucked inside a coffee shop. The long table by the windows was particularly appealing: soft lighting filtered through wooden decorations, and even at midnight someone was sat alone with a laptop, perfectly content. In Korea, sitting by yourself in a café for hours on end is completely normal — people work on laptops, students revise for exams, others just scroll through their phones absent-mindedly. I wouldn't have expected this level of interior design from a franchise café, but this particular branch has clearly had some real thought put into it.

The mural wall and seating layout

One entire wall was covered with a mural of flowers and fruit — it's sizeable enough to make a genuine impression on the space. Seating ranged from long bench-style seats against the wall to high bar tables, so there was plenty of choice whether you're on your own or in a group. Past midnight, this section was nearly empty, which made it easy to take photos. The lighting near the mural is on the brighter side, though, so if you're after a cosier spot late at night, the window seats are a better shout.

The counter and late-night dessert display

The counter sweeps round in a long curve — that alone gives you a sense of how big the place is. Even at midnight, a member of staff was behind the counter making drinks. The menu is on digital screens showing not just coffee but granitas and gelato as well. In front of the counter, the display case was lined with pastries and desserts of all sorts. Most 24-hour cafés I've been to would have a completely bare display by this time of night, but here, well past midnight, there was still a decent selection. If you turn up late feeling peckish, you'll definitely have something to choose from — that much I can say with confidence.

Ordering by kiosk — English, Japanese and Chinese supported

We ordered at the kiosk. In Korea these days, practically every café uses self-service kiosks — touchscreen terminals where you pick your items and pay by card. The interface is intuitive enough that you get the hang of it after one or two goes. A cream tea buy-one-get-one-free deal was splashed across the screen: buy one of three cream teas and get a free americano. Not bad if you need two drinks. Below that, a new berry matcha range was on display, but we ended up going with what we always get.

The kiosk supports English as well. Being a nationwide franchise, it offers English, Japanese and Chinese language options, and the English interface is clean and well laid out. Even if you don't speak a word of Korean, you can choose straight away whether you're eating in or taking away, so there's really no reason to feel flustered when ordering. One thing to note: if you select "dine in," your drink comes in a proper ceramic mug rather than a disposable cup. South Korea restricts single-use cups for in-store consumption.

On the English screen, the categories are laid out with large, clear icons — seasonal menu, coffee, drinks, cake, sandwich, bakery and gelato, all visible at a glance. You could honestly navigate it by pictures alone without knowing any Korean. Tap a category, pick your item, and you're straight through to the payment screen, so even first-time kiosk users shouldn't have any trouble.

Menu prices and payment methods

Tapping into the sandwich category brought up the panini range: Philly steak, avocado chicken ham, egg melting bulgogi and Italian classic, all priced between ₩7,600 and ₩7,800 (roughly £4.20–£4.30). The cake section had the cassata series starting at ₩6,900 (about £3.80) and a soufflé cheesecake at ₩6,300 (around £3.50). A whole strawberry yoghurt cake was ₩13,000 (about £7.20), and by the slice the prices were in line with the average Korean franchise café. Names and photos came through clearly on the English screen, making it straightforward to compare while you browse.

The payment screen was well presented in English too. Credit cards are accepted as standard, and there's a wide range of Korea's popular mobile payment services supported.

WeChat Pay support caught my eye — not many Korean franchise cafés offer that yet. If you're visiting from abroad, that kind of thing makes life a good deal easier. With foreign Visa and Mastercard accepted too, you're very unlikely to get stuck at the till.

My wife paid with Samsung Pay — held her phone against the card slot at the bottom of the kiosk and it recognised instantly. One tiramisu gelato, one iced café mocha, one Italian classic panini — ₩19,800 in total, about £11. The Wi-Fi password was printed right there at the bottom of the receipt. There are separate networks for the ground floor and the first floor, each with its own password, so we didn't need to ask a member of staff. Most Korean cafés provide free Wi-Fi as standard, and the password is usually either written somewhere near the counter or printed on your receipt.

Cake, paninis and bread — the display case at midnight

While we waited for our drinks, I had a proper look at the display case. The cassata range was laid out in a row, and the blueberry yoghurt and tiramisu sitting side by side were the first to catch my eye. The blueberry yoghurt had whole blueberries studded across the top and looked genuinely appetising, while the tiramisu had a thick dusting of cocoa powder — proper Italian style. Both were ₩6,900 (about £3.80), and the slices looked larger than I'd expected, so the value felt reasonable. Next to them was the cherry chocolate cassata at ₩7,400 (around £4.10), absolutely heaped with chocolate shards — that one looked like it'd be intensely sweet. Slices of strawberry cake and various others filled the gaps, and what surprised me was that past midnight, there wasn't a single empty space in the display. The whole thing was packed.

Next to the cakes was the sandwich and panini section, and the selection here was no joke either. Each one sat on its own little wooden stand, easy to inspect, and they all had red HOT stickers on them — meaning they'd be heated up when you order. The Philly steak panini had jalapeños on top of the meat, so I reckoned that'd have a bit of kick. The one next to it was a wholemeal bread panini absolutely stuffed with rocket and sauce — that was the most tempting to look at. The Italian classic had ham, olives and tomato, a fairly safe combination, and that's the one my wife chose. Prices ranged from ₩7,100 to ₩8,300 (roughly £3.90–£4.60). They were too big to grip in one hand, so any of them would do as a proper late-night snack. Below the paninis, bottled water and juices were also on display, so you could just grab some bread and water without ordering a coffee if you preferred.

On top of the counter there was a separate bread selection as well. Two types of bagel — plain and basil — both with cream cheese inside at ₩4,500 (about £2.50) each, and beside them, salt bread and cube-shaped rolls priced between ₩2,900 and ₩4,900 (around £1.60–£2.70). On another tray sat croissants and rounded pastries, and behind them I spotted a sign for a Naver receipt review event — Naver being South Korea's main search engine — apparently offering a free macaron if you left a review. Having this much bread left at this hour is honestly impressive. That said, if bread's the main reason you're coming, you'd be better off visiting during the day.

Wireless charging and Wi-Fi — why it works for an all-nighter

Our drinks were taking a few minutes, so we grabbed a table first. We sat at the long window-side bench, where flower and lemon decorations hung from above — easily the most atmospheric spot in the place. Looking more closely at the table, I noticed power sockets set into the surface at regular intervals, and alongside them, wireless charging pads actually built into the tabletop. You just set your phone down and it starts charging. I'd used the wireless charging at the Cheongju Pascucci a fair bit back in the day. I'll be honest — the charging speed is slow. If you're in a rush, you're better off plugging straight into the socket. But if you're just having a coffee and happen to leave your phone on the table, it trickles charge without you having to do anything, and over an hour or two that's plenty. If you're planning to sit in a 24-hour café through the night, keeping your phone charged is practically essential. How many cafés have you been to that offer wireless charging at every single table?

First-floor sofas and the late-night atmosphere

We went upstairs to have a look. It was properly spacious up there. On one wall there was a PHILOSOPHY sign, and in front of it, sofa seating stretched out across the floor. Green, red, yellow, grey — every chair a different colour, but somehow the tones worked together rather than clashing. The tables were rounded, almost bean-shaped, which softened the feel of the space, and the sofas themselves were cushioned enough that sitting here for a long stretch was far more comfortable than the long bench tables downstairs.

Walk over to the glass balustrade and you can look straight down onto the ground floor. From the upper level, the hanging floral decorations and lights were right at eye height, giving a completely different perspective. Outside, the Pascucci logo was reflected in the glass, and inside you could see the counter and the customers below — a nice, open feel. Even past midnight there were people up here on laptops and couples chatting quietly. Combining both floors, there must have been over 10 groups in total. At midnight, that tells you this place genuinely functions as a 24-hour café. The upstairs lighting is dimmer than below, though, so it's better suited to relaxing and having a chat than getting any serious work done.

Tiramisu gelato, café mocha and Italian panini — the verdict

Our order finally arrived. We set the tray down by the balustrade upstairs, and the floral decorations and lighting behind it made for a ready-made photo backdrop. The iced café mocha came heaped with whipped cream — that was my wife's. The tiramisu gelato had a scoop of vanilla ice cream sitting on top of the cup — that was mine. With the gelato, the first sip hits you with a slightly bitter coffee flavour. But as the ice cream melts, it gradually becomes smoother and creamier, and towards the bottom the coffee intensifies again. If you just knocked it back in one go you might not notice, but sipping slowly, you could really pick up on how the flavour shifted as you went.

The Italian classic panini came halved, with clear grill marks on the outside and cheese oozing from the middle. One bite in and there were several layers of folded ham, with tomato and melted mozzarella coming through together — it was decent. The bread itself was on the crispy side, which gave it a satisfying crunch, and there was more filling inside than I'd expected. I hadn't set my hopes particularly high for a franchise café panini, but as a late-night bite it did the job. That said, splitting one between me and my wife left us both wanting a bit more. We'd already had dinner before coming out, so it was fine, but if I'd been genuinely hungry I'd have ordered a second. One gripe, though: the panini arrived already a touch lukewarm. They're supposed to heat them, but what you actually get isn't exactly piping hot. If I'd eaten it immediately I might not have noticed, but by the time we'd carried it upstairs and taken photos, it was definitely noticeable.

Clearing up and the car park — on the way out

In Korean cafés, you're expected to clear your own table. Staff don't come round to collect your things — when you're done, you bring your tray to a return station like this one. If you're not sure what to do, just watch another customer once and you'll have it. Place your empty cups and tray on the shelf, then put straws, napkins and other rubbish in the separate recycling bins next to it.

We'd been sat for about an hour before we headed off. It was roughly 1am and the car park had mostly emptied out. There are a fair number of spaces, so even during the day you shouldn't have trouble finding a spot. The branch sits right on a main road, very easy to reach by car — it's definitely more of a driving destination than a public transport one.

Honestly, Pascucci isn't one of those cafés people in Korea go out of their way to visit. But this branch is a bit different. It's open 24 hours, it's spacious, the interior has clearly had some proper attention, and past midnight there were still over 10 groups sat inside. We only went because nothing else was open — and yet I have a feeling we'll be back. If you're ever in the Sintanjin area of Daejeon and need a late-night café, it's well worth a look.