Seoulmate Cafe 서울메이트 · Sarnath, Varanasi
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안녕하세요 — Hello from Sarnath

Where Seoul
meets the Ganges.

Seoulmate Cafe is a little corner of Seoul tucked beside the Dhamek Stupa in Sarnath. Whipped dalgona coffee, mountains of snowy bingsu, griddle-warm hotteok and sizzling tteokbokki — Korean cafe comfort, made fresh on the banks of the Ganges.

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2016
Serving Seoul in Sarnath
40+
Korean dishes & drinks
4.9★
Loved by 8k+ guests
A tall, frothy dalgona-style coffee in a glass
A bowl of shaved-ice bingsu topped with fruit
A warm, cosy Korean-style cafe interior with wooden counters

Our Story · 우리 이야기

Homesick for Seoul, two steps from the stupa.

In 2016, Ananya Rai came home to Sarnath after six years of student winters in Seoul — nights spent in the little cafes of Ikseon-dong and Hongdae, nursing a hot yuja-cha while the snow fell. She missed the warmth of those rooms more than she expected.

So she rented a quiet two-room house a short walk from the Dhamek Stupa, hung a hand-painted sign reading Seoulmate Cafe (서울메이트), and set out to recreate that feeling: dalgona whisked by hand, hotteok pressed on a hot griddle, bingsu shaved to order. Pilgrims, students and curious neighbours wandered in — and Sarnath quietly fell in love with Seoul.

2016

The first cup

Ananya opens a two-room cafe near the stupa and hand-whisks Sarnath's first dalgona.

2018

The bingsu bar

A shaved-ice counter arrives; injeolmi and mango bingsu become summer legends.

2021

The street-food griddle

Hotteok, tteokbokki and Korean corn dogs join the menu, sizzling by the window.

2024

A hanok-warm revival

A calm new look in celadon & hanji tones — same corner, more of Seoul than ever.

Founder and chef smiling in a warm kitchen
Ananya Rai · 아난야
Founder & Head Chef · Seoul-trained

Meet the Chef · 셰프 소개

Seoul taught her; Sarnath grounds her.

Ananya learned to cook in the back kitchens of Hongdae and the market stalls of Gwangjang, where an ajumma taught her to press hotteok until the sugar sang. She came home carrying recipes, a gochujang obsession, and a longing to share it all.

“Seoul felt like a soulmate the moment I arrived. This cafe is my way of introducing the two cities I love — one cup, one plate, one afternoon at a time.”

Her kitchen keeps it honest: gochujang simmered slow, soybean powder roasted in-house, citron steeped for weeks. Everything made the Seoul way — warm, generous, and rooted here by the Ganges.

— 정성을 담아, from our corner to your table

Reservations · 예약

Save your spot by the window.

Floor-seat corners and sunset window tables go fast. Tell us when you're coming and we'll keep a table warm.

No payment needed — we'll text you a confirmation.

감사합니다! Your table request is in — we'll confirm by text shortly.

Find Us · 오시는 길

A two-minute walk from the Dhamek Stupa.

Follow the smell of griddled hotteok down the lane — we're the calm celadon-green corner with the paper lanterns out front.

Address

Dharmapala Road, near Dhamek Stupa,
Sarnath, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 221007

Hours

Open every day
8:00 AM – 11:00 PM

Reach us

+91 98765 43210
annyeong@seoulmatecafe.in

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