Sinnonhyeon café for vanilla Basque cheesecake: Upper and Under

What kind of café is Upper and Under?

Upper and Under is a large café between Sinnonhyeon Station and Gangnam Station. It serves specialty coffee and a variety of cream lattes, with a different mood on each floor and terrace seating. It is open daily 11:00–22:00.

I had some time before a dinner reservation and popped in briefly. It's a dessert paradise, the drinks and coffee were good too, and the Basque cheesecake I ate with zero expectations totally blew me away,, It's a big Gangnam café, so it's easy to just walk in.

How to get to Upper and Under from Sinnonhyeon Station

Upper and Under is a 5-minute walk from Exit 6 of Sinnonhyeon Station on the Shinbundang Line.

The brick-and-white building stands out like this. Upper and Under is a big Gangnam café using floors 1 through 3, so I guess lots of people come without any pressure! Even though I went at an awkward time on a weekday, it was busy.

There are seats in the basement too, and the counter is up a flight of stairs where the entrance is. The stairs run between trees.

Upper and Under cream latte menu and prices

Let me show you the menu first. Not all cafés are the same, right? Some are known for vibes, some for photos, some for coffee, some for desserts. Upper and Under is great for coffee and desserts.

The coffee list has the basics: espresso, americano, flat white, latte, cappuccino, vanilla and so on, and an extra shot or a switch to decaf is ₩500 each. What you should look at is the cream latte. There are 6 kinds in total, and they're really good, so I recommend picking one of them!

• Einspänner ₩8,000
• Salty caramel ₩8,000
• Pistachio ₩8,000
• Matcha cream oat latte ₩9,000
• Matcha pistachio ₩9,000
• Coconut matcha ₩8,500
• Matcha cream strawberry latte (seasonal) ₩9,000

What desserts does Upper and Under have?

There were desserts everywhere and I couldn't look away.

Mont Blanc pie, caramel cheese pie, crème brûlée flan, all kinds of canelés and financiers, madeleines and other baked sweets!! They don't look like the usual ones, they're unique and look even tastier.

Next to them were the Basque cheesecakes. I was going to pick one of the cakes by the counter, but the cheesecake looked so moist and delicious.. so I chose the vanilla Basque cheesecake. The Oreo chocolate Basque cheesecake below it looks so good too T_T I'll try that next time.

The cake selection is this varied too.

They look beautiful.. I like lots of cream in a cake rather than dry sponge, and the cakes at Upper and Under are just like that. Just looking at them, there's no way they'd taste bad. Ahh they look so good;; I wanted the chestnut chocolate, lemon or raspberry.

Upper and Under floors, interior and terrace seating

The interior of the 2nd floor (the entrance floor) was completely full when I first arrived. Go up one floor and the mood is different again, and if you go before sunset the sunlight comes in beautifully.

And the terrace seats,,

The vibe is really good, so I sat on the terrace first, but it was cold and I went back inside ^.^

What I ordered: salty caramel cream latte, mango lemonade, vanilla Basque cheesecake, lemon madeleine

At Upper and Under I ordered the vanilla Basque cheesecake, lemon madeleine, mango lemonade and salty caramel cream latte.

I didn't color-correct these at all and the photos still came out so good. Take your photos at the terrace seats at Upper and Under.. It's also a great café to come to for a girls' day out and photos haha

How does the salty caramel cream latte taste?

The salty caramel cream latte comes with a Lotus cookie stuck in fluffy cream. Just like the name says, the sweet and salty cream was so good, and they give you a spoon too. I scooped up some cream and then drank it without stirring, which tasted great haha

I love cream lattes and have them often, and Upper and Under's are the real deal. Next time I want to try the almond or pistachio one.

I also had a sip of the mango lemonade, and it was sweet and rich, so good

Is the vanilla Basque cheesecake really that good?

Upper and Under's vanilla Basque cheesecake is seriously amazing T_T I have my own rule that cheesecake must never be even a little dry or chalky, and this one was really moist and soft, with a rich, sweet vanilla flavor, so good. Honestly the best Basque cheesecake I've ever had, for real.. The lemon madeleine wasn't dry either and tasted good,,

I was happy with both the desserts and the coffee, and I recommend Upper and Under, a Sinnonhyeon Station café.