Gangnam café, matcha cream oat latte and chamomile: Upper and Under

What kind of Gangnam Station café is Upper and Under?

Upper and Under (UPPER AND UNDER) is a large café between Gangnam and Sinnonhyeon stations where you can enjoy specialty coffee, a variety of other drinks and desserts. If you're looking for a Gangnam Station café where you can sit back a little and enjoy coffee and dessert, try Upper and Under!

The exterior really stood out: red brick, an old-building feel, and green trees wrapping around it. The warm, vintage café mood hit me the moment I turned into the alley. Let's take a closer look :)

How to get to Upper and Under, and is there parking?

Upper and Under is at 28 Gangnam-daero 102-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, about 300 m from Sinnonhyeon Station Exit 6, so it's easy to reach on foot. The café uses everything from basement 1 up to the 2nd floor.

Walk a little way into the alley from Sinnonhyeon Station and the red-brick building catches your eye, so it isn't hard to find. It's also easy to reach from Gangnam Station, so it works well for a café stop after a meal or shopping. The alley is lined with cafés and restaurants, so it was fun to stroll along, and the building itself looks different from a typical franchise café, so it stands out even from far away.

Unfortunately, Upper and Under has no parking of its own, so if you're driving, it's best to use a nearby public lot or a paid lot around the area.

• ⏰ Hours: daily 11:00 to 22:00

Upper and Under interior and seating across three floors

Upper and Under is a red-brick building with a big tree beside it, and large windows all around let you glimpse the inside softly from outside.

Step inside and, unlike the vintage feel outside, the interior is fairly clean and bright.

Another plus: the seating mood differs a bit from floor to floor, so you can pick the spot you like.

Is Upper and Under good for working or studying?

Upper and Under has Wi-Fi and a good variety of seats, so it suits people looking for a café to work or study in lightly. There are window seats with a view outside, and a terrace-style space too, so on a nice day it's even more atmospheric. It looked fine for quiet conversation or opening a laptop.

What's in the Upper and Under dessert display?

The showcase at Upper and Under displays everything from cakes to pound cakes and financiers (small almond butter cakes), so you naturally end up picking a dessert to share.

There's so much variety that choosing was half the fun.

What we ordered at Upper and Under, with prices

• ✔ Matcha cream oat latte ₩9,000
• ✔ Chamomile HOT ₩6,500
• ✔ Raspberry pound cake ₩8,500
• ✔ Hwangchi cheese financier ₩4,500

How does the matcha cream oat latte taste?

The matcha cream oat latte (₩9,000) at Upper and Under was the item that caught my eye most. The vivid green of the matcha is pretty, and the oat milk below forms a soft-toned layer, so it looked lovely from the start.

The taste: the bitter, deep flavor of matcha plus smooth oat milk made it nutty and less heavy than I expected. Drink it together with the cream on top and the bitterness softens further, with a creamy texture added. I think it suits people who like matcha's bitterness but find very strong matcha drinks a bit much.

Does hot chamomile tea go well with the desserts?

I ordered the chamomile (₩6,500) hot. It had almost no bitterness, so it was easy to drink with desserts. A gentle herbal aroma came first, and overall it was mild and comfortable to sip.

With none of coffee's strong flavor or bitterness, it didn't interfere with sweet, tangy desserts and instead cleaned the palate nicely. I thought it's a good pick for people who don't drink coffee, or when you visit a café late in the day.

What does the raspberry pound cake taste like?

The raspberry pound cake (₩8,500) at Upper and Under was a pretty dessert. Topped with pink raspberry cream and red raspberries, it looked refreshingly tangy from the first glance.

The dense, hearty texture of pound cake plus the sweet-tart raspberry meant the sweetness didn't lean to one side. Eating the raspberry part on top brings a burst of tang that freshens the mouth. The soft cream and moist pound cake went well together, and with warm chamomile the sweetness never felt too much.

The colors are lovely, so it's a good pick if you're hunting for a pretty dessert at a Gangnam Station café.

What does the yellow cheese financier taste like?

The hwangchi cheese financier (₩4,500; hwangchi is a yellow cheese-powder flavor popular in Korean sweets) was small but rich in flavor. The chewy, dense financier texture plus the salty, nutty cheese gave it a different charm from a sweet dessert.

The outside is a little firm while the inside is moist and chewy, so it's nice to cut and eat bite by bite.

Especially with a smooth, nutty drink like the matcha cream oat latte, the salty flavor of the hwangchi cheese came through even better. It's small, so it's an easy side to a drink, and if you like cheese or salty desserts, it's worth picking.

When is Upper and Under in Gangnam worth a visit?

Overall, my impression was that Upper and Under is less a place to gulp a quick coffee and leave, and more a café where you order drinks and desserts together and enjoy the space. It was fun that the mood changes a little depending on where you sit. It's a good spot when you have plans in Gangnam and want somewhere quiet to talk, or want to spend a relaxed time with tasty desserts and drinks.

Above all, I liked that it sells specialty coffee along with a range of drinks and desserts, so you can choose by taste. If you're looking for a atmospheric café in Gangnam, Upper and Under is good for enjoying both the space and the menu. Especially if you're searching for a Sinnonhyeon Station café and want not just a pretty space but properly good desserts too, I recommend it!