Late-night ricotta sandwiches at a Seocho café: Selecto Coffee

Looking for a café near Sinnonhyeon Station that stays open late

After work, I went to Gangnam and had some delicious galbijjim (braised short ribs) with a friend, and you know how your mouth feels a little heavy afterward. So we went looking for a café. But there were fewer places open late than I expected. The café we found was Selecto Coffee :-)

I had visited Selecto Coffee, the 24-hour café by Sinnonhyeon Station, a few times before, but this was my first visit in Seoul. The shop was much bigger than I expected, and it was drawing people in even late at night. I feel like they’re going to get really rich.

With labor costs and prices so high these days, a 24-hour café is honestly amazing. Even convenience stores are cutting their hours, so Selecto Coffee at Sinnonhyeon Station feels seriously impressive. In a way, they’re doing a public service.

A self-service print zone and easy station access

What was especially amazing was that it is not just a café: there is also a self-service print zone where you can print, copy, and scan. Wouldn’t this be a real lifesaver of a café for people studying or preparing for job applications?

I love a café close to the station. Walk 2–3 minutes from Exit 1 of Sinnonhyeon Station and you can spot this sparkling place from afar. It is Selecto Coffee Sinnonhyeon Branch 24 Auto Brew Cafe—though those in the know probably already know it.

A café with plenty of bean and drink choices

I thought Selecto Coffee was simply one of those low-priced coffee brands popping up everywhere, but it is not. The beans are genuinely varied too: Mocha Blend, Blue Mountain, Bread Hwasa, Geisha, and decaf. Pick according to your taste.

There are also so many other drinks. Even when several people visit, there is not much chance that people of different ages and tastes will be split on what they like, so everyone can sit together and chat. The shop is spacious too, so you can usually all get seats in one area.

The ricotta cheese sandwich and Americano combination

Coffee alone would have felt a little lacking, so we ordered one of Selecto Coffee’s popular bakery sandwiches too. For my taste, the ricotta cheese sandwich is the number-one pick. So I ordered it without hesitation—and the others look tasty too.

Two iced Americanos, each made with different beans, plus the ricotta cheese sandwich—the visuals alone show how well they go together. If you do not eat much, I think this is a good order for two people.

Selecto Coffee’s Americanos, brewed with its various beans, are great because you can choose from so many options in one place. They give you plenty of ice too, so they are cold enough to make your teeth ache, and the portion is a decent size.

Choose the Geisha blend if you like acidity

The Geisha blend is what I chose because I like coffee with acidity, hehe. I like that tartness hidden inside the nutty flavor. That is why I find myself reaching for it now and then, even more than a purely nutty profile.

For a nutty flavor, choose the rich Guatemala blend

The rich Guatemala blend is what many people prefer. Nutty flavors are good, right? It goes down almost like water. So if you are ordering an Americano at Selecto Coffee, I would recommend the rich Guatemala blend for most people.

A generously sized ricotta cheese sandwich

Next is the ricotta cheese sandwich. I used to wonder what ricotta cheese even tasted like, but now I kind of get it. It is lighter than cream cheese, but still tasty. I think it is a dairy product you can eat without feeling weighed down.

Ricotta cheese is more expensive than you might think. So it can be a burden to put in lots of it, but Selecto Coffee’s ricotta cheese sandwich had a good amount of cheese along with the vegetables. The crisp lettuce is a bonus~

The ricotta cheese sandwich is bigger than you would expect. It is not easy to take one huge bite, so you have to eat it carefully. You could dislocate your jaw if you are not careful. That is how gigantic it is.

I thought it only looked generously filled, but once I actually bit into it, it was truly enormous. Even people who are not very familiar with the taste of ricotta cheese can really experience it properly at Selecto Coffee. It was seriously delicious.

Even though we had eaten a filling dinner, it was insanely good. I recommend Selecto Coffee, the 24-hour café near Sinnonhyeon Station, for night owls, office workers who are not ready to head straight home after dinner, and couples who want to chat for a long time.