Gangnam Station date café with a sheltered terrace: Upper and Under

Upper and Under is a Gangnam Station café with a great mood and really good desserts. Not long ago I went out to Gangnam for a date with my boyfriend, a rare trip into Seoul for us. I wanted to enjoy desserts and coffee in a pretty café, the kind we never go to in our own neighborhood, so we picked Upper and Under, which is famous for its desserts. The desserts were way better than I expected, and the interior was pretty too, so I loved the whole atmosphere. Let me write it all down in detail!

Where is Upper and Under? Location, parking and hours

Upper and Under is at 28 Gangnam-daero 102-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and it is open every day from 11:00 to 22:00. There is no private parking lot, so if you drive, you will need to use a nearby public parking lot.

• Location: 28 Gangnam-daero 102-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
• Parking: no lot of its own; nearby public parking lots are available if needed
• Hours: Mon-Sun 11:00 - 22:00

It is about a 5-minute walk from Sinnonhyeon Station, so it is easy to reach. It is a huge café that stands out from far away, so even first-timers can find it easily :)

Getting a seat at Upper and Under on weekends, and the interior

Upper and Under is a large café spread over three floors. Even though we went at an awkward time on a weekend, there were almost no seats left.

Maybe because it has a great mood and is known as a dessert hotspot, but on the weekend I went, it felt less like picking the seat you want and more like grabbing whatever seat is open, fast.

Is the 2nd-floor terrace at Upper and Under cold?

We enjoyed our coffee and desserts at the 2nd-floor terrace seats of Upper and Under. The inner side is partly enclosed, so the wind barely gets in. It was less cold than I expected, and I liked the mood there too.

Upper and Under menu and prices

The menu board is at the counter. There is a wide range of drinks, from a basic Americano to ades (fruit sodas), so everyone can pick something to suit their taste.

There are lots of desserts and cakes, and a huge variety of breads too. If you love desserts, this is a place where it should be one dessert per person, not just one drink per person.

• Basque cheesecake ₩9,000
• Iced Americano ₩6,500
• Einspänner (coffee topped with cream) ₩8,000
• Crème brûlée flan ₩6,900

How do the Basque cheesecake, Americano and Einspänner taste?

We had eaten lunch and planned to just have drinks, but that went out the window: we ordered one bread, one cake and two drinks, and shared a bit of everything.

Dense Basque cheesecake dotted with vanilla bean

The Basque cheesecake at Upper and Under is super dense and rich, with a great texture and just the right sweetness. It is speckled with vanilla bean inside, so every bite has a faint vanilla aroma. I could see why Upper and Under is famous for desserts.

An iced Americano with no sourness

The iced Americano had none of the sourness I dislike. The coffee aroma lingers nicely in your nose, and it is moderately strong, so it was a perfect Americano to have with dessert.

An Einspänner with cream that isn't too rich

The cream on top of the Einspänner was not greasy at all, just totally smooth and sweet, and so good. I liked it so much that I definitely want to go again.

Verdict: Upper and Under as a Gangnam Station date café

• It sits between Sinnonhyeon Station and Gangnam Station, so it is easy to get to from anywhere. Good good!
• The inside is spacious and nicely decorated, with a great mood, so it worked well as a date spot
• Lots of dessert varieties, and the quality from cakes to breads is excellent. Everything was delicious, so I will definitely go again whenever I am in Gangnam
• It is really close to Sinnonhyeon Station, so it seems easy to reach by public transport ~~!