Solo hanok café visit in Seochon: iced and hot Gesha at Oldsse

Where is Oldsse Seochon, and what kind of café is it?

Oldsse Seochon is a hanok-style (traditional Korean house) hand drip café in an alley on Pirun-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul, in the upper part of Seochon. I stopped in for a little solo café time before meeting a friend, and I loved it so much that this review is going to be full of personal bias ♥

Seochon is one of my favorite neighborhoods. I love its quiet, calm feel, but it has gotten so popular.. and so full of tourists that I avoid it on weekends. In the upper part of Seochon, which is less crowded and more relaxed, I discovered a new Seochon café: Oldsse.

A big willow tree and a hanok greet you at Oldsse. It sits in an alley, so I almost walked right past it! There are seats out front too, and even the alley is so, so pretty. When the weather is nice, I'm definitely sitting at these outdoor seats.

What are the interior and seating like at Oldsse Seochon?

The moment you walk into Oldsse Seochon, the hanok-style interior opens up in front of you. Sadly the photos don't fully capture how pretty it is in person.. though of course the photos are pretty enough too.

Oldsse Seochon has a corner table with an outlet, a bar table where you can watch the pour-overs being made, and a large roomy table. Later a foreign couple sat at the bar table, and that scene was so pretty too ~~

The big window dancheong seat was my favorite

What I liked most at Oldsse Seochon was this very seat. The big window shows the blue sky and the hanok street together, and the seat has dancheong (traditional Korean painted pattern) designs, which is just so pretty ㅠㅠ It's a Seochon café full of Korean beauty, so I bet foreigners would go crazy for it, but maybe because it's newly opened, word hasn't really reached tourists yet.

The café filled up completely while I was having my coffee, but the seats are spaced generously and the echo inside isn't loud, so even when full it felt relaxed, which I loved so, so much ..☁︎︎*.♡

Oldsse Seochon menu and the pour-over I ordered

Oldsse Seochon serves hand drip coffee, so I recommend it to anyone looking for a great coffee spot in Seochon. There are lots of other coffee drinks and desserts too.

I don't usually drink much coffee, but I adore pour-over, so I ordered the priciest one on the pour-over menu: Ethiopia Gesha Village Gori Gesha 9.0 -

Oldsse Seochon has so many cute little touches all over that I lost track of time looking around. Even the lamps are made of hanji (Korean mulberry paper), so the vibe is just right ..

The order mix-up that got me two cups of Gesha

I ordered a hot Gesha pour-over, but because of an order error an iced coffee came out first ..! When I told the staff, they said to just keep that one and that they'd brew a fresh one for me. So somehow I ended up drinking two cups of precious Ethiopian Gesha all by myself.. what a treat.

Even the tea coaster is so, so cute ☁︎︎*. Every little detail was alive at Oldsse, this Seochon café.

How does the hot Gesha Village Gori Gesha taste?

The hot drip coffee that came out a little later had notes of dried blueberry, cranberry, dried plum and grapefruit, and it was fun to sip slowly. I usually prefer warm drinks anyway.. and pour-over especially, I always have hot! So I couldn't give up the hot one,,, and yes, Oldsse Seochon is a legit pour-over spot.

As you'd expect from a coffee-focused place, they also bring cold water to rinse your mouth !

This little guy's cup and tea coaster are both so cute ㅠ I searched on Naver Map and it looks like the main branch is in Yongsan and Seochon is the second location, so I want to visit the Yongsan main branch too.

The window view and hidden details

Isn't this window view at Oldsse Seochon so pretty? I came alone so I couldn't get a portrait of myself, which is such a shame .. The sky was especially beautiful that day, and everyone sitting at this spot took tons of photos.

And!!! One more detail I found by accident: there's a heart ♡ drawn on the bottom of the cup. So, so cute, I'm dying, waaah

Also, the restroom at Oldsse Seochon is inside the café! Isn't even the restroom sign they drew so cute?

Is Oldsse Seochon worth going back to?

The pour-over, the atmosphere, the kind staff: I loved everything about Oldsse, this Seochon café. Get famous.. no, don't get famous. Though I think it's already famous enough.

Next time I'll come with a friend and take lots of photos ... and I'll be back to try other coffees and desserts too. Highly recommended as a Seochon spot for both coffee and atmosphere ♥