Apgujeong bread café: closing-time Echiré butter set, Option Black

I'm honestly the neighborhood's famous bread lover. I go to all kinds of bakeries, from big chains to little independent shops. Sliced bread is my second favorite bread, and the first is baguette, haha (I can't give up baguette....). But my family also says I'm super picky about sliced bread, lol.

Apgujeong Saengsikppang Option Black (압구정생식빵옵션블랙) was so good that I want to take every bread lover I know there... really. Because you toast the bread yourself, it's crispier, and you can taste the plain, mild flavor of the bread itself even better. Let me tell you all about it.

How to get to Apgujeong Saengsikppang Option Black and opening hours

Apgujeong Saengsikppang Option Black is 3 minutes from Exit 3 of Apgujeong Station, and it's open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. A sliced-bread shop this big?! You might think, but there's a reason for it..

The inside looks really pretty from the outside. The windows are big, so on a cool day like this, eating warm, freshly toasted bread here... what could be better.. The address is 606-3 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu. Last order is at 5, but you can still buy bread until 6~

What is the interior of Apgujeong Saengsikppang Option Black like?

The inside is really clean. Plenty of people had come for a coffee and a chat after lunch.

The big windows make it feel open, and a cool breeze comes in, which was so healing haha

One wall is where they sell bread, and there's tableware you carry to your seat when you eat in.

S loaf vs. D loaf: what's the difference, and how much are the sets?

The signature loaves at Apgujeong Saengsikppang Option Black are 'ㅅ' and 'ㄷ', and they also have chestnut bread, whole wheat loaves, scones and cookies. The 'ㅅ' loaf is made without a drop of water, using sour cream and fresh cream, and the 'ㄷ' loaf is a buttery loaf made with 100% fresh cream~

We ordered the ₩7,000 set with one slice each of 'ㅅ' and 'ㄷ' and two Echiré butters. There's also a ₩6,500 set where, instead of butter, you pick from 3 jams (strawberry butter, blackberry, apple cinnamon).

There's also a sandwich set that looks great for breakfast. Order a drink with a sandwich and an Americano is ₩2,500!! It looked like good value, and the price seemed pretty fair even as a meal instead of rice.

There was an outlet at every seat and I was like, what's that for?! Turns out they bring you a toaster so you can toast the bread right at your seat!!!!! So cool..

The Echiré butter bread slice set and matcha latte, as served

We ordered the bread slice set and a matcha latte. The matcha latte was ₩6,000.

Here are the two butters that came with the set (unsalted and salted), plus the apple cinnamon jam (₩1,000) and blackberry jam (₩1,000) we ordered extra.

And here are the two slices of bread. We arrived almost at closing time, so I think they came wrapped in plastic.

Option Black's Kyoto matcha latte beat matcha specialty shops

The Kyoto matcha latte (₩6,000) was honestly.. even tastier than the matcha latte at matcha specialty shops I've tried. It had a slight bitterness that's unique to matcha, but the right amount of sweetness and the mildness of the milk went together really well. The cream on top was nutty and creamy too, a great match. I really, strongly recommend the Kyoto matcha latte!!!!!

How to toast your bread with the table toaster

At Apgujeong Saengsikppang Option Black, they bring a toaster once you sit down. Put the bread in, push down the lever on the side, and the toast pops out after 2–3 minutes. The time is set, so we put it in and waited without worrying about burning it.

It came out toasted just right. Golden brown.. wow... I couldn't wait to take a bite.

S loaf vs. D loaf: which one is my top pick?

My top pick was the 'ㅅ' loaf with sour cream, and the 'ㄷ' loaf was mild and went well with jam and butter. Even the bread on its own was really good. Being freshly toasted and golden made it even better, and the 'ㄷ' loaf, maybe because it's made only with fresh cream, was even milder and went really well with jam and butter.

Personally, 'ㅅ' was my top pick and really delicious. Since the bread itself has sour cream in it, it was plenty tasty even without butter and jam, and I could taste a nutty richness and flavor in the bread itself.

They gave us two jam knives for spreading butter, so the two of us could scoop and share easily.

Which loaf goes best with the butter and homemade jam?

The 'ㅅ' loaf was good plain, but of the butters it went best with the salted butter. There was plenty of butter, enough for two people to share.

You could tell the apple cinnamon jam was made from ground apples. It isn't a typical store-bought jam but a homemade one made with raw cane sugar (wondang), which made it even better.

The blackberry (bokbunja, Korean black raspberry) jam also had that distinctive fragrance of bokbunja, and the jams went well with the 'ㄷ' bread.

Would I go back to Apgujeong Saengsikppang Option Black?

If you really love bread, this is an Apgujeong bread café I hope you'll visit at least once. I want to go again, and next time I'd like to buy a ton of bread on the way home, freeze it, and eat it at home haha