Sinnonhyeon café after pork belly: cheese financier, Upper and Under

After Friday-night samgyeopsal (grilled pork belly), I needed a sugar recharge right away. I searched hard for Gangnam Station and Sinnonhyeon Station cafés with cakes and sandos (fruit sandwiches), and this is the dessert café I ended up at: Upper and Under.

Getting to Upper and Under near Sinnonhyeon Station, plus opening info

Upper and Under is at 28 Gangnam-daero 102-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and it's open every day from 11:00 to 22:00. Takeout and group visits are fine, but there's no parking.

It's a 5-minute walk from Exit 6 of Sinnonhyeon Station. It's deep inside the restaurant alley, and if you head up the slope a little from the CGV building, you'll see the red-brick Upper and Under.

It's a big café in a three-floor building. There are seats on the 1st floor too, but you have to go back outside and up to the 2nd floor to order.

What are the terraces and the vibe on each floor like?

Every floor has terrace seats. The weather was pretty cool the day we visited, so we sat outside. It's a comfortable space where you can sit, eat dessert and chat without any fuss.

We went around 7 p.m. on a Friday and it was full, as you'd expect of a Gangnam Station café. I'd figured people would be at dinner and let my guard down, but the place was packed inside, and I thought, is this really the Sinnonhyeon dessert spot everyone talks about,,

The restroom is inside on the 2nd floor, where you pay, and next to it a staircase leads up to the 3rd floor.

The concept doesn't change much between floors, but the 2nd and 3rd floors felt a little different. On the 2nd floor, people on dates and groups were chatting over dessert. The 3rd floor was similar, but there were also lots of people studying alone.

Upper and Under drink menu

The drinks come in a good range: coffee, ade, latte and tea. Among the non-coffee lattes there were unusual ones you don't see at other cafés, like matcha cream oat, matcha pistachio and coconut matcha, so my curiosity was seriously piqued,,

Cakes and bakery at Upper and Under, and what was sold out in the evening

The cakes at Upper and Under included tiramisu, lemon, raspberry, and even the trendy yangzhi ganlu flavor. Looking at the showcase, plenty of slots were empty, which fits a dessert hotspot near Gangnam Station.

At the back, a paradise for bread lovers opens up, with flashy-looking desserts like madeleines, canelés and Chodang corn pie (made with Chodang sweet corn from Oksu). I came expecting a lot from the fruit sandos, but since we went in the evening they were all sold out, sadly,, There's also a small refrigerated showcase below this area, and it was completely empty. Gangnam Station hotspot status confirmed ✨

We'd just eaten samgyeopsal for dinner, but looking at this spread, ordering only coffee would have felt like a crime.

The best thing about going out with a friend who has the same taste is that moment when you both look at the same dessert and your eyes meet,, that thrill is no joke. Here's the gooey-looking yellow cheese financier I snapped.🧡

What we ordered at Upper and Under

The drinks, cake and financier we tried at Upper and Under, the Sinnonhyeon Station dessert café :) I shot these at our terrace table, and the colors are so pretty,, and they look so sweet! While my friend was in the restroom, I tried to carry a tray full of stuff out to the terrace by myself, and a kind staff member even opened the door for me.

What does the coconut matcha (₩8,500) taste like?

The coconut matcha at Upper and Under is a combination of coconut water and matcha cream, not milk. It's such an unusual menu item that I was curious, but honestly a little worried too. I'd assumed milk would be in it, but it wasn't. It comes out in separated layers, so it's super aesthetic for photos,,

When I gave it a light stir with the straw, it all mixed at once and turned a deep matcha green. The combination went together way better than I imagined, and I was surprised after the first sip. Coconut water can be really cloying if it's done wrong, but here a gentle sweetness passes and then the matcha aroma brushes by just a-little.. If you're a matcha lover, you have to try this one.

Is the iced Americano (₩6,500) acidic?

The iced Americano at Upper and Under had really nutty-roasty beans, and the bitterness wasn't strong either. My friend and I have a full-on "absolutely hate sourness" thing, so our hearts always pound when we order coffee somewhere new,, ^^ because of the risk of failure. But the coffee here was exactly to our taste. (Seriously, wow.)

Tiramisu cake and a yellow cheese financier! If you love desserts, there's no way this sight doesn't put you in a good mood,,

Yellow cheese financier (₩4,500)

The yellow cheese financier at Upper and Under is a textbook crisp-outside, chewy-inside bake with the sweetness and gooeyness of cheese on top. I've eaten a ton of financiers, and at places that can't get crisp and chewy to blend, you end up with a dry, crumbly feel too. The yellow cheese financier here at this Sinnonhyeon café made my friend and me gasp the moment we tasted it.

Tiramisu (₩8,500)

The tiramisu at Upper and Under didn't have sheets soaked moistly in espresso. It felt firmer instead, so it broke up easily with a fork. The cream, sheet and moist chocolate all came together harmoniously and went well with coffee.

Is Upper and Under a good dessert café after a meal near Sinnonhyeon Station?

Upper and Under is close to Sinnonhyeon Station, so it's easy to reach, and with CGV and plenty of good restaurants nearby it's a great place to come for coffee and dessert after a meal. It has terraces, and the inside works for dates and also for working or studying alone, so I think I'll be back next time I want something sweet.