Study group café at Wangsimni Station Exit 6: Matilda choco, Eojil In

If you live around Wangsimni Station, you'll definitely run into Eojil In (어질 인) at some point. I walk around this area more than anywhere else, so I know almost every shop that has opened or closed, and Eojil In has been here a long time and is always packed, so it's long been a familiar sight. When I dated in Wangsimni, I'd often just grab a coffee here, but this time I came back with friends to properly eat desserts and do a little studying, too.

Where is Eojil In Wangsimni Station Branch, and what are the hours?

Eojil In Wangsimni Station Branch is on floors 1 and 2 at 18 Majo-ro 9-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, right in front of Exit 6 of Wangsimni Station. It's open daily from 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Today's prey: Eojil In Wangsimni Station Branch.

Being right by the station, access is top-notch. It's one of the first cafés that comes to mind when you're meeting someone at Wangsimni Station, and that's why I called people here that day.

Eojil In's storefront and dessert display

Even from outside, Eojil In gives off a warm, cozy café feel. The entrance door has the Chinese character 仁 (the "in" of Eojil In), and out front there's a cute display of handmade desserts baked in the store every day. Every time I walked by I thought, I have to try those desserts someday.

Are there still desserts left at 6:30 p.m.?

I visited on a Wednesday around 6:30 p.m. I worried that a lot of desserts would already be gone this late in the day, but luckily quite a few kinds were still left.

Eojil In's two floors of seating: good for studying or laptop work?

On the first floor alone, Eojil In looks like a small café, but go up to the second floor and the space is pretty big, with a mix of seats: sofa seats, laptop tables and spots for groups. There were plenty of customers, of course. But the funny thing is that no matter how many people there are, it never feels stuffy. Head upstairs and the room opens up like a plot twist, and each seat has its own coziness.

The stairs to the second floor feel a bit like climbing up to an attic, so I get a little happy every time I go up, haha. Inside there are lots of comfy chair seats, sofas, tables good for laptops and seats for several people together, so you can choose by purpose. The mood is calm, too, so it suits dates and gatherings, and it's also a nice spot to read or study alone.

This time I sat on a sofa along the second-floor wall. You can see the whole café from there, and watching customers keep changing while I sat, I thought, yep, this place really does steady business.

What we ordered at Eojil In and how much it cost

We ordered four things at Eojil In: a Café Milk Bowl, an iced Americano, Matilda choco and a lemon madeleine.

• Café Milk Bowl ₩6,800
• Iced Americano ₩5,000
• Matilda choco ₩6,900
• Lemon madeleine ₩3,300

For cake I also considered the Basque cheesecake, said to be the signature, but the last remaining slice of rich, fudgy Matilda choco looked so tempting that I ended up choosing that. I'd always been curious about the baked goods too, so I added a lemon madeleine, and for drinks I went with the sweet Café Milk Bowl and an iced Americano ("aha," as Koreans call it).

What does the Café Milk Bowl taste like?

Eojil In's Café Milk Bowl (₩6,800) is an ice cream latte with a plump scoop of milk ice cream, and it's lovely to look at. They say it uses the organic milk ice cream used by Sangha Farm, Paul Bassett and Baekmidang. Take a spoonful of the ice cream first and a rich, high-quality milk flavor wraps around your tongue smoothly.

Then once it mixes with the nutty, slightly bitter coffee, it becomes a totally different taste. There's plenty of ice cream, so I spooned away for a good while, and later it was fun to stir it in and drink it like a latte, so I was very satisfied. It doesn't feel like just ordering a sweet latte; it's more like a drink you enjoy in two stages, which I liked, haha.

Eojil In's iced Americano

Eojil In's iced Americano (₩5,000) was pretty good too. Brewed from beans they roast themselves, it tasted fresh and nutty, the kind of iced Americano anyone would find easy to enjoy, and the portion was generous, so it's good for lingering over with dessert. A place you can drop by anytime for dessert and a nutty cup of coffee.

Matilda choco: why only one slice was left

Eojil In's Matilda choco (₩6,900) looked just as the name suggests, like it jumped out of the movie (Matilda). I can see why only the last slice was left.

The dark chocolate ganache and cake layers look super sweet and heavy, but when you actually eat it, it melts softer and lighter than expected and goes down pretty easily. It's not one of those chocolate cakes so heavy you can only manage a few bites; it's the kind you can finish without trouble while sipping a drink and chatting. It paired well with the coffees we ordered, too.

The lemon madeleine, the surprise standout

What surprisingly stuck with me most at Eojil In that day was the lemon madeleine (₩3,300). I'd originally wanted to try the lemon cake, but it seemed to be gone since it was late, so I ordered this instead, a bit disappointed. But from the first bite I thought, I chose really well.

The madeleine was nicely baked and plump, with a lemon coating that isn't overdone and cracks crisply, and the tangy sweetness was so good. On days when heavy, rich desserts feel like too much, baked goods like this are much easier to reach for, right?

I enjoyed it so, so much that next time I want to try other madeleine flavors and financiers (small almond butter cakes). They also sell whole cakes and baked-goods gift sets, so they look quite useful when you need a gift in a hurry near Wangsimni Station.

What I liked most about Eojil In

What I liked best about Eojil In Wangsimni Station Branch was,

the healing atmosphere of the space. Even though it's always crowded, it's strangely not hectic at all, and it has a particular vibe and air that lets everyone focus on their own thing. The furniture layout and the separation of floors 1 and 2 are well done, so it looks like a small café but is actually much roomier, and the big windows make it nice for drinking coffee while looking outside. So Eojil In isn't just some café near Wangsimni Station; it's a Wangsimni café near Hanyang University with a good atmosphere and also good drinks and bakery items.

In short: is Eojil In worth a visit?

Eojil In Wangsimni Station Branch is the place that comes to mind first when you meet someone at Wangsimni Station or have a little time to kill. Being right in front of the station, access is great, and the space is cozy and roomy, so it suits dates, gatherings, blind dates and studying alike.

As a bakery café that bakes its own desserts, it should suit people looking for a bakery café at Wangsimni Station, and it's well worth recommending to anyone near Hanyang University looking for a café with tasty cakes and baked goods. Next time I'll probably go hunting again for the Basque cheesecake or financiers. (glare)