Sinnonhyeon alley café: butter tteok and snow ice bingsu at Cafe Ssum

Looking for a café with bingsu near Sinnonhyeon Station

Cafe Ssum is an independent dessert café in an alley near Sinnonhyeon Station, and in summer it serves three kinds of shaved ice: red bean bingsu, tomato bingsu, and mango bingsu. I had errands in the Gangnam area on an especially hot day and ended up with an awkward chunk of time left over.

It was too hot to keep wandering around outside, so I looked for a café near Sinnonhyeon Station to cool off in, and that's how I found Cafe Ssum. I've been around Sinnonhyeon plenty of times but had no idea a place like this existed until now.

Honestly I first went in just to get a coffee and escape the heat, but the dessert lineup — bingsu, egg tarts, butter tteok — turned out to be so varied that I ended up ordering way more than planned haha. Finding somewhere to eat bingsu near Sinnonhyeon these days is oddly tricky, so I loved that an independent café here served snow ice bingsu.

Where Cafe Ssum is: a yellow sign in an alley by Sinnonhyeon Station

Cafe Ssum sits a little off the busy main street of Sinnonhyeon Station, down a side alley. The yellow sign was visible from a distance so it wasn't hard to find, and the sign itself was cute, giving off that feel of a local café that's been loved in the neighborhood for a while.

The sandwich board out front listed the three summer bingsu flavors along with dujjonkku and butter tteok. A café with bingsu, of all things!!! Since it was so hot, the bingsu on the board caught my eye immediately haha.

From outside I assumed it would be a small, cozy café, but stepping in, the space was actually laid out generously. And the owner was so friendly that I felt comfortable from the moment I walked in.

Inside Cafe Ssum: the mood and the window bar seats

The inside of Cafe Ssum is done in warm wood tones overall. Rather than an overly styled, trendy aesthetic café, it felt clean and comfortable with just a touch of style added.

There are seats good for one or two people as well as tables for larger groups, so it seemed like a fine spot whether you come alone or with friends.

I especially liked the bar seat facing the big window. If I'd come alone, I probably would've sat there. The window is large and there were some books on one side, so it looked like a nice spot to sip coffee and read for a bit or just sit quietly.

The area around Sinnonhyeon Station is always crowded and hectic. But because this place is tucked a bit into the alley, inside the café there wasn't much of that typical busy-street chaos. It was quiet and calm, a good place to rest for a while when I had this kind of awkward gap of time, like today.

Cafe Ssum's menu: far more choices than expected

Looking at the menu, the drink lineup was genuinely more varied than I expected. There's the basics — Americano, café latte, cappuccino — plus coffee drinks like vanilla latte, dolce latte, and salty cream cheese latte.

• Fruit juices: watermelon juice, apple mango juice, tomato juice
• Ades: chamoe (Korean melon) ade, grapefruit ade, lemon ade, yuzu ade, maesil (green plum) ade
• Non-coffee: chamoe latte, strawberry latte, milk tea, cream misugaru (grain powder drink), organic matcha latte
• Tea: grapefruit honey black tea, Earl Grey, peppermint, chamomile, and more
• Summer specials: tomato bingsu, red bean bingsu, mango bingsu

Of the non-coffee drinks, the chamoe latte had me the most curious haha. It's pretty rare these days to find an independent, non-franchise café that serves bingsu, so having three flavors to choose from was great. The watermelon juice and mango bingsu looked good too — I'd like to try them next time I visit in summer.

Just a heads-up: dine-in requires one drink order per person, so keep that in mind if you're planning to visit.

Desserts at Cafe Ssum, from egg tarts to butter tteok

It's not just the drinks — Cafe Ssum's bakery lineup is pretty varied too. There's the currently-popular dujjonkku, the butter tteok I'd been curious about, and egg tarts as well.

The egg tarts are Nata O Bica, a Portuguese-style egg tart, and they come in several flavors to choose from. There was also an apple cinnamon one, and the filling inside looked really good too — I genuinely deliberated in front of the display case haha.

That day we ordered a small snow ice bingsu, two iced Americanos, a classic egg tart, and butter tteok. I originally meant to just kill some time at the café, but as I picked out one thing after another, the order got pretty substantial haha. Still, once we started eating, I was glad we'd ordered it all together.

Cafe Ssum's snow ice red bean bingsu: small size portion and sweetness

What I was looking forward to most that day was the snow ice bingsu. It's the small size, but when it arrived the portion was bigger than I expected. Not so much that it'd be too much for two people, though — it was just the right amount to share as a dessert.

What I liked most was that it wasn't too sweet. I tend to get tired of bingsu quickly if it's overly sweet, but Cafe Ssum's version wasn't excessive at all.

The snow ice itself melts smoothly and has a nutty flavor, and mixing in the red beans and nuts on top made it light yet sweet, so I kept eating without noticing. Even though the portion was fairly generous, it never felt cloying because it wasn't too sweet. The red beans also didn't taste overly like plain sugar — they kept their distinct red bean flavor, which I personally appreciated even more.

Butter tteok is chewy and pairs well with an Americano

Then there was the butter tteok (chewy rice cake) I'd ordered out of curiosity. It has that signature chewy texture with a nutty flavor, and it went well alongside the Americano.

Taking a bite of it between spoonfuls of bingsu gave a completely different texture, which made the whole meal more fun. Cafe Ssum's clear strength is having this range from trendy desserts to classic bakery items.

The classic egg tart: crisp outside, soft inside

I also ordered a classic egg tart. The outside had that distinct flaky pastry texture, and inside was a soft custard, which went well with coffee.

The outer layer was crisp while the inside stayed moist, giving two different textures at once — and personally, I think egg tart is always best with an Americano. Where butter tteok is chewy, the egg tart is crisp and soft, so ordering both together didn't feel repetitive at all.

The iced Americano also went well with the desserts overall. Since the bingsu, butter tteok, and egg tart were all fairly sweet, having a cold sip of Americano in between was just right.

Who Cafe Ssum near Sinnonhyeon Station suits best

I only stumbled onto Cafe Ssum near Sinnonhyeon Station because I had time to kill, but it turned out to be more enjoyable than expected. It's not a flashy or huge café, but within its cozy space it packs in a solid range of drinks, bingsu, and bakery items.

It'd be especially good for anyone who wants to avoid overcrowded cafés when meeting someone around Sinnonhyeon or Gangnam.

The big window kept things from feeling stuffy, and there were good solo seats too, so it seemed like a nice spot for a café outing alone. Most of all, I liked that it's an independent café where you can get red bean bingsu in summer. The bingsu wasn't too sweet and was a good size to share, so I think I'll be thinking about it again on hot days like this.

The bakery and drink menus are varied enough that you could come just for coffee, or come ready to eat a full dessert spread. Next time I'd like to try the mango bingsu and watermelon juice I missed this time. The chamoe latte still has my curiosity too haha.

If you're looking for a quiet café near Sinnonhyeon Station, one with bingsu, or one with a wide range of bakery and dessert options, Cafe Ssum is worth a visit.