All-black café in Ansan with fresh strawberry shortcake: Deep Dive

A few days ago I met up with friends and headed to downtown Ansan! We were picking a café with a good vibe, and the one my friends all recommended without fail was Deep Dive in Ansan. It was my first visit, and the short version is: I'll be going back for the cake!! If you're looking for a café dessert in Ansan's Jungang-dong, you won't regret starting with Deep Dive, haha.

• Address: 116 Gojan-ro, 2F, Unit 202, Danwon-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do
• Hours: daily 11:00-02:00
• Parking: underground parking available

Where is the entrance to Deep Dive in Ansan?

The entrance to Deep Dive is a black wall at the end of the 2nd-floor hallway in the building at 116 Gojan-ro. Go up to the 2nd floor and you'll see a big black wall with CAFE DEEP DIVE written on it.

Underneath it says "RGB : 000", which means pure black. The concept was clear from the name alone.

What is Deep Dive's all-black interior like?

Inside Deep Dive, the walls, ceiling, floor and even the tables are all black, giving it a hip, modern feel. The moment you open the door, you can tell it's different from other cafés!

Walls, ceiling, floor, tables: everything is black. Against that, the sunlight pouring through the big windows and the green of the trees outside make a contrast that felt both hip and modern. Totally. My. Style!

A statue of David stands on one side, and plates with painted faces line the wall. The posters and frames are mostly black and white too, so the whole tone never breaks. The window seats look straight out at the view, so photos come out really well in the daytime. There are also lots of tables, and they're roomy!

There's a full-length mirror in the passage toward the restroom, so I snapped a mirror selfie too, haha. The place matched my outfit that day so well!

What did three friends order at Deep Dive?

The three of us ordered 3 iced Americanos and two cakes: one fresh strawberry shortcake and one chocolate berry crumble. According to the menu, an Americano is ₩4,300.

There's a wide range of coffees and drinks, so people who can't have caffeine have plenty of options too, haha.

A sign at the counter says they use Accept Coffee (억셉트커피) specialty blend beans. I kind of loved the line on it: "You deserve good coffee."

True to its reputation as a cake spot in Jungang-dong, the showcase by the entrance is lined with cakes, cookies and baked sweets. They come in so many colors that choosing took quite a while. There's even a bread cooling rack right in the shop, which gave it a real homemade-bakery-café feel.

How does Deep Dive's fresh strawberry shortcake taste?

The fresh strawberry shortcake at Deep Dive is the one the writer ranks as the best cake they've ever had. Strawberries are piled high on top, and in the cross-section you can see fresh strawberries between the sponge layers too.

The whipped cream isn't heavy and melts lightly, which goes well with the fresh tartness of the strawberries. The sponge is moist too, and it split softly under my fork! I've been to quite a few bakery cafés, and honestly, Deep Dive's cake is the best I've ever had!!!!!

Chocolate berry crumble with three textures

The chocolate berry crumble at Deep Dive packs crunchy crumble, soft berry cream and a rich chocolate layer into one bite. Black crumble covers the top like soil, with a cherry and a sprig of herb on it, and it photographs so prettily, haha.

Inside, it's split into pink berry cream and chocolate mousse layers. The crumble is crisp, the cream is soft, and the chocolate layer underneath is rich, so every bite had three textures. It was deliciously sweet and a perfect match with the Americano. I kept going cake bite, coffee sip, and the plate was empty in no time :) Writing this, I'm craving it again.

Why Deep Dive is my pick for café desserts in Ansan's Jungang-dong

I went to Deep Dive for the atmosphere and came away remembering the cake. The black interior is unusual and great for photos, the coffee uses specialty beans so it tastes clean, and above all the cake quality is the real deal.

It's good for dessert and a chat with friends, and I think it would also be nice to sit alone by the window with a coffee. If you're deciding on a café dessert in Ansan's Jungang-dong, give Deep Dive, the cake spot there, a try. Next time I'm planning to go back and take away a fresh strawberry shortcake.