Seongsu café open in the evening for perilla smoothies: Iridescent

Ever since I first fell for the perilla smoothie, there's one café I never forget to visit whenever I'm craving it — Iridescent in Seongsu, haha!

What kind of café is Iridescent in Seongsu?

Iridescent takes familiar, everyday ingredients and reinvents them in its own original, unique style of drinks — and every single one is genuinely delicious, which always leaves me impressed.

These days, besides the citrus perilla smoothie, they've also got a lineup of interesting, distinctive signature menu items — the Mujinjang Carrot Ade, Grapefruit Granita, Yuzu Basil Granita, and their signature Iridescent Latte, haha.

Honestly, this is the kind of place where the fun is in seeking out drinks you truly can't get anywhere else — and that alone makes it such an exciting, enjoyable space.

And it's not just unique for the sake of being unique — every drink actually tastes amazing too. This time I dropped by in the evening for a bit of a mood reset!

Iridescent in the evening: atmosphere and where to sit

Visiting Iridescent in the evening, it was, as expected of a Seongsu hotspot, absolutely packed with customers, haha.

The weather that day happened to be perfectly cool and pleasant for being outdoors, so the café owner had thrown the glass doors wide open.

Thanks to that, even though it's an indoor café, it gave off that distinctive, emotional feeling of being at an open-air terrace café, which made me like it even more, haha.

Honestly, the seats toward the back of the store had the AC blasting pretty hard, which felt a little too chilly for me.

So I settled into a spot near the wide-open door that had that outdoor feel — with the breeze drifting in and the lighting coming together just right, the atmosphere was so cozy and lovely!

First sip of Iridescent's citrus perilla smoothie

After sitting down and waiting a bit, the gorgeous citrus perilla smoothie I'd been waiting for finally arrived at the table!

Sure enough, the moment it arrived, the sweet, refreshing scent that hit my nose was pure art. And the visuals — I don't even know how many photos I took before I even started drinking, haha.

Why Iridescent is the original perilla smoothie café

And here's something really important I have to tell you! Did you know — out of all the many perilla smoothies out there, the true original is right here, at Iridescent!

The owner of Iridescent was the very first person to develop a smoothie menu using perilla leaf — the original of originals. Lately, tons of franchise cafés and other shops have been copying and releasing their own versions of the perilla smoothie, haha.

But make no mistake — the perilla smoothie is a menu item that the Iridescent owner first researched and created, and Iridescent alone is the true original. Please remember that!

Curious, I've honestly gone around trying perilla smoothies at various franchise cafés. But no matter how well others copy it, none of them can even come close to the deep, rich flavor of the original one made right here at Iridescent.

How does a perilla smoothie actually taste?

The spicy, clean aroma of perilla leaf blending in perfect balance with the brightness of citrus creates a subtle, sophisticated flavor you can only get here! That's why, whenever I want the real, proper taste of a perilla smoothie, I always end up back at Iridescent, haha.

This time too, I drained my favorite drink, the original Iridescent perilla smoothie, down to the very last drop, and all the fatigue and stress from the day just melted away, leaving me in such a good mood, haha.

A good drink really does have incredible healing power. Thanks to it, I got to end my day smiling and satisfied.

If you truly want to experience the real deal, the essence of a perilla smoothie, don't overthink it — just go get yourself a perilla smoothie at the original, Iridescent, haha.

I left this time fully satisfied with the perilla smoothie, so next time I'm planning to come back and finally try the refreshing Mujinjang Carrot Ade or the Yuzu Basil Granita I've had my eye on, haha.