Brûlée sphener at Café Ohkam, a house-turned café in Gwangjin, Seoul

How close is Café Ohkam to Konkuk Univ Station?

Café Ohkam isn't far from Konkuk Univ Station, so it's worth a stop if you have plans in the area. It's on Dongil-ro 22-gil in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, and uses all three floors of the building.

The building looks like it used to be a single-family house before being remodeled, and it doesn't feel awkward at all — the central staircase seems to tie the layout together well.

Climb a half-flight of stairs and you reach the counter.

A colleague who came with me mentioned there's usually a cat that acts like the café's mascot, but it wasn't around on the day I visited. I looked around a bit hoping to run into it, but no luck.

Overall the interior is clean and well finished, and the spiral staircase in the middle takes you up to the 2nd and 3rd floors.

What we ordered at Café Ohkam

I stopped by Café Ohkam while looking for a place near Konkuk Univ Station to enjoy coffee and dessert together. That day I ordered the brûlée sphener, an iced americano, and the mascarpone tiramisu.

The mascarpone tiramisu looked a bit unusual compared to the other desserts, so I ordered it — and I'd recommend pairing it with something like an americano.

What are the 2nd- and 3rd-floor seats like?

Climb the central staircase and you find a space with more seating.

I was curious about the 3rd floor so I went up a bit, but since it was the height of summer I didn't dare go all the way in. The upper section is enclosed in glass, so it was as warm as a greenhouse.

If the weather cooled down even a little, it would feel like spending time on a rooftop terrace — a pretty fun-looking space.

There are cat photos here and there — this is the cat I mentioned earlier.

They let you know your order is ready with a buzzer.

How does the brûlée sphener taste?

I started with Café Ohkam's brûlée sphener, and true to its name, it has a torched sugar brûlée on top, so it's fun to look at before you even take a sip. It has a sweet, dalgona-like quality, with bits of brûlée that stay chewy throughout, giving it noticeably more texture than a typical cream coffee.

The cream itself is soft and quite sweet, but as you keep drinking, there's a moment where the coffee slides in right behind it. I liked how the cream's sweetness hits first and the coffee's bitterness follows — it's not just a sweet coffee, there's a real shift in flavor as the cream and coffee meet. It's a twist on the einspänner, so the base flavor will feel familiar.

Why order an iced americano alongside it

We also ordered an iced americano, which was good for resetting the palate after the sweet brûlée sphener or tiramisu. If you're planning to drink coffee alongside dessert, it's worth ordering a basic cup like this too.

What makes Café Ohkam's mascarpone tiramisu different?

Then there's the mascarpone tiramisu. Visually it looks fluffy and cute, and it's shaped a bit differently from the tiramisu most people picture.

It's a made-ahead tiramisu, but while most versions layer cookie and mascarpone tightly together, here the cookie and mascarpone feel more separated, so the finger cookie's texture really comes through. That turned out to be a bigger plus than I expected.

You don't just get the mascarpone's softness — the cookie has its own distinct texture, creating a real contrast. It seems to pair especially well if you sip coffee alongside it as you eat. Pouring a coffee like an americano over the cookie lets the coffee soak in and naturally bring out the cookie's flavor and the mascarpone's nuttiness, giving it a more proper tiramisu character.

Who is Café Ohkam right for?

Overall, Café Ohkam feels better suited to picking one dessert and taking your time with coffee rather than drinking a quick cup and heading out. The brûlée sphener in particular had a fun combination of chewy, dalgona-like brûlée, soft cream, and coffee rising up from behind — different from your usual cream coffee.

If you're looking for a café with good atmosphere near Konkuk Univ Station, or want to try a slightly more interesting coffee and tiramisu combo, Café Ohkam is worth putting on your list.