Café near Hongdae in Seoul with chocolate terrine cake: Jitheunsan

My husband and I were enjoying the cool autumn weather, walking around Yeonnam-dong, and stopped by our go-to café. Jitheunsan (짙은산)!

This is the café we visit whenever we're craving terrine cake. The chocolate terrine here is seriously so good that we end up going almost every time we're in Yeonnam-dong haha. This was actually our first time coming during the day, and the daytime atmosphere felt totally different from the nighttime one.

Where Jitheunsan is and when it opens

Jitheunsan is located at 27 Seongmisan-ro 29an-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, 1F. It's open daily from 08:30 to 23:00, with last order at 22:30. It's within walking distance of Hongik University Station too, so it was easy to drop by while wandering around Yeonnam-dong.

We just naturally wandered in after walking through the Yeonnam-dong alleys, soaking up the autumn weather.

What Jitheunsan feels like in the daytime

The inside of Jitheunsan is generally on the darker, dimmer side. I personally love that kind of moody atmosphere, so it was right up my alley. It's got that Instagram-worthy, cozy-yet-classy café vibe, if that makes sense lol.

It's a quiet, calm space, great for relaxing over coffee.

When we visited in the evening, the lighting made the mood feel a bit deeper and more intense, but during the day, the natural light coming in gave it a completely different feel.

And the restroom is inside the store too, which was convenient.

What we ordered at Jitheunsan

This time we ordered an iced café latte for ₩6,000, blueberry ade for ₩7,000, and chocolate terrine cake for ₩8,500.

The menu descriptions were all handwritten by the owner haha. That little touch is so cute!

Blueberry ade, 7,000 won

This was my first time trying Jitheunsan's blueberry ade (₩7,000), and it was really good. My husband ordered it, but I kept reaching over for it — sorry, honey.

It wasn't too sweet, and it had plenty of fizz, perfect for a refreshing drink. Somehow it tasted even better after walking around Yeonnam-dong!

Iced café latte, 6,000 won

My husband took a sip of the café latte I ordered and said it was so nutty and delicious. I was the one who ordered it, but he ended up loving it too lol — so we ended up stealing sips of each other's drinks haha.

Chocolate terrine cake, 8,500 won

And now, the chocolate terrine cake we get every single time we visit!

Jitheunsan really is a terrine cake destination.

The chocolate is incredibly rich and dense. It's got a totally different texture from a regular chocolate cake — heavy yet melts smoothly, so anyone who loves chocolate will really enjoy it.

I think we order the chocolate terrine basically every time we come to Jitheunsan lol.

They gave us a little business card along with the drinks, explaining the terrine cake.

The lemon sorbet on the house

The owner also gave us a lemon sorbet to try, and it was super refreshing too.

After the rich chocolate terrine, the lemon sorbet totally cleaned my palate!

Who should visit Jitheunsan?

If you're like us and love a quiet, atmospheric café, I'd definitely recommend Jitheunsan!

If you're looking for a dessert café in Yeonnam-dong, I'd especially recommend it for the terrine, and if you're near Hongdae looking for a place with good vibes, it also works as a Hongdae dessert café haha.

It'd also be great for getting coffee and a nice dessert while wandering around Yeonnam-dong, or even for getting some work done. We'll definitely be back the next time we're in Yeonnam-dong~

If you're hunting for a good café in Yeonnam-dong and love a quiet, cozy-vibe spot, I recommend Jitheunsan!