Gangnam bakery café lunch: fig cake and bar financier, Upper and Under

Today I'm sharing my visit to Upper and Under, a bakery café between Gangnam Station and Sinnonhyeon Station~

Where is Upper and Under and when's it open?

Upper and Under is at 28 Gangnam-daero 102-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (Yeoksam-dong 618-17), 298m from Exit 6 of Sinnonhyeon Station. It's open 11:00–22:00, and there's no dedicated parking lot, so you'll need to use nearby parking.

The weather's been so gorgeous lately that even when I want to stay home, I keep going out~ I'd been meaning to visit Upper and Under, so I finally made it happen~

Upper and Under's exterior and the vibe on each floor

Upper and Under is a three-story café on a corner~ Since the Sinnonhyeon side has a slope, it looks like three floors from the front and two floors from the side~

There's a pretty sign on the red brick wall at the corner entrance~ Take the stairs on the right up to the 1st floor, where you order~

The 1st and 2nd floors were almost fully packed, so I grabbed a seat in the basement~ The basement had a cozy feel that I really liked~

1st floor bakery display case and baked goods prices

Upper and Under's 1st floor has a bakery display case, cake fridge, and counter~ There were tons of baked goods — financiers, canelés, madeleines, egg tarts, and more~

Canelés, financiers, madeleines and the like are mostly in the ₩4,000s, which seems reasonable, and there's such a wide variety that picking would be fun~

Upper and Under's cake lineup

Upper and Under also seems to be a cake spot — fig, raspberry, lemon, grapefruit, tiramisu, basque cheesecake, hwangchi cheese — such a wide variety of cakes, which was great~

2nd floor's high ceilings and terrace

Upper and Under's 2nd floor has high ceilings that make it feel open, and there's a terrace outside — must be great to eat out there when the weather's nice~

What did I order at Upper and Under, and for how much?

I'd had a pretty light lunch, so I ordered a cake, an egg tart, a financier, and the signature cream latte plus an iced Americano~

• Fig cake: ₩8,500
• Crème brûlée flan: ₩6,900
• Pistachio financier: ₩4,500
• Pistachio cream latte: ₩8,000
• Iced Americano: ₩6,500

Fig cake (₩8,500)

Upper and Under's fig cake had two layers of sponge cake topped with figs and apple mint. I love figs, so I ordered this one~ The figs were really well-ripened, soft and sweet~

There were also figs tucked between the sponge layers, and overall it wasn't too sweet and was delicious~

Crème brûlée flan (₩6,900)

The crème brûlée flan was an egg tart with a brûlée layer on top~ Unlike a regular egg tart, the outer pastry was very thin~

The custard cream was packed in thick, with bits of vanilla visible throughout~ The custard was sweet and soft, and the brûlée was crisp — really tasty~

Pistachio financier (₩4,500)

Upper and Under's pistachio financier wasn't the usual shape — it came as a long bar~ There was pistachio inside and pistachio stuck to the outside, so both the texture and flavor were great~

Pistachio cream latte (₩8,000)

They say Upper and Under's signature menu is their cream-topped coffees~ There was einspänner and salted caramel too, but I went with the pistachio cream latte~

On top of the latte was a chewy pistachio cream and finely chopped pistachios — the cream was so soft and sweet, and the pistachio texture was great too~

Iced Americano (₩6,500)

When eating dessert, an iced Americano is a must-order item~ Upper and Under's Americano wasn't too acidic and had a good balance of bitterness, making it a perfect pairing for the cakes and financiers~

How about Upper and Under as a bakery café near Gangnam Station?

I usually visit Gangnam Station and Sinnonhyeon in the evenings for restaurants rather than cafés, but lately I've noticed there are so many stylish large bakery cafés around~

Upper and Under was styled tastefully from the exterior all the way inside, and it was great to see such a variety of baked goods — financiers, madeleines, canelés, cakes~ In this lovely weather, I'd recommend giving it a visit at least once~