Ttukseom café after a friendship-ring workshop: soft serve, Mellows

Mellows, the Ttukseom Station café I found after Seongsu shopping and a ring workshop

Mellows is a dessert café right by the station, only about a 3-minute walk from Exit 7 of Ttukseom Station. I went in to recharge on sugar, completely drained, after shopping in Seongsu and making friendship rings with my friend at a workshop.

A few days ago I went to Seongsu with a friend and honestly had my soul squeezed out of me. Why is it that every time I go to Seongsu my eyes go wild and I keep walking without noticing my soles are about to tear? Our plan that day was super ambitious. We'd hit all the hip select shops for some shopping, and we'd even booked a workshop to make matching rings to commemorate (?) our friendship.

When we walked out of the workshop with our rings, my throat was parched, and every cell in my body seemed to be screaming, "Feed me sugar! If you don't give me something cold and sweet right now, I'm not moving!" I was so drained that even the short walk from Seongsu toward Ttukseom felt endless.

"Hey, if I don't down an iced americano right now, I'm collapsing here." "And I need a dessert that makes my brain sweet, or nothing..."

We were trudging along like zombies when a café shone in the distance like a beacon of salvation. The exterior was clean, with that hip, stylish Seongsu mood. The sign said "Mellows"! And it turned out to be only about a 3-minute walk from Exit 7 of Ttukseom Station, right by the station.

What are the inside and terrace seats at Mellows like?

The inside of Mellows is cozy and cute, and there are terrace seats on one side. The interior is hip, so it's a café where photos come out well.

With the weather this nice these days, I thought sitting on the terrace eating in the breeze would be totally Instagram-worthy. The interior is so hip that even casual shots came out beautiful, so it's a feast for the eyes too!

What did we order from the Mellows menu?

Mellows' signature is soft serve made with Sangha Farm premium milk, and there are also coffee drinks made with special high-quality beans. I chose the milk soft serve and an iced americano, and my friend chose an affogato.

Once I came to my senses and scanned the menu, oh my goodness. This is not just any ordinary neighborhood café! The signature is soft serve made with Sangha Farm (상하목장) premium milk! Sangha Farm is practically synonymous with tasty milk, so how could it not be good? On top of that, there's a solid coffee menu made with special high-quality beans, so it was the perfect setup for an "iced americano person" and a "dessert person" to be satisfied at the same time, like us.

We ordered very carefully (but quickly, because we were hungry).

• My pick: classic soft serve (milk) + an iced americano for hydration
• My friend's pick: the ultimate sweet-bitter affogato

How does the Sangha Farm milk soft serve taste?

The milk soft serve at Mellows has a deep, rich milk flavor rather than an artificial syrupy sweetness, and it's hefty yet leaves a clean aftertaste. Even the color looked creamy white and weighty.

The soft serve I ordered was a creamy white, true milk color, and it looked really hefty. I scooped a big spoonful and popped it in my mouth, and...

"Whoa, wow... hey, this is insane!!!"

The moment it went in, it coated my tongue smoothly and melted away, and honestly it was pure paradise. It wasn't an artificial syrupy sweetness; the deep, rich flavor of real milk spread refreshingly through my whole mouth. It was hefty and rich, yet the aftertaste was super clean with no heaviness, so I kept going back for more. Totally addictive.

How was the affogato at Mellows?

The affogato at Mellows is espresso poured over Sangha Farm milk ice cream, and it tasted sweet and bitter at once. It was my friend's order, but I sneaked a bite.

And my friend's affogato, which I sneakily stole a bite of! This was a real kick too.

Bitter, nutty espresso flows down over the rich Sangha Farm milk ice cream, and the look of it alone is already game over, right? The luxurious sweetness of the ice cream and the heavy richness of the strong espresso mix in your mouth, and it's an eye-opening taste. My friend's eyes went wide too, and she couldn't stop raving: "Wow, I'm completely healed from being worn out making the ring."

The sweet-bitter combo of iced americano and soft serve

The iced americano at Mellows is nutty and refreshing with no acidity, so it was great to alternate with the milk soft serve. In the end, both of us promised to come back.

Then adding a sip of the iced americano I ordered completed a truly flawless combo! Maybe because the beans are good, it was nutty and refreshing with no sour acidity, and excellent. Take a bite of cold, sweet soft serve, then a sip of nutty, bitter americano again, and you know what happens, right? You get trapped in a magical sweet-bitter, sweet-bitter infinite loop and keep eating without noticing you're full.

We took our rings out again to hold them up to the light, bragged about what we'd shopped for that day, and had a really special, sweet healing time. On the way out, we both hooked pinkies and promised, "We're 200% coming back here. Let's come again next time we're in Seongsu."