Pre-work café in Sinnonhyeon: Geisha blend & office snacks, Selecto

Mornings around Gangnam and Sinnonhyeon move fast, and the streets fill up with office workers hurrying along. With work and meetings pouring in, we all build our own morning routines to find the energy to get through the day.

For me, the happiest morning routine is using a little spare time on the way to work to wake my brain up in a quiet, cozy space with freshly brewed, fragrant coffee and a range of bakery items.

Today's place is a Sinnonhyeon Station favorite that takes care of a perfect morning and a nice afternoon for office workers among the dense forest of buildings, and a 24-hour café you can drop into anytime: Selecto Coffee Sinnonhyeon Branch 24 Auto Brew Cafe.

From the stylish atmosphere of the space to the wide range of menu items that catch both eyes and taste buds, I packed it all into one ordinary-yet-special commute.

Is Selecto Coffee a good pre-work café near Sinnonhyeon Station?

Selecto Coffee Sinnonhyeon Branch 24 Auto Brew Cafe is a modern café near Sinnonhyeon Station with white and wood tones and morning sun streaming through large windows, a nice place to linger quietly before work. There are also bench-style sofa seats with partitions for solo office workers and people who study at cafés.

Every day is the same routine, but some days you suddenly want a small luxury just for yourself. Instead of a rushed breakfast, it's where I go when I want to start the day with fresh, tasty food and premium coffee in a nicely decorated space.

Step inside and it feels open and pleasant, so much so that you can hardly believe you're in the middle of the city.

The modern interior blends white with warm wood, and tasteful lighting glows softly, which calms the mind. Sitting by the wide windows with the morning sun pouring in, you get a comfortable sense of having your own time even in a busy day.

There are also bench-style sofa seats, cozily screened off like a study room, for people visiting alone and café studiers. Cute typography decorates the walls and finishes off the stylish mood. It's an excellent setting for checking email lightly on a laptop before work or starting the morning quietly with a book.

Geisha blend or Mocha blend: which coffee to pick in the morning?

The beans loved most at Selecto Coffee here are the Geisha blend and the Mocha blend. Go for the Geisha blend if you want to wake up crisply, or the Mocha blend if you like something rich and heavy.

True to its reputation as a specialty coffee shop, the quality of the beans is outstanding. The choice of premium drinks to wake you up is wide, and if you want to wake up refreshed while tasting bright, elegant acidity and fragrant floral notes, the Geisha blend is a great pick.

If you prefer a deep flavor with a heavy, bittersweet body that anchors the morning, the Mocha blend is the one. One sip of warm coffee carefully brewed by the barista and the fragrance spreads through your whole body, and it feels like you're fully charged with energy to start the day.

Which salads and sandwiches work as a quick breakfast?

Selecto Coffee here has fire-grilled bulgogi, chicken, ricotta cheese and smoked duck salads, plus sweet pumpkin egg, chicken, ricotta cheese and smoked salmon sandwiches. True to its title as a Sinnonhyeon Station bakery café, it doesn't stop at a few items, and the huge food lineup is full of the fun of picking what you like.

The fresh, healthy menu board catches your eye. There are plenty of hearty, nutritious salads that work as a full meal, such as fire-grilled bulgogi, chicken, ricotta cheese and smoked duck salads.

Of course, there are also sweet pumpkin egg, chicken, ricotta cheese and smoked salmon sandwiches, light and neat for breakfast, so there's a solid option for anyone who wants to fill up properly.

Cakes and bakery items in the Selecto Coffee showcase

The showcase at Selecto Coffee here holds cakes such as cheesecake, gâteau chocolat, tiramisu and white bear cheese mousse, along with bagels and breads. The menu is perfect for an afternoon when sweets call, or a morning when you need a sugar boost.

There's a luxurious cake lineup: rich, smooth cheesecake, clean and deep gâteau chocolat, and tiramisu and white bear cheese mousse that melt in your mouth. Next to them are plain, nutty bagels and soft breads, so you can satisfy anyone, whatever their taste, when you visit together.

A snack corner for stocking your office desk

On the tables and shelves at Selecto Coffee here, packaged snacks like pretzels, bagel chips, cookies, hardtack biscuits and jelly are on display, so they're easy to grab along with your commute coffee. The snack stash that makes office workers go wild is prettily arranged.

• Pretzels in various flavors that are salty enough to keep you reaching for more (cheddar cheese, beef, etc.)
• Nutty, crunchy bagel chips (honey butter, garlic butter)
• Sweet chocolate chip cookies and mini melting cookies
• Nostalgic Army hardtack biscuits (gunbbang) and zesty Picnic jelly

They're perfect snacks to keep at your monitor and pick at while you work, so it's easy to grab one or two ("Get") with your coffee on the way in.

Selecto Coffee Sinnonhyeon hours: staffed and unmanned, open 24 hours

Selecto Coffee Sinnonhyeon Branch 24 Auto Brew Cafe is staffed 08:00–22:00 on weekdays and 10:00–21:00 on weekends, and open 24 hours with unmanned operation the rest of the time. This blend of staffed and unmanned hours is exactly why it's like an oasis for office workers around Sinnonhyeon.

• Weekday staffed hours (08:00–22:00): the golden time when you can use both the barista's specialty coffee and the bakery. Note that in-store use is restricted between 12:00 and 13:30, so office workers are best off dropping in on the way to work or in the early afternoon.
• Weekday unmanned hours (22:00–08:00): when you need late-night overtime or early-morning study, you can enjoy drinks through the automated system in a quiet space and focus on your work.
• Weekends (Sat–Sun): staffed 10:00–21:00 and unmanned 21:00–10:00, so you can get through your weekend schedule comfortably too.

The café is on the 1st floor at 31 Gangnam-daero 79-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul, near Sinnonhyeon Station, so it's easy to get to.

How did Selecto Coffee work as a morning routine before work?

The Geisha and Mocha coffee at Selecto Coffee here, plus the desserts and snacks you can pick from, become a small boost in the easily drained life of an office worker. For yourself, who will work hard again today, why not charge up with solid, good-feeling energy in this stylish space that's always open?

If you're looking near Sinnonhyeon Station for a place with real atmosphere and great desserts, please do stop by once!