Gangnam café for a group of 5: mango cake & canelé, Upper and Under

Can a group of 5 get a table at Upper and Under near Gangnam Station?

Five of us met at Upper and Under on a weekday afternoon, and thanks to some guests who were just getting up, we snagged a big table with plenty of room for all 5. I recently met friends near Gangnam Station for the first time in a while, and this time I headed to Upper and Under, a café famous for its baked goods that I'd been dying to visit. It's a hot spot, so I walked in a little worried there'd be no large table, but luckily I got lucky.

Upper and Under location and opening hours

Upper and Under, the Sinnonhyeon Station café, is at 28 Gangnam-daero 102-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (B1, 1F, 2F), and it's open daily 11:00 - 22:00.

Upper and Under is 298 m from Sinnonhyeon Station Exit 6, within a 5-minute walk. As you walk along the alley, the red bricks and classic arched structure of the exterior definitely catch your eye, and the mood is stylish already from the entrance stairs. It sits in a slightly calmer alley inside the lively area between Gangnam Station and Sinnonhyeon Station, and it's close to Gangnam Station too, so it's easy to reach by public transport. With so many restaurants and bars around, it was also perfect for planning a meetup route.

What are the interior and seating like at Upper and Under?

Upper and Under is a large café that uses the whole building, with white walls, exposed concrete and warm lighting that make it feel modern yet vintage. It's so big that the writer thought the interior ran from the 1st to the 3rd floor.

For 2 people there are plenty of tables that are relatively easy to get, but a group may need a bit of a seat-hunting game to land a large table. Each floor has a different seating style and feels comfortable, so it's popular for meetups and also for a quick laptop session. Even on a weekday afternoon it was so packed that it was hard to find an empty seat, and I figured weekends must be completely full.

Upper and Under dessert and drink menu

The showcase and display shelves in front of the 1st-floor counter were packed with all kinds of desserts, which was a visual treat the moment I walked in.

The shelves hold baked goods like chewy butter tteok (rice cake), financiers in several flavors, madeleines and canelés. The variety of desserts baked in-house is so wide that it's hard to decide.

Does Upper and Under offer decaf coffee?

At Upper and Under you can switch coffee drinks to decaf, so even people sensitive to caffeine can enjoy them without worry, just so you know! There are lots of cream latte options, the signature drinks, so the choices are varied. I have to drink decaf these days, so whenever I go to a café, the first thing I check is whether they do decaf.

Handmade cake flavors at Upper and Under

The showcase next to the counter at Upper and Under holds handmade cakes in lemon, raspberry, mango, Earl Grey grapefruit and tiramisu. Perfect for picking whatever suits your taste.

What we ordered: Einspänner, Americano, mango cake, plain financier and canelé

The rest of our group was coming from Sinnonhyeon Station, so to grab seats first I ordered ahead: an Einspänner (coffee topped with cream), an Americano, and for dessert a mango cake, a plain financier and a canelé.

How does the iced Americano taste?

The iced Americano at Upper and Under had no sharp acidity and was nutty with a nicely heavy body. It was the first thing to cool us down.

When you drink decaf coffee, the flavor is often a little disappointing compared with regular coffee, but this one had the ideal balance for cleanly washing away dessert sweetness. It paired wonderfully with the sweet baked goods. I also loved the stylish presentation: a clear glass with the café logo simply printed on it.

Einspänner tip: eat the cream first

The Einspänner my boyfriend chose has a thick layer of dense, sweet cream on strong coffee, with reddish cocoa powder sprinkled over it in a straight line. I took a spoonful of the cream first, and the texture was super smooth, with a rich milky flavor filling my mouth. After enjoying plenty of cream, tilt the glass and take the bittersweet coffee below together with the sweet cream, and the bitter and sweet make a fantastic harmony that melts away fatigue.

Mango cake with mango inside the sponge too

The mango cake, the highlight of the desserts, had soft cream sandwiched generously between fluffy sponge layers. There's mango not only on top but also inside the cake layers, so you get plenty of mango sweetness.

Plain financier: the perfect match for an Americano

The plain financier at Upper and Under won me over with its chewy edges and the rich, luxurious butter flavor that spreads with every bite. As the dense texture of the cross-section suggests, the nuttiness rises the more you chew, making it a total Americano thief.

Why the Upper and Under canelé is so good: crisp outside, soft inside

The canelé is what I always order whenever I come to Upper and Under! See the tight, glossy crumb in the cross-section? The outside is perfectly caramelized and so crisp that it makes a crackly sound when cut, while the inside is chewy and soft like custard cream. It's the textbook 'crispy outside, moist inside' (겉바속촉) baked treat. A deep vanilla aroma and pleasant sweetness lingered softly and made me go wow.

Is Upper and Under a good group meetup spot near Gangnam Station?

Upper and Under was perfect all around: excellent dessert quality, a pretty space that's a treat for the eyes, and roomy, comfortable seating. If you want a group meetup with friends near Gangnam Station or Sinnonhyeon Station, or a relaxed tea time with high-quality baked goods, head to Upper and Under.