Sinnonhyeon terrace café for pistachio canelé: Upper and Under

The weather's been getting nicer lately, so I've been craving cafés with terraces. So here's a story about revisiting Upper and Under after a while.

I've already featured this place a few times, but every time I go, I'm reminded it's really a dessert paradise... 🥹 From baked goods to tarts, canelés, financiers, Basque cheesecake, and cakes, the variety is huge, so you end up spending a while just deciding what to eat once you walk in. Especially on nice days, the 2nd floor terrace seats have such a great atmosphere, so this time I went specifically to soak in that terrace vibe.

Where is Upper and Under? Basement to 2nd floor on Gangnam's café street

Upper and Under

Upper and Under is located on Gangnam's café street, so it's easy to reach if you're looking for a Gangnam Station café or Sinnonhyeon Station café, and since it's a sizeable café using basement through 2nd floor, there's a fairly wide variety of indoor seating too! The interior blends white tones with wood, giving it an overall warm and clean atmosphere.

Upper and Under's dessert lineup and prices

One of Upper and Under's biggest strengths is definitely the dessert variety! On this visit too, there was a wide range of desserts ready.

Just the baked goods alone come in a lot of varieties.

• Choco banana pie ₩8,000
• Crème brûlée flan ₩6,900
• Raw choco financier ₩4,100
• Pistachio financier ₩4,500
• Nunette financier ₩4,200
• Plain financier ₩3,800
• Earl Grey fig madeleine ₩4,500
• Matcha canelé ₩4,500
• Pistachio canelé ₩4,700

And there's also Basque cheesecake — vanilla Basque cheesecake ₩9,000, yellow cheese Basque cheesecake ₩9,500. For cakes, there's tiramisu, fig cake, raspberry cake, lemon cake, and even Earl Grey grapefruit cake, so there are genuinely so many options!!! For anyone who loves dessert, this is basically paradise... 🤍

What is the 2nd floor terrace and window light like at Upper and Under?

The 2nd floor terrace seating is also well set up.

Even if you don't sit on the terrace, the lighting is so good that you can feel the terrace mood indoors too.

This kind of vibe is honestly rare in Gangnam, and being a large café made it even better ❤️

The order: pistachio cream latte, pistachio canelé, sweet potato matang financier

This time, after some deliberation, I ordered an iced americano, pistachio cream latte, pistachio canelé, and sweet potato matang financier. Since I'm a pistachio lover, I naturally ended up going for the pistachio menu again haha.

Pistachio cream latte: nutty rather than sweet

If you like pistachio, I recommend this one! I tend to like pistachio desserts and drinks, and Upper and Under's pistachio cream latte had that rich, nutty pistachio flavor come through strongly, which I really liked.

What I liked most was that it wasn't too sweet! With pistachio drinks, sometimes the syrup or cream makes them so sweet that a few sips in it gets overwhelming, but this one kept the nutty flavor front and center, so I could drink it comfortably all the way through. You get the soft cream and the pistachio nuttiness together, which made it nice to pair with dessert too. If you like pistachio, give this a try 💚

Of course, an iced americano too. Between sips of the sweet pistachio cream latte and the sweet potato matang financier, a sip of americano cleans your palate and somehow makes you keep eating dessert... haha, it's magic.

Sweet potato matang financier: a first try at Upper and Under

And this time I tried the sweet potato matang financier for the first time! The name itself was a bit unusual, so I picked it out. It's a financier with the flavor of sweet potato matang (candied sweet potato) added, and it definitely has a different charm from a regular financier. The nutty, buttery financier combined with the sweet flavor of sweet potato worked together better than I expected. It's sweet with that crispy matang-like texture that keeps you reaching for more! If you usually like financiers, I think it's worth trying this unusual one along with the basics.

Pistachio canelé: the favorite of the day

The pistachio canelé was my absolute favorite haha. That signature canelé texture — slightly crisp outside, moist and chewy inside — came through really well, and with the nutty pistachio flavor added on top, it went great with coffee.

Honestly, I think a canelé needs that crisp-outside, moist-inside texture to be good, and this one delivered on that too. Eating the pistachio cream latte and pistachio canelé together made this a total pistachio party that day haha.

Who is Upper and Under best for?

What I liked most about this visit was the sunlit space. Around Gangnam Station and Sinnonhyeon Station there are tons of cafés, but a place this spacious with a terrace to match is honestly hard to find. With the sun pouring in through the big windows on a nice day, you get a slight European café vibe right in Gangnam without having to go far! It's good for meeting a friend and chatting over dessert, and it also works fine as a date spot.

If you're looking for a Gangnam Station café or Sinnonhyeon Station café where you can enjoy great dessert too — especially if you're after a Sinnonhyeon terrace café — Upper and Under is worth stopping by. I think I'll be back next time to try yet another cake.