Garosu-gil café: strawberry sand & grapefruit ade at Butter & Shelter

What kind of café is Butter & Shelter Gangnam-Sinsa?

Butter & Shelter Gangnam-Sinsa is a dessert shop on Garosu-gil selling baked goods and cakes that really bring out the flavor of butter. It's about a 5-minute walk from Sinsa Station, near the start of Garosu-gil's main street.

This was my first visit, and I enjoyed the desserts so much that I want to come back the next time I go shopping on Garosu-gil. Above all, the prices aren't a burden and the coffee was good too. There are plenty of good restaurants nearby as well, so it's a nice spot to chat over dessert after a meal.

The interior felt warm, bright and neatly kept. I went on a weekend and liked that it wasn't too noisy, and I loved the variety of desserts.

What's on the dessert menu at Butter & Shelter?

The most popular item at Butter & Shelter is the butter sand (butter cream sandwich cookie). These baked sweets are packed with butter flavor and come in a wide range, as below.

• Butter sands: original butter sand, crème brûlée butter sand, choco butter sand, glacé butter sand, raspberry cream cheese sand, Dubai butter sand, plain butter bar
• Cakes: tiramisu cake, Basque cheesecake, Victoria cake
• Scones and cookies: glacé scone, yellow cheese cream cookie, red velvet cream cheese cookie, original levain cookie, Dubai chewy cookie, choco s'more cookie, Earl Grey lemon cookie and more

I'd never had a butter sand before, and it was totally our style. The packaging is nice enough for gifts, and you can even choose your own flavors for a gift box!

Drink menu at Butter & Shelter Gangnam-Sinsa

Butter & Shelter Gangnam-Sinsa has a good range of coffee too. The signatures are the Butter Einspänner (coffee topped with cream), Shelter Einspänner and crème brûlée espresso, along with americano, coconut flat white, café latte, vanilla latte and cappuccino.

There are also plenty of non-coffee drinks, teas and ades: lemonade, grapefruit ade and green grape ade. I wanted something fresh and tangy, so I went with the grapefruit ade!

How was the strawberry butter cream butter sand with an americano?

The butter sand seems to be Butter & Shelter's own signature, and the crispness of the thin layer of icing combined with the fresh strawberry butter cream was delicious. It's sweet and full of butter flavor, and thanks to the strawberry butter cream it isn't heavy at all, just bright and fresh.

It goes especially well with an americano. This seems like a place that does coffee well too: the americano had a moderate acidity along with a nutty richness, and paired nicely with the sweet desserts. I think you should definitely order a coffee.

I used to not be able to drink coffee at all and only ate ultra-sweet desserts, but now I finally understand why people hunt down great coffee spots. Dessert with good coffee tastes twice as good.

How much is the Dubai chewy cookie, and how does it taste?

Butter & Shelter Gangnam-Sinsa was selling the Dubai chewy cookie (Dujjonku) at a discount. Being able to have one for a friendly ₩2,900 makes this a great place.

I kind of regret not packing a few to go... it's a flavor I keep thinking about! The crunch of the crispy kadayif (shredded phyllo) plus the chewy texture is just so good.

How is the Dubai butter sand different from the Dujjonku?

This Garosu-gil café also has a menu item called the Dubai butter sand. Just like the filling in the Dujjonku, kadayif and pistachio spread are nicely mixed in, and it has a quiet charm of its own.

Grapefruit ade and final thoughts

And the grapefruit ade, sweet and tangy, with a sparkling fizz!

Even though Butter & Shelter Gangnam-Sinsa is a café in Gangnam, the prices are friendly and the desserts are so good that I think I'll be visiting often.