Sinnonhyeon café after work: choco banana pie at Upper and Under

Upper and Under in Sinnonhyeon: a big café for an after-work catch-up

Upper and Under (어퍼앤언더) is a large café known for its bakery and drinks, located between Sinnonhyeon Station and Gangnam Station. I met my friends in Gangnam after work, we had a nice dinner, and then we headed to Upper and Under for a proper, full-on chat. They say the building belongs to a celebrity. Above the creator, there's the building owner, so jealous!!! It's a big café with lots of seating from the 1st floor to the 3rd floor.

• Hours: daily 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM
• Location: near Sinnonhyeon Station Exit 6 and Gangnam Station Exit 11
• Large café across floors 1–3

Is there any bakery left at Upper and Under in the late evening?

We visited late, after dinner, and most of the bakery items were already sold out, with only a few left. It would have been better earlier in the day, which is a shame, but I picked what looked the most delicious among what was left.

There were plenty of cakes in the fridge, though! From tiramisu to mango, grapefruit, lemon, cherry and more, they were big and looked worth the price.

Upper and Under menu and drink prices

The drink menu at Upper and Under was varied: coffee, non-coffee, cream drinks, special ades, cold brew and teas. Prices are in the ₩6,000–7,000 range, a bit steep, but café prices around Gangnam Station all seem to be about this much.

Upper and Under is especially famous for its signature cream latte. I'm a cream fanatic, so I was tempted by the Einspänner (coffee topped with cream), but the purple ube latte stole my eyes, haha. There are lots of popular new items too, like matcha ube latte, matcha pistachio and ube cream latte, and you can switch to decaf.

Seating and atmosphere at Upper and Under

Inside there are a huge number of seats, and many people had brought books or laptops to study. I took my photo from the side with fewer people.

Salted caramel Einspänner: the cream is the real deal

What impressed me most at Upper and Under was the salted caramel Einspänner. The cream on top was very smooth and dense, and it blended well with the coffee with every sip.

The sweet and salty combination was nicely balanced, not overdone, so I never got tired of it until the end! I usually like Einspänner, and I think Upper and Under really does it properly.

What does the ube latte at Upper and Under taste like?

Ube menu items have been all over social media lately, so I was curious. Ube is a purple sweet potato widely eaten in the Philippines. Known for its natural purple color, it's often used there in desserts like ice cream, cake and halo-halo.

Once mixed well with the milk, the Upper and Under ube latte turned a pretty purple. It's milk-based, so it's filling, and sweet? If you like ube, it's worth a try~~

Choco banana pie for ₩8,000: a dessert I almost finished alone

The choco banana pie at Upper and Under is ₩8,000, and it is a total hit, everyone. The sugar-coated banana on top was also super sweet and delicious, and I thought it was a dessert worth its price.

It's a pie outside with layers of banana inside, and sweet cream and chocolate coating on top, so it's choco banana through and through!! It can't not be good, but my friends said they were full and skipped it, so I think I ate almost all of it myself, haha.

Decaf iced Americano for the evening

It was evening and my friend worried caffeine would keep her awake, so she ordered the decaf iced Americano at Upper and Under. She said it wasn't strongly acidic and had a clean taste. Lots of cafés these days use strongly acidic beans, but this one was fairly well balanced and easy to enjoy. It's nice that you can drink it without worrying about caffeine.

Why I recommend Upper and Under as a stylish café near Gangnam Station

Overall, the drinks at Upper and Under were good and the space had a nice vibe, so I think it's worth a visit if you're looking for a café near Gangnam Station. There are lots of photo-friendly spots too, so I fully recommend this Gangnam café, Upper and Under, to anyone who likes atmospheric cafés.