Study café in Sinnonhyeon: outlet seats & fig cake, Upper and Under

What kind of café is Upper and Under in Sinnonhyeon?

Upper and Under (UPPER AND UNDER, 어퍼앤언더) is a big Gangnam café at 28 Gangnam-daero 102-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, near Sinnonhyeon Station. It spans several floors, from the basement up to the 2nd floor, and it's about a 5-minute walk from Exit 6 of Sinnonhyeon Station.

When you go looking for a café after a meal in Gangnam, everywhere is packed and it's hard to find a seat you like, right? So this time I visited Upper and Under, which is known for a spacious space and a wide range of desserts! The interior is stylish, and with so many cakes and baked sweets, it's worth keeping an eye on if you love desserts.

• Location: 28 Gangnam-daero 102-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (basement level, 1st and 2nd floors)
• About 5 minutes on foot from Exit 6 of Sinnonhyeon Station
• Hours: daily 11:00–22:00
• Parking: check with the café before visiting

Upper and Under's exterior and how to get there

Upper and Under has a brick building with a stylish design, so it stands out even from outside. It uses several floors of the building as the café, so you can tell right away that it's pretty big.

The vibe is great even from the street~ A café like this in the middle of Gangnam! It's about a 5-minute walk from Sinnonhyeon Station, so access is good, and it's within walking distance of Gangnam Station too, which makes it a fine spot for a post-meal café or meeting friends. The exterior is great for photos, so it looks like a good Gangnam date spot as well, doesn't it?

Seating by floor at Upper and Under: where to work

Basement level

1st floor

2nd floor

If you want to work on a laptop or study at Upper and Under, the 2nd floor has outlet seats and is the one to pick. When we went, quite a few people were working on laptops up there!

The café has space from the basement to the 2nd floor, and each floor has a slightly different interior and seating mood, so it's fun to pick the space you like. The overall interior was polished yet cozy, and the tables and seats came in a good variety.

2nd-floor terrace

The 2nd-floor terrace and window seats look great for a relaxed coffee or a face-to-face chat with friends. Above all, the space is bigger than a typical Gangnam café, which earns a pass from me!

What desserts does Upper and Under have?

The showcase at Upper and Under was filled with all kinds of cakes, plus a variety of baked sweets like financiers (small buttery almond cakes) and madeleines. It's a café known for its desserts as much as its coffee.

Every dessert looked delicious, so choosing took a lot of thought. You go in meaning to order just one cake and end up adding financiers too, like magic! We wanted to try both cakes and baked sweets, so we ordered five items in total.

• Iced Americano
• Salty caramel latte
• Fig cake
• Plain financier
• Salted chocolate financier

We'd just had a meal, but with so many desserts we wanted to taste a bit of everything haha

Iced Americano and salty caramel latte

Since we ordered several sweet desserts at Upper and Under, I picked a clean iced Americano for one drink. Nothing beats an Americano with dessert, I think.

The second drink was the salty caramel latte, which sounds sweet from the name alone! It has caramel's sweet, nutty flavor with a salty note added. I think it suits people who prefer a drink where sweet and salty blend over a latte that's only sweet. If you like rich caramel flavor, it's worth ordering once, and it's a good pick for days you crave something sweet.

The thick cream on the cream latte was especially delicious bb

Plain financier vs. salted chocolate financier

Upper and Under's plain financier is the basic baked sweet, enjoyed for the flavor of the butter itself. A financier lets you enjoy rich buttery flavor, so it's one of my personal favorite baked sweets to have with coffee.

If the plain financier is the basic one for savoring butter, the salted chocolate financier adds a salty note to chocolate's sweetness! Adding salt to sweet chocolate makes the sweetness even more distinct, right? So I definitely recommend it for anyone who usually likes the sweet-and-salty combo.

Is Upper and Under's fig cake very sweet?

Upper and Under's fig cake isn't very sweet, and the fruit's own flavor and the cream went well together without either standing out. It was also the dessert I'd been looking forward to most this time.

Figs are a fruit with a subtle sweetness and a charming crunchy seed texture. It has a different appeal from an ordinary chocolate cake or cheesecake, so I recommend it if you usually like fruit desserts! Best of all, the fig cake looks pretty, so it's great for photos hehe

Would I go back to Upper and Under near Sinnonhyeon Station?

If you're looking for a spacious café with a nice atmosphere in Gangnam, I recommend Upper and Under! As a large multi-floor café it offers a variety of spaces, and I also liked the wide range of desserts, from cakes to financiers.

I liked being able to taste everything from fruit cake to baked sweets in one go, and every dessert we tried was better than just okay. Personally, the fig cake was pretty and not too sweet, so it was delicious. If you're looking for a café with friends around Gangnam Station or Sinnonhyeon Station, or a dessert café with a nice mood for a date, give Upper and Under a visit!