Sinnonhyeon bakery café, crispy choco financier: Upper and Under

Today's story is about Upper and Under, a café near Sinnonhyeon Station.

Where is Upper and Under, and what are the opening hours?

Upper and Under sits between Gangnam Station and Sinnonhyeon Station, just up the road above Gangnam CGV. It is open every day from 11am to 10pm. I've been to plenty of cafés around Gangnam Station, but I had no idea a pretty one like this was here. It feels relaxed and peaceful, not like Seoul at all.

Upper and Under · 28 Gangnam-daero 102-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (basement level, 1st and 2nd floors)

The hours are longer than I expected, so it seems very convenient. Go up half a flight of stairs and you reach the café entrance. Doesn't it look so peaceful? Even though the day was overcast, plenty of light came in.

What desserts and baked goods does Upper and Under sell?

True to a bakery café, Upper and Under had lots of cute baked sweets like financiers (small almond-butter cakes), canelés (caramelized custard pastries) and madeleines.

We went after dinner, so some breads were already sold out, but all the basic baked sweets were still there.

There were financiers, canelés and madeleines. They're the most basic ones, but they're delicious, right?

They have cheesecake too, haha. There's even the ube cheesecake that's so trendy these days.

Aren't the breads so cute too, haha?

The mango pie looks so pretty that I think it would be great for photos.

Upper and Under also seems to be fairly well known for its tiramisu cream cakes.

I debated between the lemon and the tiramisu, then went with the original tiramisu. The lemon and raspberry look refreshing too! They seem perfect as a dessert.

Upper and Under drinks: what cream goes in the Einspänner?

The Upper and Under menu runs from coffee to cream drinks to non-coffee drinks. Check the menu photos below.

There's a mango sherbet latte and a cream latte too, but we ordered an iced Americano and an Einspänner (coffee topped with whipped cream). I love cream, you see! When I asked the staff, they said Upper and Under uses animal-based cream. Though the mango sherbet latte looks so delicious.

Best seats at Upper and Under: 1st floor, 2nd floor or terrace?

Upper and Under has seating on both the 1st and 2nd floors.

The 1st floor looked more comfortable than I expected. If a seat is uncomfortable it's hard to sit for long, but these are comfy chairs with backrests.

We took the stairs up to the 2nd floor. Haha, there are tables on the 2nd floor too, but the weather was nice, so the outdoor terrace looked better. A breeze was blowing and with the tree view it was total healing.

How do Upper and Under's tiramisu, chocolate financier and canelé taste?

At Upper and Under we ordered tiramisu, a chocolate financier and a canelé, with an iced Americano and an Einspänner. Ta-da, here are the drinks and bakery items we ordered.

Wow, for a café the photo is half the fun, and everything came out so pretty. It really made me want to take pictures.

Einspänner with dairy cream at Upper and Under

The Einspänner at Upper and Under comes topped with fluffy cream. The coffee tastes good too, and it goes well with the nutty cream.

You can scoop the cream with a spoon on its own, or drink it so you taste the cream and coffee together. Both work.

Chocolate financier, canelé and tiramisu compared

Lots of other people were ordering this combo too! The chocolate financier was really delicious!! The outside is crisp like a cookie, while the inside is moist like a bakery cake.

The canelé is totally crispy outside, moist inside. Can you see how moist the inside is?

Next, the tiramisu. It has soft cream plus chocolate cream inside, so it was sweet. Personally, the chocolate financier is the best. Upper and Under is totally a financier hot spot.

The iced Americano was also so cold and refreshing, perfect with the baked goods.

Is Upper and Under worth a visit near Sinnonhyeon Station?

Upper and Under, a Gangnam Station café with a lovely atmosphere and tasty desserts, is a pretty café that makes you feel like you've briefly gone traveling, even though it's in Gangnam. If you're looking for a café near Gangnam Station or Sinnonhyeon Station, I recommend it.