Gangnam group meetup café, double vanilla canelé: Upper and Under

Finding a café near Gangnam Station that's actually nice for meeting up and chatting with friends or a partner isn't as easy as it sounds~ This time I went looking for a Gangnam Station café and ended up at Upper and Under.

Where Upper and Under is and when it opens

Upper and Under is a café at 28 Gangnam-daero 102-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, using floors from B1 up to the 2nd floor. It's open daily from 11:00 to 22:00, and there's no parking.

The first thing that caught my eye was the clean white exterior. Since they use a whole building as the café, it's spacious, and the vibe is great from the outside in~ Perfect for coming with friends or a partner.

Is there enough seating for a group?

This Gangnam Station café had plenty of space, good for several people to sit together. These days a lot of pretty cafés turn out to have cramped seating once you're inside, making it awkward to stay long, but Upper and Under had none of that pressure — I liked it!

It's good for a group of friends to gather and talk, and also nice for a date over coffee and dessert. I felt this was a Gangnam Station café that shines more with several people than for solo time. There's group seating too, making it a good spot for a Gangnam group meetup.

Cakes and baked goods in the Upper and Under showcase

This Gangnam Station café is also famous as a Sinnonhyeon Station dessert spot! There are several kinds of cake, like Basque cheesecake and fig cake, so dessert lovers will enjoy picking one~ Just looking at the showcase is dizzying!

There was a range of baked goods too — financier, madeleine, fig pie and more — a good lineup to pair simply with coffee!

I like both madeleines and financiers, but that day the canelé caught my eye. I really love canelé. There were both vanilla canelé and double vanilla canelé to choose from! Just looking at the baked goods put me in a good mood.

The four items ordered at Upper and Under

At Upper and Under I ordered four things: an iced vanilla latte, shine muscat sparkling ade, tiramisu, and a double vanilla canelé.

The order came out~

Iced vanilla latte

The iced vanilla latte was smooth milk with sweet vanilla added, easy to drink without feeling heavy! It wasn't overly sweet — the coffee's slight bitterness came through alongside the vanilla sweetness, and it paired well with the desserts~

Shine muscat sparkling ade

The shine muscat sparkling ade has a different refreshing feel from coffee! The characteristic sweet, crisp muscat flavor plus carbonation makes it clean to drink. Even with sweet desserts, it kind of resets your palate~

Tiramisu

Tiramisu, ordered for dessert. As a classic pairing for coffee, the soft cream and coffee flavor blend nicely. Sweet with a touch of coffee bitterness, it went really well together with the iced vanilla latte~

Double vanilla canelé

Double vanilla canelé. The outside has that signature chewy, rich flavor of canelé, and the inside is soft, so it's great with coffee! Adding vanilla makes it sweeter and more fragrant than a regular canelé — delicious. The double vanilla canelé definitely has a stronger vanilla scent. That crisp-outside, soft-inside texture I love is fully there — really tasty!

Final verdict on Upper and Under

If you're looking for a good-vibe, spacious café near Gangnam Station with plenty of baked goods and cakes to enjoy too, I'd recommend this Gangnam Station café, Upper and Under! Next time I want to try one of the other baked goods or cakes I didn't get to this time, along with coffee~