Yeonnam-dong café for laptop work and fig terrine: Jitheunsan

Including this visit, I can remember going to Jitheunsan (짙은산) in Yeonnam-dong nine times. I keep returning for its quiet, calm atmosphere and the separate areas for working and chatting. This time, I heard they had a fig cake, so I went with my mom.

Where is Jitheunsan, and is parking available?

The address is 27 Seongmisan-ro 29an-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea, on the first floor (서울 마포구 성미산로29안길 27 1층). I got off at Yeonhui Baeksagoji and walked down the stairs; the café was visible right away from there.

When I wrote the original post, the listed hours were 8:30 AM to 11:00 PM. There was information about takeout discounts, takeaway packaging, reservations, and group visits. Parking was not available.

Which seats are good for laptop work or reading?

The separate spaces are the main reason I like Jitheunsan. When all the tables are together, I sometimes feel self-conscious about opening my laptop. Here, having a work area separate from the space for conversation made me feel comfortable.

The work area has window seats and one large table. The tables were at a comfortable height, and I could look outside, making these seats good for reading as well as laptop work.

Are there comfortable seats for chatting together?

The back of the café is a comfortable space for conversation. There are tables for groups of three or more and soft sofa seats. The sofa seating felt cozy and comfortable enough to sit and relax for a while.

Blankets were also available for anyone feeling cold.

What drinks and desserts are available?

Alongside coffee, there were wine, tea, and non-coffee drinks, so there was plenty to choose from. The options included Americanos, café lattes, Einspänner (cream-topped coffee), matcha spanner (a cream-topped matcha drink), fresh chocolate lattes, strawberry lattes, rooibos tea, and maesil tea (green plum tea).

There were several flavors of terrine cake, a dense, smooth dessert: chestnut, fig cream cheese, ssukjeolmi (mugwort and injeolmi rice cake), pistachio cherry, and matcha. Terrine mochi, terrine parfaits, and chestnut affogato were also on the menu. With the desserts displayed where I could see them all, I took a while to decide, but this time I chose the seasonal fig cream cheese terrine cake.

How much were the fig terrine and ade, and how did they taste?

I ordered fig cream cheese terrine cake and grapefruit lemon ade, a sparkling citrus drink, to share with my mom.

• Fig cream cheese terrine cake: ₩9,500
• Grapefruit lemon ade: ₩7,000
• Total price of our order: ₩16,500

The terrine had a thick, dense texture, unlike a typical sponge cake. It melted smoothly in my mouth, with fresh figs inside and more fresh figs on top.

I thought the cream cheese might make it too rich or sweet, but the pieces of fig and gentle sweetness kept it from feeling overly rich to me. My mom enjoyed it too.

I could taste the bittersweet grapefruit pulp in the grapefruit lemon ade. The tangy, sweet juice and cool drink refreshed my mouth after the dense cake. They went well together.

Can you reserve a mini terrine cake?

There was a notice saying mini terrine cakes could also be ordered and reserved in advance. The fig cream cheese terrine I tried was a seasonal item at the time of my visit. I didn't get to try the terrine mochi this time, so I'd like to have it on my next visit.