2nd-floor terrace vanilla Basque cheesecake near Sinnonhyeon Station

Upper and Under, a café near Sinnonhyeon Station, is a Gangnam dessert spot known for its great 2nd-floor terrace view.

Location and hours of Upper and Under

Upper and Under is a Sinnonhyeon Station café with a lovely outdoor terrace near Gangnam Station.

It sits between Gangnam and Sinnonhyeon stations, close to Sinnonhyeon Station Exit 6. Hours are daily 11:00–22:00.

Exterior and the 2nd-floor outdoor terrace

Upper and Under is located on the café-lined alley near Sinnonhyeon Station. There are lots of cafés along this strip, but Upper and Under sits at a small intersection, which gives the 2nd floor a wide-open view — a real plus.

The 2nd-floor terrace seats had such an open feel — this Gangnam Station café would be perfect for a coffee outdoors now that the weather's turned cool and crisp for autumn.

Seating mood by floor

This Gangnam Station café spans three floors — basement, 1st, and 2nd — so there are tons of seats. The basement is cozy and quiet. Bread and drinks are ordered at the 1st-floor counter, and the 2nd floor is seating-only and the largest space.

Menu board and prices

There's a wide range of drinks — coffee, tea, ades, non-coffee options, and decaf coffee too.

The bakery menu is mostly slice cakes and baked snacks, but there was a good variety of financiers.

• Vanilla Basque cheesecake 9.0
• Yellow cheese Basque cheesecake 9.5
• Ube Basque cheesecake 9.5

Tiramisu, lemon raspberry, and fig cake.

• Caramel cheese pie 7.2
• Crème brûlée flan 6.9
• Peach pie 8.3

There were so many canelés and financiers at this Gangnam Station café that I spent quite a while deciding what to get. Since writing a Naver review gets you a free financier, I picked two things I wanted first, wrote the review, and got one more 🤗

What we ordered

• Vanilla Basque cheesecake 9.0
• Vanilla canelé 4.2
• Plain financier 3.8
• Pistachio cream latte 8.0 (+0.5 for decaf)
• Flat white 6.8
• / Total ₩32,300

We ordered two drinks and four desserts — the baked snacks are bite-sized anyway, so they disappeared fast alongside the coffee haha.

Decaf pistachio cream latte and flat white

The pistachio cream latte, switched to decaf for an extra ₩500. A generous, nutty-sweet pistachio cream sits on top, making it soft and sweet all the way through.

The flat white has less milk, so the flavor is stronger! Since the two are so different, ordering one of each worked out well.

Alternating between the cream latte and the flat white was fun! 🤭

Vanilla Basque cheesecake

Upper and Under's Basque cheesecake was excellent. It's my all-time favorite Basque cheesecake, so when I saw only one piece left, I snatched it up haha — and it was the best thing we ate.

Rather than fully dense, this Basque cheesecake is on the moist side, with a rich, sweet cheese flavor — it would probably pair even better with an Americano than a latte! Flecked with vanilla bean for a nice aroma, it had been a while since I'd had cheesecake, and I cleared the whole thing happily.

Vanilla canelé and financier

Time to try the cute canelé and financier!

The vanilla canelé is on the larger side, and rather than crisp-outside-chewy-inside, it has a soft, fluffy texture throughout — more of a pillowy bread feel than a caramelized crust 😇

The two financiers tasted quite different: the plain financier is slightly crisp outside and chewy inside, while the pistachio financier (4.5) has a coating, making it sweeter. Freezing both and eating them frozen made them chewier and even tastier than at room temperature — frozen financiers really are the way to go 🥰

Wrapping up on Upper and Under

If you're after a Gangnam Station spot with a great terrace view, a moist vanilla Basque cheesecake worth seeking out, or a comfortable café for easy conversation, Upper and Under near Sinnonhyeon Station is a solid pick for meeting up with friends.