Strawberry tiramisu and parking at Selected Nicks, a Gangnam café

Selected Nicks, the huge café near Gangnam Station, is a place I've actually paid for myself before. My sister, who lives alone in Gangnam, says whenever out-of-towners visit she brings them here. It's a massive café spanning from the basement all the way up to an 8th-floor rooftop, and every floor has a completely different vibe!

• Hours: Mon–Fri 08:00–24:00 / Sat–Sun 11:00–23:30
• Parking available
• Group-friendly
• Takeout, delivery
• Wifi provided
• Terrace, rooftop
• WeChat, Alipay
• Indoor restroom
• Wheelchair-accessible entrance and seating

Where Selected Nicks is and how to park (search 'Taewon Haksa')

• 5-minute walk from Gangnam Station exit 3
• Parking at Selected Nicks — ask a staff member at the café's back door, then navigate to 'Taewon Haksa' and drive to the end of the alley

There's an elevator so getting around is easy, and you've got five whole floors to spread out in — great for laptop work, dates, and group hangouts alike.

The 1F terrace, the B1 hideout and the tiramisu-lined counter at Selected Nicks

The 1st floor of Selected Nicks is the terrace and ordering area. Walk in and you immediately see the terrace seats. Every table has its own parasol blocking the sun, and the trees beside it give a nature-friendly feel that's hard to find in Gangnam. The terrace seats are popular enough to fill up completely.

While checking out the terrace I spotted a sign for the basement level and, curious, went to take a peek — it turned out to be like a secret space. Tucked inside the stairwell, it felt independent, like a hideout.

Just a heads up — you can get a discount by ordering dessert-and-drink sets for 1 to 3 people! The set is such a good deal, with plenty of dessert, that no one will be fighting over not having enough 😂

Classic financier, choco crunch madeleine, cookie brownie — 4.5 (₩ thousand).

Selected Nicks tiramisu prices and flavors

• Classic, banana, chocolate banana tiramisu 7.8
• Pistachio 8.8
• Raspberry, strawberry, carrot 9.8
• 3-flavor platter 14.8
• Dubai 15.8

The 3-flavor platter, which lets you try three flavors at once, is also very popular. Perfect for anyone who wants to eat a little of everything.

The ordering system has you look at the models and photos, put an empty box for the flavor you want into a basket, and order that way. Just going by the names you can't quite tell what you'll get, so the models and photos really help — it was a fun, novel ordering method.

They can gift-wrap it in a box too, so the sisters I went with, insisting it was so delicious their family had to try it, took some home.

There's currently a small pop-up for Pierrot Gourmand, the French luxury lollipop candy brand, so I browsed it while ordering.

* Switching to decaf costs +₩1,000. You can order by menu board at the counter or at the kiosk, and there were plenty of non-coffee menu items. Seeing vitamin drinks on the menu, my sister picked one, saying she needed some energy.

There's a receipt review event where you can win a lottery ticket, and after adding their KakaoTalk channel you can spin a no-lose roulette wheel — one of the prizes was even a dessert takeout voucher haha.

2F, 3F and 8F seating: which floor for laptop work or a group booking?

Selected Nicks' 2nd, 3rd and 8th floors can all be booked privately and are also good for laptop work. On the 2nd floor you can browse a gallery and Manige brand bags at the same time, so having tea while looking at artwork makes it feel more special. The single-seat window spots have outlets, great for solo café time or working.

The 3rd floor has group-share seating, so it looks like it can accommodate larger groups too. The single seats here also have outlets, and the chairs looked more comfortable than the 2nd floor's.

The 8th floor is good for booking as a seminar or party room, and on weekdays it's available from 5pm. When it's not booked, it becomes a quiet space for work and reading — so quiet you can't hear a word — so since I came for girl talk, I just peeked in from outside.

Photos on the Selected Nicks rooftop

The spot we settled into was the Selected Nicks rooftop! Maybe because the weekend weather was good, it was really popular. You can see not just downtown Gangnam but Lotte Tower in the distance, so on a clear day I'd definitely recommend the rooftop.

Everyone was taking so many photos here that I asked to have one taken of me too, and thanks to the great city view, I got a shot for the ages! In front of the 'NICK'S' sign, families and couples alike were all busy snapping photos.

Is Selected Nicks worth it for tiramisu near Gangnam Station?

• Strawberry tiramisu ₩9,800
• Chocolate banana ₩7,800
• Chocolate latte ₩7,000
• Vitamin citron ₩6,500
• Americano ₩6,000

The americano has a hint of acidity, which pairs well with the sweet desserts. The chocolate latte wasn't watery at all — it had a rich flavor. We said it tasted a bit like Swiss chocolate latte.

Curious about the vitamin citron, I stole a sip — it had a gentle yuzu flavor, like a mild version of Bacardi... I mean a mild energy tonic. Not a sharp vitamin taste, so it's easy to drink.

Strawberry tiramisu, 9,800 won

The strawberry version had strawberries, jam, and banana on top, made with mascarpone and strawberry cream cheese. The sponge was so soft it just melted, with a creamy texture just right for this season — I enjoyed it a lot. The mascarpone cream especially was the kick.

Chocolate banana tiramisu, 7,800 won

My sister recommended this so strongly that I had to try it, and one bite in, a pleasant sweetness hit me right away and my eyes went wide. Both the chocolate and banana had a strong presence, and right when it starts feeling too sweet, eating it with the chocolate chips on top brings it back into balance — because they're dark chocolate chips with a bit of bitterness. Not only were they generously piled on top, but chocolate chips were scattered all around the sides too.

The strawberry and chocolate banana were delicious in different ways, and both were quite large in size. Looking at other tables, a lot of people had the pistachio, which made me curious. Everyone seemed to have, as if by agreement, their tiramisu sitting in its own tray — such a cute little detail.

• ✔️ Opens at 8am on weekdays and stays open late every day (23:30–24:00)
• ✔️ 5-minute walk from Gangnam Station exit 3, a large café with parking
• ✔️ Terrace, rooftop, laptop seats, group seats — it has everything