Aug 6, 2020 9 min read Drink

Something About Coffee: Gangnam's Most Magical Dessert Cafe

Originally reviewed on July 27, 2020

Name

한글 🇰🇷	ENGLISH 🇺🇸
썸띵어바웃커피	Something About Coffee

I'll just say this right now—this place is loud on weekends; if you're looking for something quiet, either come on a weekday or seek elsewhere.

Price

Korean Won 🇰🇷	United States Dollar 🇺🇸
₩15,000	~$12

This price is for a drink and a dessert or two, per person. They're small.

Operating Hours

Day	Open	Close
Everyday	12:00	23:00

Rain or shine, this place is open every day of the year, sans large holidays.

Location

Seoul Seek Recommendations

👑 Signature
✅ Counting Calories
🌶️ Spicy

한글 🇰🇷	English 🇺🇸	Price 💵
레몬에이드	Lemonade	₩7,000
달고나 아이스크림라떼	Dalgona Ice Cream Latte 👑	₩8,000
크림치즈 휘낭시에	Cream Cheese Financier	₩2,500
카라멜 & 넛츠 휘낭시에	Caramel and Nuts Financier	₩2,500
레터링케이크	Lettering Cake (Chocolate & Coconut) 👑	₩4,500

As you'll soon see, there are a lot of desserts here. The two signatures that the staff will recommend to you are the dalgona ice cream latte, and the lettering cake (which is by default, chocolate with coconut flakes spattered over it).

Take some time and scope out what's available; they do not immediately replace desserts which are sold out, so make sure you check out what's available below. They rotate weekly, but for the most part, all desserts will remain the same, sans specials or promotions.

Overview

This is one of the best cafes I've ever been to. The only thing ragging on this place's ranking for me personally is the audio level within it. The music is loud, the near-hundred people talking is ear-shattering. To be fair, however, we arrived at noon on a Sunday to review. If you slide in here on a very random weekday at some strange time, like 3PM on a Wednesday, it's going to be very quiet and nice.

This is, by floor space, among the largest cafes in Gangnam. It is three floors, which in itself is quite rare sans Starbucks, and has an outdoor area with beanbags on top of having a balcony, which is open during the summer months if it's not too hot.

The desserts are very high quality, and made fresh daily (hourly is more accurate). The pastry chefs here are elite, and imported. This is a favorite meetup spot for locals. The menus and everything else are in English, and the staff here is bilingual given it's location in the middle of a massive tourist trap road, so no worries if you aren't up to speed on Korean.

Arrival

I realize these pictures have a bit of a blue tint to them; I could have gone through and corrected each and every picture, but you'll notice when you actually arrive here that the tint within the establishment is the same blue. It is not white, despite it looking like it's pure white. It's almost an off-blue-white mixture.

Once inside, you'll see this stairway staring at you; go to 2F and order, then move about as you wish

This massive Gatsby-like chandelier watches you as you arrive at the top of the stairs

These are the goods; as you can see, some are low on stock while others are full

Arrive too late, you'll need to wait for a spot to scope the desserts out

This is the outermost seat of the cafe on the deck outside

Yeah, I don't know either; adds to the "magical" aesthetic, I guess

Here's the code if you ever need it; available to anyone who orders

The Desserts

Financiers; caramel and nut on the left, cream cheese on the right

Another shot of these bad boys; anything with Lotus on it deserves two takes

Matcha aang-butter (slang for "yummy butter with red bean") sandwich

I had to snap this real quick while picking our tray up; it's an apple/mango cake someone ordered

They also ordered one of those matcha desserts shown earlier

Our Meal

This is a great place for a quick date or day out with your friend or significant other. A chill spot with a nice view, and relaxed atmosphere.

The product was very good quality. The lemonade was genuine, with no added instant mixture, and the dalgona ice cream latte was elite.

We sat right next to the pink skull, which is an iconic symbol at night to identify this cafe by

As you can see, the wall is not pure white; it's this very strange off-white-blue type color

We ended up getting three desserts total; two financiers and the lettering cake

Tons of coconut; only order if you like coconut

The latte has thick, large crumbles of dalgona

They give you a cool bent spoon to stir with

As you can see the dalgona pieces are generous

Stir it up a bit to even out the flavors

Let the ice cream soak all that flavor up

It's actually a massive scoop, even by conservative standards

Another shot of the desserts; they provide you with quite a sharp butter knife

The inside of this was extremely moist and soft; very good textures happening here

Perfectly moist; you can visually see how moist it is, it is dripping wet

The nuts contain almonds, walnuts, and hazelnuts

Less moist than the cream cheese one, and more thoroughly baked

Both financiers' bottoms were identical; perfectly baked

Summary

A simple cafe with a unique aesthetic needs no deep explanation or analysis. The owner's intent is to provide a magical feeling to those wanting a drink and desserts, and they achieve that very well.

It is affordable, spacious, and extremely clean. The product is crafted both with care and expertise, and the taste supports it.

You will find numerous cafes on the road listed on the map where this is located, to pull tourists in claiming that they are the best, cheapest, with high quality desserts—no such combination exists, and this establishment doesn't claim such.

I've tried nearly every restaurant on that road, and the number I'd recommend to someone visiting can be counted on one hand; this is one of those. Located on a street which is extremely saturated with mid-tier overpriced food and tourist catering, Something About Coffee does its own thing, pridefully.

Taking a pinch of American feeling, mixing it with some French flavors, and presenting it in a familiar package to locals, it achieves high marks.

Try this spot out if you're wanting some magic on your taste buds.