Tucked in a small alleyway behind the main street of Gyeongridan gil, there is a white latticed brick wall with a high wooden door. If you pass through the door’s gateway there is a small pebbled courtyard with a party leading up to a tiled veranda and the entrance to Cafe Beyond Moon.
The cafe's inside was relatively small and intimate. But there were also nice outdoor areas. I went on a freezing day in the dead of winter, but as soon as I entered the cafe I was greeted with a lovely warm and cozy feeling.
The walls of the cafe were painted in a warm cream color that immediately gave off a comforting feel. The floors were tiled with a grey tile. The rear walls of the cafe were concrete with parts of it broken up with the same latticed bricks that surround the outer of the cafe. These latticed sections of wall let beautiful natural light stream though into the cafe. This was somewhat reminiscent of a church or some kind of holy place, giving the space an ethereal feeling.
The cafe's colour scheme was very neutral with a lot of natural finishes. The finishes were either concrete, tile, brick or wood. With the exception of of two larger tables, most of the seating was around a bar seat that went around the rear wall of the cafe. In front of this were tables and a few extra wooden chairs. The bar chair and most of the tables’ base were tiled and most of the table tops were marble.
However even with these usually cold finishes, the space had such a warm feeling to it. While most of the seating was in one room, there was also outside seating. I came on a quiet day to study, and there were no other customers, but usually on weekends the cafe is busy and definitely a place to socialize. Since the tables were also quite low it was a little uncomfortable to work.
There wasn’t a lot of artwork in the cafe. Instead, most of the decorations were mirrors, lamps and trinkets such as candle sticks and vases of dried flowers or twigs. Much of the decoration came from dried wood or flowers and this alongside linen also acted to balance out the coldness of the tile and concrete. This also gave quite a feminine motherly feel to the space.
As for what I ordered, I got a chai tea and French toast. When ordering the chai I was given a choice between normal or spicy. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I decided to go with spicy. They weren't joking about spicy. The spice came from ginger which gave a huge kick to the tea. For me the ginger flavour was overpowering and I would definitely only recommend getting the spicy version if you are a big fan of ginger. The French toast was lovely; it was perfectly cooked with a nice amount of butter and syrup. Also the aroma of French toast being made filled the space reminding me of home.
Cafe Beyond Moon is a cozy and intimate cafe. In dead beat terms it is a warm and inviting café that is a perfect spot to spend time with someone you care about or even spend some quality alone time. Not only that, if you’re a lover of French toast, you must stop by to satisfy your sweet tooth.
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