Down a small alleyway, behind Gongdeok’s high rises is where you will find the rock façade of Grotto Coffee. And even before you enter the café, you know that Grotto is unique.
To get into the café you must take a few steps down into the basement. Though the cafe is in a basement, the full glass door and window let in a nice amount of natural light.
While the café is small, it’s interior makes a big impact. The walls and ceiling are all painted in a rusty red colour, which though very unique, complemented the rest of the café well.
Like the façade, the main counter was covered in large natural rock tiles. This makes it the focal point of the café. Moreover, the rock theme is carried over to the floor which had a pebble finish.
The lighting was well placed, and even there was one circular light that gave off the feeling of a sun. There were also interestingly shaped mirrors that made the space look bigger, and were also incredibly Instagramable.
Also, since the café was small, and most of the tables were either low or very high, it was more suited to socialising.
This café didn’t have many decorations, but they were not needed as the vital elements of the café, i.e the counter, lighting and colour were interesting enough on their own. However in the back of the café there was a large rock tower sculpture that reminded me somewhat of a cactus. In fact, the whole café reminded me of an arid plain at sunset.
As for the drinks, I ordered the Wedding Imperial iced milk tea and cream pongdang. The milk tea came in a bottle and had a beautiful silky texture with a lovely sweet flavour over the tea. And I have to say, this is one of the best iced milk teas in Seoul.
When I ordered the cream pongdang, I had no idea what to expect. However, what I got was toasted bread fingers and thin cream sauce to dip them in. Pongdang in English is the sound of something dropping into water. Since you had to dip the toast into the cream, it made sense. Though the dessert was quite strange, it was tasty none the less.
Grotto Coffee is a truly unique café. In dead beat terms, if you’re tired of typical cafes, this is where you need to be. Not only will you be able to enjoy the interior, you can also enjoy one of the best milk teas in town.
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