Recently, I went on a trip with my friend to Songdo, an hour and a half south west of Seoul. Songdo, known as an international city, is a new city part of the greater Incheon area. On our way to Songdo, my friend and I stopped in at Namdonggu, near the Incheon Bus Terminal.
We made our way down a small street, typical of an old-fashioned neighbourhood. However tucked between the old markets and food stores, were new trendy cafes and restaurants, one of which was That Coffee. And with an all-black façade, it’s hard to miss.
I must admit when my friend and I first walked into the café, we were disappointed. The café that we were seeing was different to the one we had seen on Instagram.
Every surface from the floor to the walls, to the counter to the seating, were all jet black. In design terms, almost all of the aspects of the café were geometrical, sharp and were all made of metal. The only non-metal surface were some diner style seats that had a cushion cover. Moreover, since there was also no real kind of decoration, the space had no real character.
Since almost everything was made of metal, the café felt almost cage like. This made the café feel unwelcoming and cold. On top of this, the music was very upbeat pop music that didn’t seem to fit the space.
It was only till my friend went to the bathroom that we realised that there was a second floor. This was the space that we had been looking for all along. The first floor had just opened about a week earlier, while this second floor was the original.
The second floor had a completely different feel to the first. While black was still the main colour used, other colours along side a mix of finishes were also used in this space. Some of the walls were black while others were white. The floor was a gray mixed gravel like finish. This small variation of colour made a huge difference to the space, so here the atmosphere felt so much lighter.
The table and seats were of different shapes, sizes and even materials, which helped to add interest. There were also green plants everywhere, and even the lighting changed the atmosphere. The music (smooth rnb and soul) was also different on this floor and added a more relaxing feeling to the space.
This all made the space feel light, but also chic. So it was disappointing to see that the style of the original floor was not carried on to the new floor.
In terms of what we ordered, I had a milk tea, my friend had an iced americano and we shared a chocolate cake. Both the milk tea and iced americanno were just so so. However, the cake was delicious, even for people who don't like chocolate cake.
The cake was a multilayered cake with a layer of chocolate sponge like cake among layers of chocolate mousse and with a biscuit base. Its texture was smooth and velvety and its chocolate flavour was strong but not bitter. Moreover, the cake was topped off with a beautiful mirror glaze, which makes it incredibly instagramable. So not only did it look good, it tasted good too.
This is a hard café to review, since the two floors were so different. But in dead beat terms, if you can get a seat on the second floor, this café is worth it. However, if you can’t, don’t bother, unless you’re craving for slice of chocolate cake.
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