Walking down to the further end of Yeonnamdong in a small side street, you can find the dark façade of Turn Down Service.
The café and hand-crafted leather shop is a small space. There is a small wooden deck you must cross before entering the café. The café is fronted with glass bifold doors that were open, since the weather was lovely the day my friend and I went.
The main part of the café is in an L shape. As you enter it, to your left is a small display of small leather goods and prints. Going further in, there was the main counter as well as the rest of the seating.
All though the café was small, there was quite a few tables in the space. Most of the seating was for two people, however there was also a round table for four people, as well as a long bench that looked out onto the street. However, there wasn’t that much space between the tables and so they felt a little cramped together, especially in corona times.
As for the interior, the ceiling and roof were covered in caramel toned ply wood, and the floor was a light greyish coloured carpet. Most of the tables were wooden with a black trim with black chairs to match, except for the large circular table that had bright coloured chairs, typical of in trend cafes.
While it was a lovely space, during the day and in person, it was hard to capture it in pictures. This is was due to the wall finishes and lighting, both natural and inside. Since the space was so small it also felt strange and a little uncomfortable taking pictures, an unusual feeling in Korea.
There was also an extra, relatively large part of the café, that was an empty space apart from worktable with what looked like some leather crafting tools on top.
Though it made sense that there would be this kind of decoration, being a leather shop and all, it seemed more of a waste of space. Since the café was quite small, this space would have been better used for more seating.
Although the general ambience of the cafe was calming and laidback, since it was slightly cramped, when all the seats were full it was a little noisy. This meant that it was more suited to socialising.
As for the drinks, I got white petal tea iced and my friend got an iced americano. The tea was served in a tea pot, which is always a lovely touch for a tea lover. The tea was a blend of Egyptian chamomile petals, osmanthus flowers and full leaf tea and had a lovely flavour. However, I regret getting the iced version of the tea. While it was refreshing on a warm day, the flavour was very subtle. I think that if it was hot, it would have brought out the flavour more. As for the coffee, from Moriplatz Seoul, my friend said that it was quite good and had a well balanced flavour.
If you come to Turn Down Service expecting a Instagram shoot, you will be let down. In dead beat terms, this is a café that is best enjoyed in through your own eyes. If you want some nice ambience, like leather and don’t mind being cramped, this is a nice café to visit, especially in the day time.
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