Volver: Hapjeong

On one of Hapjeong’s large main roads, lined with trees, there is a weathered white brick building. In the building is a stairway lit with warm light that if you follow up to the second floor you will find yourself at a small café.

Volver is a small but open and bright café. It’s walls and ceiling were concrete with a polished concrete floor. The ordering counter was wooden painted in solid black.

The colour black was also carried throughout the café on chars and lights, as well as on the window frames. Artwork was simple and tied red into the main colour scheme of the space. The red could have also been an intentional tie in to the red asphalt on the street below.

The focal point of the café though, were two large windows looking out onto the street. Since the windows had a black frame around them, it gave the illusion of artwork. And with the street outside lined with beautiful trees, there was a nice view that complemented the space well.

While the view was still nice, despite going in early winter with most of the trees having shed their leaves, in summer or fall the view of the trees would for sure bring even more beauty to the space. Also, the windows also made the space feel open as well as let in lovely natural light.

As for seating, while there was a set of low chairs and a stainless and glass table, most of the tables were regular height for twos or fours. The space had a minimal and chic feel to it while at the same time has calming and quiet atmosphere. This made it great for working and quiet chit chat.

Alongside drinks, the café also offered cakes. So I ordered vanilla black tea, my friend got an americano and we shared banana bread. The tea was nice, however as someone who likes to take a black tea with milk, it would have been better with milk. However it was also nice to see the tea served with an extra dish for the tea bag once it had finished seeping to avoid bitterness. My friend said the americano was fine and had an average taste to it.

However, the winner was the banana bread which we got topped with vanilla ice cream. The banana bread was lovely and dense. Also once the ice cream had melted to almost form a sauce, complemented the bread perfectly adding a creaminess to it.

Volver is an intimate and simple café. In deadbeat terms, this is a nice quiet and calm to take some time to rest, do some work or have an quiet chat. It has a beautiful view that is great for people watching and would best be taken advantage of when the leaves are in full bloom. Also if you’re feeling peckish the café has good options, but just don’t to add ice cream on top.

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