Gangnam-gu is Seoul's upscale business and entertainment district south of the Han River. Home to K-pop entertainment companies, COEX Mall, and the Apgujeong-Rodeo shopping strip, it attracts young professionals, tourists, and K-drama fans. Restaurants here tend toward the polished and premium, with a density of international cuisine, high-end Korean dining, and trendy cafés.
EATThe space is beautiful, in a clean, Nordic sort of way. Unfortunately, that's about the only positive thing I can say about Cafe Pleno. Service staff are about as warm and welcoming as those you might encounter in a Russian state-run cafe. They want you to bus your own table, but charge you more than a full service restaurant. To top it off, their croissant is stale and dry, like a weeks-old Costco bought pastry. The thin sliced bread in the avocado toast is equally stale, and topped off with tasteless avocado and sliced hard-boiled egg - first time I've eaten one at a cafe that's far worse than what I could've whipped up at home. Please, don't juts trust my opinions. Do go ahead and try for yourself. The low quality of their food was a bit unbelievable and left me wondering how it stayed in business - I'm curious to hear your opinion.
This was a place I absolutely wanted to visit when I went to Korea. I don't have a favorite idol here, but I enjoyed imagining that they filmed their YouTube videos here. The food was delicious too. I'm glad they weren't closed for Chuseok.
A famous Jang Geun-suk cafe. The drinks aren't hot, and the cakes taste like vegetable cream.
Korean blogger posts. Links open original posts on Naver.
