[Seoul - Gangnam] Standard Coffee Bar

Green Tea Ice Cream Waffle and Iced Americano from Standard Coffee Bar
Standard Coffee Bar is famous for its house roasts, waffles, and terrace.

If you know Gangnam well, you know there are some good cafes on the "Cafe Hill." I love Cafe Hill.

Last summer (2012), I went to Gangnam almost every weekend for brunch/meeting friends/going to cafes. I had been eyeing the Standard Coffee Bar the whole summer, but I just ran out of time to try it. (I was working crazy hours and went home exhausted every day.)

I finally had the chance to go this past summer with unni.
She suggested getting an ice cream waffle since that is their most well-known/popular item. It was a hard decision since I really love bingsu, but I am happy that I listened to the masses. Typically, in Korea, if you order the popular item, you will not be disappointed. This was definitely the case with this waffle.

Ice cream waffle:
You have the choice of ice cream flavors - green tea, vanilla, or chocolate. The waffle is 9800KRW (~$9.60USD). I believe you could add an additional scoop of ice cream for an additional fee.

Americano: 4500KRW (Hot), 5000KRW (Iced)
This Americano was just so-so. If you NEED caffeine, it will do the job, but if not, I would skip it. It is expensive, this is Gangnam after all, but you can get better flavored Americano from the subway station. But, the size is pretty large when compared to other coffee shops, so it may be worth it. You can also get a refill for an additional fee (1000KRW for a hot Americano, 1500KRW for an iced Americano).

Green Tea Ice Cream Waffle and Iced Americano from Standard Coffee Bar
 For your reference, the "Standard bingsu" is 15,000KRW for "2 people." It is the classic patbingsu (bingsu with sweetened red beans). The "nokcha bingsu" is 17,000KRW. This is a green tea base, pat, almonds, and a scoop of green tea ice cream on the top.


We went on a Sunday afternoon, so there were a ton of people cafe-hopping. The atmosphere of the cafe was quite nice. I could see it being a nice place to relax during the weekday when there are fewer people around since it was quite loud. We sat on the first floor, but there is a nice second floor, too. There are also some great seats on the veranda/balcony/terrace. You can sit and people watch, but it was way too hot this day to do that. Korean summer was crazy this year.

Directions:
From exit 11 of Gangnam Station (Line 2/Bundang Line), walk straight until you get to the CGV. From there, turn right and walk up the hill. Keep walking straight and it will be on your left. (You'll also pass Julio, one of my favorite Mexican food places in Seoul...Korean TexMex?)



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