Far away from what feels like established coffee mainstream-land in Gangnam or Yongsan, we went to Seongdong (the former centre of the world when it comes to shoe making). Now, next door to hundreds of active shoe makers, bar and cafe owners try to establish this area as the Brooklyn of Seoul. We stopped by 대림창고 to see how that’s going. 

Naver maps link: 대림창고 (Column Gallery)

Google maps:

The place is truly unique. A transformed factory and warehouse, it stretches over two humongous halls, a small second floor and even a roof top terrace (on their BLOG they have some photos prior to renovation). First time ever that we payed cover charge for a coffee shop (￦10,000 p.p. on weekends, week days free), but the place also serves as an art gallery and the fee includes a drink  of choice. So, not too bad.

And yes it is worth checking out: ambience is great, art work impressive, crowd very hip (and aware). Now to coffee:

From the very slim menu I chose the Ethiopian pour-over. As hoped, given the big setup, the baristas are equipped with scales with integrated timers to prepare a pretty good cup of coffee. Things were properly measured all the way, but maybe a little bit rushed on the pour side (just under 2 minutes; I personally find a bit longer to be beneficial). Only other minus was that coffee by default comes in paper cups with plastic lids (environment and taste buds not so enthusiastic about this).

Regardless, the result was a very fruity cup of coffee that I really enjoyed. The ambience surely played its part in this. We will come back and at least this place is giving its all to make this a bit like Brooklyn- the rest will surely follow.