Update (May 2017): Relieve is out of business. Itaewon as well as Gangnam branches have sadly closed down. But following you can still find our original review.

After paying a visit to their Gangnam monolith-like branch a few weeks back, it was time to also return to Relieve’s Itaewon location.

Naver maps link: Relieve Itaewon – 릴리브

Google maps:

Same level of beautiful as in Gangnam, but very differently executed and combined with a great view, the cafe is worth visiting even without having any coffee; but that was not what we came for.

For hand-drip coffee there was only one option, a blend (a pretty pricey one). Would be nice to see some single origins in the future, too.

Preparation was as it should be. Beans and water were weighed, attention to process was high. Minor minus only for not wetting the filter before infusion, but white bleached filters tend to not influence taste as much as brown ones, so that’s OK. 

The result was a clean cup, with a light citrus note.

Relieve is definitely high on the list of recommended place – not only for the architecture and view, but also their coffee game is top notch.