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I love cute coffee shops~ and if you remember, I talked about the coffee culture in Korea here. In that post, I added a picture of a place where you can eat a flower pot. What? Eat a flowerpot? Disgusting, why would I do that? Read on before judging me!
Banana Tree is a chain of coffee shops that is getting really popular in Korea due to the cuteness of everything they serve. I remember seeing it first on facebook, when some friends posted a picture of a flower pot, or when another friend posted a picture of a delicious Latte with cotton candy on top. After seeing it, I decided I definitely needed to try the place, and after some research I found they have, at least, 2 locations: Sinsa and Itaewon. I’ve heard they have one in Myeongdong too, but not sure about it. Anyway, the closest one for me was Sinsa, so I took a bus from Gangnam and arrived there.
The place is a bit hidden, but you will probably see Casamia (a big shop for home furniture and deco) or the Hotel La Casa (which is on the same building as Casamia). When you see them, you just need to open your eyes wide and you should see the cafe. Banana Tree in Sinsa is a really small place, with barely seats for 10 people. if you are bringing a big party, you will have to squeeze or find somewhere else!
The walls are painted in yellow and you could try spotting all the banana themed stuff. Overall, it’s small, cozy and cute. The menu, which is also very cute, shows you a small range of drinks and desserts, but all of them are very well thought. For example, what makes them famous is the Flower Pop, or the cotton candy drinks. They also have non-alcoholic cocktails and marshmallow latte.
I’ve been here twice, and in my first visit I ordered the Latte with Cotton Candy. It was sweet and pretty~ you can order three different drinks with the cotton candy. If I don’t remember wrong it was Latte, Mocca and Green Tea. I got the Ice Latte, which also came with caramel at the bottom. Yes, really sweet~ maybe I would order it without the caramel because the cotton candy was already sugary enough!
On my second visit, this time with friends, we got some flower pots and an eggyffogato. The flower pots are actually just a recipient in the shape of a flower pot, and inside you have something like a pudding~cupcake. They come in several flavors but we only found two: banana or expresso. On top of the pudding, they will put a piece of straw and 3 or 4 plastic flowers. Finally, to make it even more credible, they will give you a small spoon with the shape of a shovel. Very detailed. I liked that!
You can buy the pots for take-out too, costing 6,300won each, or 24,000w for a set of 4. It is more expensive than eating in, because you get to keep the pot and everything~ think you could be making new pots for your guests in the future!
The eggyfogato is an affogato inside a crystal egg shape, and with a fried egg candy. Super fun! I saw this one on their facebook page, I think it’s a new menu 🙂 For those who don’t know, affogato consists on a vanilla icecream mixed with espresso, so instead of milk or water, you just add the coffee to a sweet ice cream scoop. I found the name to be genious, and the egg shaped recipient was really pretty too. I almost dropped it though, I’d suggest you to be careful because I’m sure this wouldn’t be cheap at all!
I hope you liked this review! Here is more information about the place~
| Address: | 526 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
서울특별시 강남구 신사동 526 (or 서울특별시 강남구 압구정로4길 10 두인빌딩) |
| Opening Hours: | 11:00~21:00 (Monday~Saturday) 12:00~20:00 (Sunday) |
| How to get there: | Subway: Sinsa Station exits 7,8 (line 3) + walk for 12 minutes Bus 4412 (from Gangnam) to the stop 신사중학교 (aprox. 15 minutes) |
| Rating: | 9/10 |
| Comments: | Love what they serve, the decoration, and prices are high but justified.
The Sinsa location is a bit out of the way, and the shop is too small, although I never had problems with seating |
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