New Korean café hotspot: vintage large tables and bottled milk tea with high popularity

Photo/Text provided by Man E & Man J — A Man’s Daily Life —

When I visited Seoul in mid-February, I just happened to catch the grand opening of the Social Club Seoul café. A classical and luxurious crystal chandelier hung dramatically over a long white table, where everyone sat around with a bottle of Earl Grey milk tea in hand, seemingly each trying their best to take the most beautiful photo.

Social Club Seoul, which opened just in mid-February, is located about an 8-minute walk from Exit 2 of the Yeompo Station in Mapo District. There are not many beverage options; aside from Americano, all coffee items come with milk and fresh cream. The current most popular items in the shop are bottled Earl Grey milk tea and scones, and recently they also launched a limited-time white chocolate cheesecake available only in April and May.

Social Club Seoul, which caused a lot of buzz on Seoul’s social media right after opening, is run by the same people who previously founded the well-known Seoul cafés “cafe Utter” and “REGULAR SERVICE COFFEE.” When we previously followed the news of “Cafe Utter” closing, they had announced they would return to meet everyone again, but no one expected it would be under such a unique new brand. Only on-site registration for waiting is available, and every day there is a huge crowd gathered at the glass door. We waited about 30 minutes for a seat that day.

European-style palace porcelain plates are casually arranged on the long table, and the entire space is decorated with white fabric curtains and wooden drawing boards, giving off a slightly artistic vibe.

The bottled Earl Grey milk tea for takeaway contains 82% milk, has a rich milky flavor, is moderately sweet, and carries a faint hint of Earl Grey tea aroma.