After a fantastic dinner sometimes there’s nothing better than a great cup of coffee and some dessert to make the evening complete.
That’s why, after our wonderful dinner at Brother Meat House, we decided to cross the street and try Espresso Lounge to see what the coffee was like there.
Espresso Lounge is in a very large building, especially given that it is in the new downtown region of Ulsan. Typically the rent on these buildings is very high, so I figured that Espresso Lounge must be doing something right!
Entering Espresso Lounge, the coffee roaster that they use is right inside the front door. You can tell that they mean business, coffee business!
The first floor is quite open, and has a very modern décor. There is lots of coffee memorabilia behind the counter, and a nice case of desserts to choose from.
As we perused the menu, we decided on the old standby of a café latte, and chose a piece of Basque Cheesecake to go with it.
The smell of the espresso shot being prepared for our drink was wonderful! The barista was very nice and mentioned that this was not the first Espresso Lounge in South Korea, and that the first one was actually set up on Jeju Island.
We decided to go up to the second floor to enjoy the coffee, and as we went up the stairs, it was like a whole new coffee shop! The décor was mixed and varied, with lots of different types of seating to choose from. There was even a few cacti in one area!
We decided to sit down on a sofa in an alcove, and take a look at our dessert.
Right away, the serving plate for the cheesecake was very different, and looked very stylish.
As we tried the café latte, it was like getting a warm hug. The taste was mild yet fruity, and there was almost no bitterness in the drink. The coffee flavor shone through strongly, which is something that many places have problems with. Frequently with the café latte the milk taste is too strong, but not so at Espresso Lounge.
The Basque cheesecake was still awaiting us. After trying it, it was quite delicious. The sweetness was perfect, and it went very well with the café latte. There was a hint of caramel due to the burnt nature of the top of the cheesecake, but it was baked very well so as not to overpower the creamy vanilla interior.
It was with great regret that we finished our dessert at Espresso Lounge. The coffee was outstanding, the cheesecake was tasty, and the second floor was a very interesting place to sit and relax and have a wonderful dessert.
I will be sure to go back to Espresso Lounge again in the future to try some of their other coffee drinks.
