Café by day, bar by night: two-faced venues in Seoul we can't help but love

Unit 208, Building 31, Hangang Mansion, Ichon-dong — even if you had the address, you’d probably wander around, looking up and down the run-down building in which it’s located. While walking up the stairs built in the early 1970’s after vaguely locating this new café and bar, you’d only see a few residents of the apartments around it visiting their family doctor or picking up small bags of groceries. Hell Café Spiritus, however, has been quietly attracting coffee and cocktail aficionados as well as industry professionals from all over Seoul, with its all-star squad of baristas and bartenders.

Sweet and sour highballs at noon — sound like a peaceful time to us. Montauk Café and Highball Bar located in Sinsa-dong is a good place for that. Although the space itself doesn't exude any particular vibe reminiscent of the land's-end beach town, it surely is chill enough for a casual weekday afternoon with friends — as the parts of its name suggest, you can call up a friend to meet up for a drink and/or coffee.