Mouse Rabbit Coffee popped up on a google search for “best coffee in Seoul” and sounded interesting, so my friends and I ventured out to the Konkuk University area to see what it was all about.
At the time, I had no idea that this was the café run by Super Junior’s Yesung and his brother. Yesung was my favorite singer for a long time–who is either the mouse or the rabbit, I’m unsure. Contrary to what the internet says, there was no indication that this café was being run by an idol; most of the images I’ve found online feature images of Yesung photos in the café. The café looks like it’s undergone a massive remodeling in the last year or so, with an eye towards a modern look.
The cafe is a three-story building with a few signs posted on the outside. It has a terrace on the first floor that was open but had plastic sheets put up to keep out the cold. Surprisingly, I stumbled upon a pair of gentlemen there when I went outside to take photos. On the first floor is where you order and pick up your drinks, and the menu is displayed on a computer monitor that also shows what song is playing and has a video monitor focused on you, the guest. I found this a bit… weird. The bathroom is also on the first floor and tucked away in a little nook to the side of the ordering place are some shelves with items for sale, mostly mugs. There’s also a few toy figurines that aren’t for sale. It felt very random.
Downstairs, in the “underground” is where couples can go to canoodle. It’s very dark and you’re meant to sit on the floor so there’s two pairs of slippers for you, as well as a shelf for your outside shoes. There’s a projector playing a movie.
My friends and I opted to go to the second floor (technically third, I guess) and sit in the sun for a while until our drinks were ready. The second floor has interesting tables and chairs and the artwork was very modern. A warning for those wanting to go upstairs or downstairs: the steps are at an awkward spacing and I found it hard to balance myself and my tray of coffee going upstairs.
I ordered a latte and the cheesecake and it was mediocre. I later had an iced americano and it was also just so-so. My friend had the chocolate tart and really enjoyed it, but couldn’t put her finger on what was in her “dabang” latte and what made it different from a regular latte. Our regular lattes were served in cute mugs that read “Keep Calm and Love Mouse Rabbit” with a little gold lip print where you drink from. I’m not going to lie–part of the reason why I ordered a latte (and had to take a lactase pill to do so) was to see some latte art, and I was disappointed there was none.
All in all, it was a cute place to grab a cup of coffee, and it shows no sign of being run by an idol, which is either a positive or a negative, depending on who you ask. If you’re in the Konkuk University area, stop in! Also make sure you bring your cups and plates back to the pick up counter on the first floor.
Koffee & Kpop 