It doesn’t take much to convince me to go for a bit of cake and coffee, so when I found out there was an English style bakery in Seoul, I was there in a shot. Layered is hidden in a little alleyway just north of Anguk station. When we arrived on a Tuesday afternoon it was absolutely packed, so it is clearly a very popular spot.
The cafe is in a Korean hanok, but is decorated in an antique English style, which kind of reminded me of my grandmother’s house. As soon as you walk in you are confronted by the dazzling array of baked goods, it was quite the sight. Despite it being very busy we managed to nab a table for two just opposite the cake stands which I considered to be a prime location. I was attending with my Cake Club bestie Lizzy, although unfortunately for her she was on keto, and as such was there more as moral support.
The array of cakes was incredible and I was hard pushed to choose what to have, we figured a scone and a cake would be the way to go. The selection of scones was rather impressive, back when my Mum ran a teashop in Cornwall we only had plain or fruit, or occasionally a cheese scone if my mum was feeling creative. At Layered I counted over eight varieties, in the end I went for the Basil Pesto Scone (4,500) as it was their signature scone. My god was this delicious, the pesto gave it so much flavour, it was a real savoury treat.
For our sweet treat, we stuck with tradition and went for the Victoria Cake (7,000). Just feasting my eyes upon this beauty got my mouth drooling. The cake was covered in the most delicious raspberry jam, while the cake itself was moist and flavorful. It was one of the nicest cakes I have had in a long time. The thing I was most excited about was the thick layer of butter cream. However when we took a bite, we found that it was was just plain old butter. Why oh why would someone desecrate the majesty that is a Victoria sponge like that? Up until that point I was in love, but switching butter cream for butter is unforgivable in my eyes.
We decided to grab a drink while they were too, and on the menu there was quite a nice selection. We settled on an Iced Salty Caramel Latte (6,000) and a Cherry Lemonade (6,500). The sweet and salty ice latte was a real treat and topped with some yummy whipped cream. The lemonade was absolutely fantastic too. It was really sour so that your lips puckered when you drank it. I didn’t get a whole lot of flavour from the cherry but overall it was a very tasty and refreshing drink.
Overall I thought this a great cafe, especially as it’s in a very touristy area with not a lot of other similar western style places. I enjoyed everything we had except for the cake butter, and I would be willing to go back and get more. It was a decent take an English style cafe, however if you are truly longing for British baked good, then head a bit further north up to Scoff.
Layered is located at 84-14 Jae-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. To get there take a train to Anguk Station (line 3) and come out of exit 2. Walk straight and take the first right, and the first right again. The Cafe is tucked away just one street back from the main road. For more information you can check out their Instagram.