Cafe Knotted | Samseong COEX Branch
Our review of Korea's trendiest donuts in 2021! Are they really worth the hype and long lines? Read on to find out!
Knotted, a donut shop with multiple branches in Seoul, has been rising in popularity, their most popular flavours sometimes sold out within minutes of opening.
We decided to visit one of their branches located close to COEX in Gangnam and see if it really deserves the social media hype!
We visited 15 minutes before they opened and 5 people were already waiting in line ahead of us!
When the clock hit 10 on the dot, a staff member opened the door and welcomed us in.
The overall decor of the Samseong branch is light wood and bright green, which gives the space a perfect sense of vibrancy that goes well with their pastries!
Their range of options is broad from scones and brownies to croissants, but the highlight of them all is their donuts.
The 5 people who were ahead of me all went straight to the donuts and put at least 10 on their trays. No wonder their donuts sometimes sell out within minutes of opening!
Another recent social media trend from Knotted we've been noticing a lot is this smile cake, which is the perfect cake for a celebratory occasion.
We brought our tray of 4 donuts to the counter and paid. We were given a vibrating bell to let us know once our order was ready.
By the time we were done paying, more people had lined up and it was only 5 minutes into their opening!
Knotted offers an early bird special where you can get 30% off one beverage and one pastry during their first hour from 10 am to 11 am every day.
In small corners of the cafe, you'll find smiley stickers that you can take home for free as well as water, napkins and wet wipes.
Even the wet wipes are cute here!
You'll also find their baking lab where you can watch the pastries being made in person.
We got one donut with iced americano to try at the spot and the rest packed to go.
Their box is so adorable!
Their donut is quite cute and small in size, just enough for a couple of bites.
We tried the earl grey flavour (3,000 won) on the spot and honestly, we would've appreciated a stronger earl grey flavour.
We opened the box at home and found the other three donuts nicely packaged.
The small smiley cup is what held the donuts tightly together. How clever!
Time to try these donuts too!
Strawberry Cream Donut (3,500 won)
It was a combination of fluffy bread, cloudy cream and slightly sour strawberries, but still tasted a bit bland.
Choco Pudding Donut (3,500 won)
The first bite of this donut was also quite bland, but the second bite? We got loads of chocolate cream with the bread and it tasted heavenly!
Milk Cream Donut (3,500 won)
The texture of the donut was perfect, but it was also lacking a bit of flavour.
Overall, it was fun checking out the trendiest donut shop in the city.
The atmosphere and the design of the space were impeccable. The Insta-worthy packaging was super adorable.
We're not sure if it was our North American palate, but the donuts definitely tasted different and flavourless.
If you're looking to fix your donut craving, this place might not be it, but it's the perfect destination for those who don't mind a very localized taste and are looking to check out cute spots in Seoul!
INFORMATION
Address: 서울 강남구 테헤란로103길 9
9 Teheran-ro 103-gil, Samseong 1-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Hours: 10:00-21:00