Rain Report • 레인리포트
If you love rainy days, you’re probably going to love one of the newest addition to Seoul’s unique cafe line-up this year, the Rain Report (레인리포트). Offering a perpetual once every 15-minutes rain all day long, this rain-themed cafe gives patrons an immersive experience of sipping coffee during a rainy day. The unique concept certainly becomes their biggest selling point, especially with the possibility of snapping a picture with an umbrella under the rain, just like one of those scenes in K-dramas. Some would say it’s quite romantic, don’t you think?
Combined that with a wide selections of coffee, unique desserts and ample seatings inside the cafe, it’s not surprising that soon after, this cafe went viral and became one of the most popular newly-opened cafes in Seoul with patrons lining up for a seat during the weekends.
My visit to this cafe was two months after their soft opening in April and one week after its grand opening in June. After seeing many clips of this place that were constantly popping up on my feed and DMs from my followers to check this place out, my interest was definitely piqued. And so I went to check out the Rain Report.
After walking up and down steep roads leading to the cafe, I finally arrived at their flagship location that’s nestled in the middle of a residential area in Itaewon. Tall black fence gates greeted me with a flap display alternating between their logo and weather forecast icons on the board. I walked up the black stairs lined with bamboo trees and soon find the entrance to the building.
First thing that I saw when I walked in was the big LCD screen displaying the weather forecast. Next to it is an umbrella holder that holds multiple clear umbrellas with black handle on top of it. I soon found out that the cafe actually provides these umbrellas for visiting patrons, in case you want to take a picture under the rain with them. Very convenient.
The door next to the umbrella holders leads to the most Instagrammable spot in this place, the rain area. This is where the once in every 15-minutes rain will happen and you can line up for your turn to take a photo under the rain with the clear umbrella. Also worth noting, since there’s usually a line, when you’re taking a photo on this spot, the people lining up as well as those who are sitting inside the cafe will be your audience (which might be a little awkward for people like me). The spot also gets pretty wet after a while, so you might want to be careful if you’re bringing cameras or tripods. Probably best if you have somebody take a picture for you so it’s quicker.
The indoor area is decorated with black sleek modern interior with multiple screens playing rain clips and more flap displays with graphics, reminiscent of a newsroom setup. There are two floors with a tower of monitors hanging down from the high ceiling in the middle of the room, water trickling down at the bottom of it creating the sound of rain drops.
The first floor seating consists of the middle lobby-like area that is facing the photo spot and the coffee bar area at the far end side of the room. Second floor has more seating with semi-private sections with sofas and lounge chairs. The noise level in this place is moderate to high when I was there since it was quite busy despite the fact that I went there on a weekday. It did get a bit loud for me when the place was more crowded later in the afternoon because everybody was talking all at the same time.
On the dessert table, there are various financiers on display with unique flavors like Squid Ink, Amarena Cherry, Fig Wine, Triple Cheese, Maple Bacon, Basil, Kaya Coconut, and Almond Pistachio. I think this was also my first time seeing long rectangular and savory financiers so it’s very interesting. I ended up trying 5 of the financiers—the Squid Ink, Fig Wine, Maple Bacon, Basil, and Almond Pistachio. Taste wise, they’re all very interesting and taste distinctly different from each other. I quite like them all, except for the Squid Ink (there’s a bit of that fishy taste that I personally am not quite fond of). Texture wise, they’re all a bit hard and dry for my personal preference. Part of it is maybe because they’re all displayed out in the open so they’re not as moist? But overall, they’re still okay for me.
For their cake selections, they have a wide variety of very pretty cakes displayed inside the cooler:
STORM - Mont Blanc 몽블랑
RAIN DROP - Green Grape 그린 그레이프
SUNNY DAY - Strawberry Souffle 딸기 치즈수플레
CLOUD - Deep Black/Black Cloud 블랙 클라우드
WIND - Opera 오페라
SUNSHINE - Mango Tiramisu 망고 티라미수
(Also, love that they stick to the overall concept of weather for the naming of the cake.)
The price for each cake ranges from ₩12,000 (≈$9) to ₩16,000 (≈$12). The portion is quite big so I think you can probably share one cake between two people. They also have a Coffee & Dessert Pairing Omakase (커피 & 디저트 페어링 오마카세) for ₩38,000 (≈$29).
I really wanted to try the Cloud, but when I got there they were out of stock. I even came back again later that evening to see if they have a new batch but it’s out of stock again. So in the end, I didn’t get to try the cake. Maybe next time.
For the drink, the limited non-coffee options was a bit of a let down for me. I ordered the Sunny Day (써니데이) (honestly just ‘cause it’s the most visually attractive and I didn’t feel like drinking chocolate or tea) and it tasted like orange juice and soda.
Overall, I enjoyed my visit to this place. Love the whole concept, branding, design and the attention to details they put into the graphics they use around the space as well as their social media posts (the product photography on their IG feed is super nice by the way). For me, it is one of those places that I go to more for the interior and the vibe rather than the desserts and drinks (although I might change my mind if their cakes are really good. We’ll see if I get to try them in the future. Or maybe their coffee is really good? I wouldn’t know since I don’t drink coffee). Since the place is quite popular and has went viral, if you’re looking for a chill, quite place to hang out at, this might not be the right choice for you (at least for now since the place just opened). Or maybe go visit during the weekdays to try to avoid the lines and the crowds.
Rain Report • 레인리포트
Address:서울 용산구 소월로40길 85 1, 2층
Telephone: 0507-1360-4302
Hours: Everyday 11:00-21:30
Instagram: @rainreport_official
