TL;DR: ZENZERO — a gelato brand with back-to-back Taste of Seoul 100 selections and two Blue Ribbon Survey ribbons — opened a kiosk-style counter in Coex Mall’s Gourmet Street on August 14, 2026. Single scoops are a flat ₩7,000 (~$5.10) for two flavors mixed in one cup or cone; there’s no seating, just standing tables in the corridor outside. The standout flavor is Gamtae Caramel, made with Korean sea moss (gamtae) folded into smoky caramel — it sounds strange on paper and works surprisingly well in practice.
If you follow Seoul’s dessert scene at all, you’ve probably noticed a pattern: brands increasingly compete on how well they can turn a distinctly Korean ingredient into something that reads as genuinely upscale, not just novelty-for-novelty’s-sake. Black sesame and injeolmi (rice cake) desserts are old news at this point — ZENZERO pushes further, into ingredients like gamtae (a type of edible sea moss/laver) and heirloom rice varieties. I’d put ZENZERO at or near the top of Korea’s gelato scene without much hesitation.
So when I heard ZENZERO had opened a new location inside Coex Mall, I made a point of stopping by within days of the opening. If you’re doing the Coex circuit — Starfield Library, the aquarium, the mall’s endless food court — and need a sugar break in the middle of a hot day, this review should help you decide whether it’s worth the detour.
ZENZERO Coex — Quick Facts
Address: B1, Gourmet Street, Route 5 05-25, Starfield Coex Mall, 513 Yeongdong-daero, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Parking: Coex Mall parking garage (validation available at checkout)
Seating: None inside the store — standing tables and benches in the corridor outside
What Kind of Shop This Is
Don’t expect a café you can sit down in — ZENZERO’s Coex location is a kiosk-style counter only, tucked into the mall’s Gourmet Street section (itself worth a look, with a ceramic-tile ceiling installation running the length of the corridor). You order at the counter, watch your gelato get scooped right in front of you, and then find a standing table or bench out in the corridor to eat it. There’s a real logic to it once you’re there — this isn’t a sit-down dessert course, it’s the kind of thing you grab mid-shopping-trip and keep moving with.
Full Menu and Prices
The menu board next to the counter doubles as a mini brand history: ZENZERO started as a small neighborhood gelato shop in 2017 and has since picked up recognition worth noting — back-to-back Taste of Seoul 100 selections (2023–2025), two ribbons in the 2026 Blue Ribbon Survey, and a spot on Eater’s “38 Essential Restaurants in Seoul.” This isn’t just marketing copy — it’s the kind of track record that’s actually been vetted by food media repeatedly.
Pricing:
– Single scoop (cup or cone) — ₩7,000 (~$5.10) flat rate, and you get two flavors mixed into one order
– Take-home box, small (3 flavors) — ₩25,000 (~$18.25)
– Take-home box, medium (4 flavors) — ₩34,000 (~$24.80)
– Take-home box, large (4 flavors) — ₩46,000 (~$33.60), packed to stay cold for about 90 minutes
Signature flavors (cup only — not available in cones):
– Chestnut Honey and Chaource Cheese — a French Champagne-region cheese gelato finished with Jiri Mountain chestnut honey
– Gamtae Caramel — Korean sea moss (gamtae) folded into a smoky caramel base
Classic lineup: Pistachio (ZENZERO’s all-time bestseller), rice gelato made with Korean suhyangmi rice, Jeju green tea, Fior di Latte (plain fresh milk), 65% Maracaibo chocolate, Ethiopia coffee, and Stracciatella
Vegan sorbet: Strawberry, white peach, and watermelon-lemongrass
What We Ordered
We went with the two signature flavors, split in one cup: Chestnut Honey and Chaource Cheese on one side, Gamtae Caramel on the other. Watching it get made was part of the fun — the staff plates each flavor to order, adding a dusting of gamtae powder on top of the caramel side and a generous drizzle of chestnut honey syrup over the cheese side.
Chestnut Honey and Chaource Cheese tastes noticeably deeper than a typical cheesecake gelato — the cheese brings a mild funk and richness, and the honey doesn’t just sit on top like syrup; it reads as folded into the gelato itself, so every spoonful carries both notes rather than alternating between them.
Gamtae Caramel is the more experimental of the two, and the more interesting one. The first impression is smoky caramel; a beat later, the gamtae’s salty, savory sea-vegetable note shows up underneath, similar in effect to a good salted caramel but with an actual marine edge instead of just table salt. If “seaweed in ice cream” sounds like a hard pass, I’d still say give it a try before writing it off — it reads far more like a well-balanced salted caramel than anything fishy or grassy.
The receipt, for what it’s worth, was dated three days after the store’s opening — the signature flavors already felt like they’d found their footing that early.
Should You Go?
What stands out about ZENZERO isn’t just that they use Korean ingredients — plenty of places do that now. It’s that they commit to genuinely odd pairings (chestnut honey with cheese, caramel with sea moss) and actually land the balance instead of leaning on novelty alone. That’s likely why the awards keep stacking up.
The real trade-off is the lack of seating. On a rainy day, or if you’re carrying shopping bags, standing to eat isn’t ideal. It fits the brand’s casual, keep-moving vibe, but it won’t suit everyone.
Go if: you’re already doing a Coex day (Starfield Library, the aquarium, mall shopping) and want a dessert stop without detouring across the city to ZENZERO’s original Gangnam-gu Office location.
Consider takeout instead if: you want to actually sit down while you eat — grab a take-home box and enjoy it somewhere with seating, like a bench in Coex’s open atrium areas.
FAQ
Q: Is this the same ZENZERO people already know from Gangnam?
A: Yes — same brand, same recipes and awards, just a new counter-only location inside Coex Mall as of August 2026. The original flagship (with more of a shop feel) is in Apgujeong/near Gangnam-gu Office Station.
Q: Is there seating at the Coex location?
A: No — it’s a kiosk-style counter with no interior seats. You eat standing at tables in the corridor outside, or take it with you.
Q: What’s the best single order for a first-timer?
A: A single cup lets you mix two flavors, so pair one of the signatures (Chestnut Honey and Chaource Cheese, or Gamtae Caramel) with the classic Pistachio if you want a safer flavor alongside the experimental one.
Q: Can I bring gelato home or on a flight?
A: The take-home boxes are packed to stay cold for roughly 90 minutes — fine for getting it to a hotel room nearby, not something to plan around for a long transit.
Bottom Line
If Coex is already on your Seoul itinerary, ZENZERO’s new counter is an easy, low-effort stop — no reservation, no real detour, and a flavor (Gamtae Caramel) you’re unlikely to find described this well anywhere else in English yet, since the branch only opened days before this review. Go in expecting a quick, stand-and-eat treat rather than a sit-down dessert course, and you won’t be disappointed.