Art Deli in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Art Deli is one really cool place to hangout in Siem Reap, Cambodia. It is an art cafe located along Alley West (the walkway behind Pub Street). Art Deli is filled with a lot of interesting and quirky pieces at every corner creating a light and perfect mood for a relaxing recharge over a cup of coffee or a bottle of beer, especially after a day of touring the temples. I like that Art Deli specializes in selling affordable art. You can already own some of the pieces even with just a few dollars in your pocket.

Art Deli is built in an old French colonial house, which is an excellent example of adaptive reuse. Personally, I’m very saddened by many old buildings in the Philippines being demolished inconsiderately. In Siem Reap, many businesses have made good use of them. Most of the original structure of the house was preserved, which adds to the homey feel of Art Deli.

Loven Ramos co-owns and manages Art Deli. He also has a graphic design company based in Siem Reap called Spoolworks. Loven Ramos has his witty and quirky artworks displayed all over Art Deli. I like how Loven plays around with his visual artistry by working on different kinds of mediums and bringing dimension into his pieces.

Art Deli has this backyard area that I just love. It’s basically a small space in between buildings that they transformed into an open air lounge. The moment I saw it, I instantly missed my close friends back home since it was just the perfect hangout place and I’m sure they’d love it too.

It was Khmer New Year during my visit to Cambodia. The streets were lit with star shaped lanterns called “Parols” in the Philippines. I was surprised seeing them since it’s the same sight you would see in any place back home during the Christmas-New Year season and in our culture it’s largely regarded as a Christian symbol. For Khmers, the parols symbolize the “Songran Star,” which divides the old year and the new year.

I spent a few dinners in Art Deli. Loven set-up a food tasting for us since they were coming up with a new menu. They have an assortment of yummy pizzas and pasta available. Here are some of the food we tried out:

Chicken curry pizza and assorted mushrooms and cheese pizza

Left to right: Mussels and mushroom pasta, artichokes and white wine pasta, Classic tomato pasta