HomeAsiaSouth East AsiaCambodiaSiem ReapHangout at Siem Reap Pub Street By Marcos Detourist on August 15, 2010With a name like “Pub Street”, there wouldn’t be much effort involved in convincing me to check such a place out. Pub Street can be found at the old market (downtown) area of Siem Reap in Cambodia, you won’t miss it if you’re planning on visiting Angkor Wat and spending some time in the city. It was late afternoon during our arrival in Siem Reap when we first passed by Pub Street, I was instantly drawn to the French colonial buildings still extant lining the whole stretch (actually much of the downtown area). Most of the buildings are now occupied by restaurants, cafes, and bars, thus the name “Pub Street.”Walking Tour of Pub StreetWe went back to Pub Street around early evening and I noticed the bars were starting to fill up with all kinds of tourists. Pub Street is the center of tourist life in Siem Reap, it’s where visitors and locals alike go to chill after a full day of touring the ancient temples of Angkor. Cuisines from all continents are well represented in Pub Street.Cambodian BeersBefore dinner, we hung out at one of the resto-bars. I was particularly interested to try out their local beers. They have “Angkor” beer in Cambodia, the taste is very similar to “Red Horse” but not as bitter … err “full flavored.” The usual selling price in Pub Street is $0.50 – $1 for a 500ml bottle of Angkor Beer … easy on the wallet. Beer Lao is another common brand sold in Siem Reap and sells for around the same price. As the name suggests, Beer Lao is produced in Laos. It’s a lager and has a lighter taste compared to Angkor.Cosmopolitan Siem ReapI haven’t actually gotten tired of mentioning that I like the Pub Street (Old Market) area so much. The atmosphere here is just perfect … I can’t seem so find the perfect words to describe it. I guess, the most striking thing about the Pub Street area for me is its organic cosmopolitan feeling. There’s just a lot of diverse cultures converging in this one place yet there’s still a dominating sense of the local Khmer culture, which doesn’t get lost in all the foreign influence.Pub Street is more than restaurants, cafes, and bars … there’s a considerable community of artists who converge in this place. We made a quick visit to McDermott Gallery, which had a display of John McDermott’s remarkable photography of the Angkor temples.John McDermott GalleryDiscoveries Beyond Pub StreetThere are several alleys and narrow pathways branching out of Pub Street. These parts are also filled with even more shops. A lot of interesting lounge bars, restaurants, galleries, clothing stores can be found here and getting lost is an attraction in itself. It’s an absolute treasure trove of discoveries! Our hosts Don and Loven (together with his wife, Faith, and son, Freedom) live in Siem Reap. Like me, they are also from Iloilo City but they decided to call Siem Reap their new home. They are behind “Poetry” and “Art Deli” in Alley West, located just behind Pub Street.PoetryAs Don puts it … Don Protasio designs clothes. A complete sentence in itself but it really does not give justice to the work he’s doing. I really have much respect for people who do what they do for the sake of their passion and creating such inspiring stuff. I believe it’s a major variable for equating a happy life. I love that Don also designs for men and that a lot of his clothes are very wearable. I remember seeing his Philippine Fashion Week 2008 s/s collection and then having the urge to own a DP piece, I don’t think my budget allows for that though :) Many of Don Protsio’s latest pieces (clothes, accessories, art) are displayed in Poetry.Art DeliArt Deli, located a few shops from Poetry, is an art gallery which doubles as a lounge bar and restaurant. 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. Another great thing about Art Deli is that they specialize in selling affordable art. A lot of the displays can be bought for just a couple of dollars. Art Deli is totally a great place to hang out. The mood is very relaxed, homey, and conducive for inspiration and conversation. They have this backyard area that I just love. It’s basically a small space in between buildings that they transformed into an open air lounge that allows for a more intimate setting. 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.Camwhoring in Siem ReapDinner at Art DeliThat evening, Loven hosted a food tasting for Art Deli. Kawadjan, Bubbles, and I were very happy guinea pigs :) Don and Loven’s wife, Faith also joined us that night. I felt like I wasn’t in a foreign land since I was with kababayans. Even the guy behind the counter in Art Deli that Loven hired was from the countrysides of Leon, Iloilo and was talking to me in straight ragumo karay-a.Chicken curry pizza and assorted mushrooms and cheese pizzaLeft to right: Mussels and mushroom pasta, artichokes and white wine pasta, Classic tomato pastaDon’t leave yet. There’s more!Art Deli in Siem Reap, CambodiaSiem Reap, Cambodia Arrival and First Impressions4 Days Siem Reap Itinerary — Angkor Big Circuit and…4 Days Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) Itinerary, VietnamMy Thailand and Cambodia Tour OverviewFirst time in Thailand and CambodiaComments Ed saysAugust 15, 2010 at 6:23 pmthe place screams art in every corner. nice shots!congrats din sa wanderingjuan contest!another travel blogger here. will be leaving for a week and it will be my first time to step into foreign soil. hope i can visit some interesting places too. chymera00 saysAugust 17, 2010 at 4:24 pmThanks Ed. Read that you’re going to Iloilo for the Visayas Blogging Summit. We (Iloilo Bloggers) are organizing the event, so see you sa November in Iloilo :) Good luck on your trip na lang. I’m sure you’ll get to visit a lot of interesting places. Ed saysAugust 26, 2010 at 2:34 amhaha, see you in Iloilo! good luck na lang sa travel ko next week sa HK; with the current updates on the news and all. sheesh chymera00 saysAugust 26, 2010 at 8:17 pmHope to see you and other bloggers in Iloilo too ^_^ Woah! good luck nlng, hehe… hope it doesn’t affect your trip. thepinaysolobackpacker saysAugust 16, 2010 at 4:54 pmshocks! d ko xa pinasok. s labas lng aq umikot! tsk tsk. ganyan ang hinahanap ko dun, mga art cafes and galleries. napadpad aq s maling direksyon! haha :D chymera00 saysAugust 17, 2010 at 4:38 pmSayang naman… More reasons to come back to Siem Reap! hehe pinaytraveljunkie saysAugust 25, 2010 at 3:52 pmArgh! I miss Pub Street! chymera00 saysAugust 26, 2010 at 8:20 pmme too :( there’s still some places that I haven’t explored there Cheanne saysJune 29, 2012 at 11:58 pmHave you tried the blue pumpkin?! Aaaaah now i’m craving! Marcos saysJuly 6, 2012 at 6:39 pmNot yet. I’ll try in September when I come back :) Keith Hancock saysJuly 31, 2012 at 6:42 pmJust returned from Siem Reap and totally agree about Pub Street and the surrounding area. Great food, cheap drinks and a wonderful atmosphere. Really good photographs, thanks for posting. Off to write my blog now! Greetings from Thailand. Marcos saysAugust 19, 2012 at 7:39 pmThanks Keith. I’m in Thailand right now and I’m also loving the experience. Have a good one! Posting of new comments is disabled temporarily.Connect with Marcos on:Detourista.comMarcosDetourist.comFacebookInstagramTwitterDetourista.comDiscover more travel guides and blogs about the Philippines and beyond by Marcos DetouristChoose your next destination: Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam
Ed saysAugust 15, 2010 at 6:23 pmthe place screams art in every corner. nice shots!congrats din sa wanderingjuan contest!another travel blogger here. will be leaving for a week and it will be my first time to step into foreign soil. hope i can visit some interesting places too.
chymera00 saysAugust 17, 2010 at 4:24 pmThanks Ed. Read that you’re going to Iloilo for the Visayas Blogging Summit. We (Iloilo Bloggers) are organizing the event, so see you sa November in Iloilo :) Good luck on your trip na lang. I’m sure you’ll get to visit a lot of interesting places.
Ed saysAugust 26, 2010 at 2:34 amhaha, see you in Iloilo! good luck na lang sa travel ko next week sa HK; with the current updates on the news and all. sheesh
chymera00 saysAugust 26, 2010 at 8:17 pmHope to see you and other bloggers in Iloilo too ^_^ Woah! good luck nlng, hehe… hope it doesn’t affect your trip.
thepinaysolobackpacker saysAugust 16, 2010 at 4:54 pmshocks! d ko xa pinasok. s labas lng aq umikot! tsk tsk. ganyan ang hinahanap ko dun, mga art cafes and galleries. napadpad aq s maling direksyon! haha :D
chymera00 saysAugust 26, 2010 at 8:20 pmme too :( there’s still some places that I haven’t explored there
Keith Hancock saysJuly 31, 2012 at 6:42 pmJust returned from Siem Reap and totally agree about Pub Street and the surrounding area. Great food, cheap drinks and a wonderful atmosphere. Really good photographs, thanks for posting. Off to write my blog now! Greetings from Thailand.
Marcos saysAugust 19, 2012 at 7:39 pmThanks Keith. I’m in Thailand right now and I’m also loving the experience. Have a good one!