There’s been plenty of good things written about the new ARTillery Arts Cafe in Phnom Penh. The only problem is – how to find it?
Following a review on Travelfish of Phnom Penh’s ARTillery Arts Cafe, I decided to go and have a look for myself. It was only a short distance from the 240 hotel – provided I could actually find it as it was down an obscure back alley.
Having walked past it three times I’d somehow managed to miss the A board pointing the way down a distinctly grotty looking alley. For those of you looking for it, the alley runs down the side of Mosiac shop and it’s about 100 metres along from the 240 and Street 19 intersection.
Follow the nondescript alley down and around and the artillery cafe appears as a vision of freshly painted blue and white, a marked contrast to its concrete surroundings. It occupies the ground floor of a shophouses and Khmer families go about their business above and beside the cafe which gives it a homely touch.
There’s several tables and benches outside beneath a large awning with wall mounted fans which was my favourite spot, and a few more tables inside too, along with space for photo displays and a few clothes and other arty items that are on sale. Above the gallery area there’s a small mezzanine with more seating. Over all, it’s got a very pleasant, airy feel to it which makes you want to hang around. The fast, free wifi also helps.
The food also makes ARTillery worth seeking out. Besides decent coffee served in cafetieres, the cafe has a good selection of healthy smoothies and juice combinations which are quite good pick me ups, and the selection of salads and sandwiches also emphasises healthy, good quality ingredients. It’s not particularly cheap, but that’s no surprise – its aimed squarely at local expats looking for a taste of home.
The staff are friendly too, with pretty quick service so you won’t starve to death waiting. If you’re in the vicinity of Street 240, ARTillery is definitely worth tracking down.
