Experiencing London’s National Gallery in Seoul’s Myeongdong
The Cafe Delicious Art was created in collaboration with London’s National Gallery and has become a popular haunt for fans of art and travel.
In the hit BBC show “Doctor Who,” the Doctor explores the universe in a time machine called the TARDIS.
When I visited Cafe Delicious Art, it felt like I had discovered the Doctor’s TARDIS. The wooden tables and chairs, oval shaped pendant lights and pictures filling the walls reminded me of my trip to Europe. When you see a foreign customer ordering and another foreign customer drinking coffee and eating their scone, you can only think, “did I step into the TARDIS and end up in Europe?”
As it is located on the first floor of L7 Myeongdong hotel, Cafe Delicious Art is filled with customers from around the world. Its unfamiliar atmosphere filled me with the same sense of anticipation I get when starting a journey overseas.
When I visited Cafe Delicious Art, it felt like I had discovered the Doctor’s TARDIS. The wooden tables and chairs, oval shaped pendant lights and pictures filling the walls reminded me of my trip to Europe. When you see a foreign customer ordering and another foreign customer drinking coffee and eating their scone, you can only think, “did I step into the TARDIS and end up in Europe?”
As it is located on the first floor of L7 Myeongdong hotel, Cafe Delicious Art is filled with customers from around the world. Its unfamiliar atmosphere filled me with the same sense of anticipation I get when starting a journey overseas.
Inside Cafe Delicious Art © Cafe Delicious Art
A cafe that encapsulates the National Gallery
When you open the door at the Cafe Delicious Art, you’re immediately captivated by an Ambrosius Bosschaert still-life of flowers. Beautiful and detailed still-life paintings of flowers have long been considered one of the best ways to preserve an arrangement of flowers for a long time. Nowhere is that more evident than this arrangement from the Dutch Golden Age visible on the wall of a cafe in Korea’s Myeongdong some 400 years after those flowers lived.
Paintings from Jan van Eyck, Carlo Dolci, Jean Baptiste Greuze are also displayed throughout the cafe. Reading the placards displayed by each paintings, it’s very easy to imagine that you are actually in the National Gallery in London, England.
Paintings from Jan van Eyck, Carlo Dolci, Jean Baptiste Greuze are also displayed throughout the cafe. Reading the placards displayed by each paintings, it’s very easy to imagine that you are actually in the National Gallery in London, England.
You can find a wide variety of merchandise from the National Gallery.
A still-life flower painting by Ambrosius Bosschaert
At Cafe Delicious Art, paintings are not just displayed as an element of interior design, but more like an actual gallery where they’re intended to be viewed. Cafe Delicious Art was established after signing an official license contract with the National Gallery.
The National Gallery is one of London’s biggest tourist attractions, pulling in about 5.5 million visitors every year to view the 2,300 artworks in its collection. Cafe Delicious Art is currently exhibiting still-life flower paintings from the National Gallery collection, all painted during the Dutch Golden Age of the 16th and 17th Centuries.
Books, cups, pouches and other gift items are directly imported from the gift shop at the National Gallery. The name “Delicious Art” also comes from the name of the National Gallery’s signature food and drink collection. This is a place where the customers can enjoy the high quality of one of the world’s most famous galleries through the fantastic art alongside a cup of coffee or tea.
The National Gallery is one of London’s biggest tourist attractions, pulling in about 5.5 million visitors every year to view the 2,300 artworks in its collection. Cafe Delicious Art is currently exhibiting still-life flower paintings from the National Gallery collection, all painted during the Dutch Golden Age of the 16th and 17th Centuries.
Books, cups, pouches and other gift items are directly imported from the gift shop at the National Gallery. The name “Delicious Art” also comes from the name of the National Gallery’s signature food and drink collection. This is a place where the customers can enjoy the high quality of one of the world’s most famous galleries through the fantastic art alongside a cup of coffee or tea.
Pictures reinterpreted into cake
Inside Cafe Delicious Art
Once you sit down with your drinks and dessert, you will quickly realize that the cafe’s identity extends beyond the artwork on the wall. The scones and cakes on sale are baked at a high-end patisserie and are of the highest quality, appropriate when being eaten in such auspicious settings.
Of the baked goods, the scones, filled with nuts and cranberries, are good enough to be a light meal on their own, best enjoyed with coffee or tea. The cafe also offers a signature menu under a motif of still-life flowers.
The current signature menu is a pink raspberry rose cake served with a pink vanilla latte, motivated by Ambrosius Bosschaert’s “A Still Life of Flowers in a Wan-Li Vase.”
The color of the pink raspberry cake matches the color of a tulip from the painting, while the rose is portrayed by the roseleaf that also spreads the scent of roses. The fresh scent of raspberry, the softness of whipped cream and the delicate scent of roses harmonize well. The pink vanilla latte, too, expresses the color of the tulip and the vanilla syrup that goes in the coffee has just enough sweetness without being too overwhelming.
Of the baked goods, the scones, filled with nuts and cranberries, are good enough to be a light meal on their own, best enjoyed with coffee or tea. The cafe also offers a signature menu under a motif of still-life flowers.
The current signature menu is a pink raspberry rose cake served with a pink vanilla latte, motivated by Ambrosius Bosschaert’s “A Still Life of Flowers in a Wan-Li Vase.”
The color of the pink raspberry cake matches the color of a tulip from the painting, while the rose is portrayed by the roseleaf that also spreads the scent of roses. The fresh scent of raspberry, the softness of whipped cream and the delicate scent of roses harmonize well. The pink vanilla latte, too, expresses the color of the tulip and the vanilla syrup that goes in the coffee has just enough sweetness without being too overwhelming.
Cranberry scone and Americano
Pink vanilla latte © Cafe Delicious Art
Myeongdong as a center of culture and art in Seoul
Artists and writers have long gathered at coffee shops and bars in Myeongdong to discuss life and romance. The culture and tradition continues today at the Myeongdong Art Theater, and when you walk the streets of the city, you can still sometimes feel that romantic atmosphere. It comes as no surprise that Myeongdong is such a natural home for Cafe Delicious Art. Although Cafe Delicious Art is a cafe, the space also encourages people to gather around and share their culture.
In May, the venue held a flower class and in the fall it will hold a music performance. Just as artists gathered at coffee shops in Myeongdong in days gone past, travelers and people who love culture from all around the world can now gather at Cafe Delicious Art.
With that, Cafe Delicious Art is becoming another memorable feature of Myeongdong’s cultural landscape.
In May, the venue held a flower class and in the fall it will hold a music performance. Just as artists gathered at coffee shops in Myeongdong in days gone past, travelers and people who love culture from all around the world can now gather at Cafe Delicious Art.
With that, Cafe Delicious Art is becoming another memorable feature of Myeongdong’s cultural landscape.
Inside Cafe Delicious Art © Cafe Delicious Art
Cafe Delicious Art in Myeongdong
Address 137 Toegye-ro, L7 Myeongdong 1st floor
Phone +82-2-6310-1099
Website www.ngdeliciousart.com
Address 137 Toegye-ro, L7 Myeongdong 1st floor
Phone +82-2-6310-1099
Website www.ngdeliciousart.com
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