The story
Drum Café is not merely a place to eat; it is an artwork by Rirkrit Tiravanija, installed within the Parc des Ateliers at LUMA Arles. Tiravanija is known for turning everyday acts – cooking, sharing a meal – into art, and Drum Café continues that tradition. It is listed among the free-access works in the park, alongside pieces by Carsten Höller, Olafur Eliasson, and others, making the entire campus a place where art and life intersect.
The kitchen works with the seasons, sourcing produce from local farms. The menu changes regularly, reflecting what is ripe and ready. This commitment to seasonal cuisine is central to the café’s identity. The quality of the cooking has not gone unnoticed: the Michelin guide awarded Drum Café a Recommended distinction in 2026.
Open daily from 10:00 to 18:00, Drum Café is wheelchair accessible and air-conditioned, offering a comfortable retreat from the Provençal sun. Whether you stop for a coffee, a light lunch, or an afternoon break, the café invites you to linger. The setting – within the historic industrial buildings of the Parc des Ateliers and beneath Frank Gehry’s soaring Tower – is both striking and relaxed.
Drum Café is part of a larger interdisciplinary campus that includes exhibition spaces, a park designed by Bas Smets, and the Atelier LUMA research lab. A single ticket grants access to all exhibitions, and a meal at the café can be the perfect complement to a day of exploration. The campus is open year-round, and Drum Café offers a consistent, welcoming presence within it.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
After a monumental seven-year construction project, billionaire Maja Hoffmann’s dream has finally sprung forth from the land in Arles! At the foot of the sparkling tower designed by Frank Gehry, the Luma Foundation boasts an impressive restaurant for chefs in residency. This summer, hidden behind twisted metal, Drum Café’s open kitchen welcomes the nomadic chef Céline Pham (ex-Carousel in London, Providence in Guéthary, Tontine in Paris…), who sends out audacious dishes that blend Vietnamese and Camargue heritage. The day we went for lunch, we had: an electric ox steak tataki with preserved lemon and charred eggplant and shiso condiments; lovely roasted carrots with browned butter and XO sauce – or plump fried ravioli filled with cochon noir pork, leeks and ginger, served with a sriracha-date sauce; before a sweet rice milk pudding paired with figs and a fig oil – unless you’d prefer the striking coconut mousse made with aquafaba, dukkah and a spelt milk reduction.
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