Cuisine Wat Damnak, Siem Reap, Cambodia. Eating Out in Siem Reap. Copyright © 2023 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Eating Out in Siem Reap

This post may contain paid links. If you make a purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission.

What makes Siem Reap town so compelling, along with its fabulous shops, cafés and bars, are its excellent restaurants – everything from traditional Khmer food in a casual setting to refined Cambodian cuisine served up in elegant surroundings.

Eating out in Siem Reap is a real delight. These are the eateries we consider to be some of the best restaurants and cafes in Siem Reap.

Eating Out in Siem Reap

Cuisine Wat Damnak

While some call the refined cuisine at chef Joannès Rivière and wife Carole’s lovely restaurant ‘Modern Cambodian’, with many dishes based on old recipes, albeit with contemporary presentation. It might also be the most sustainable. Joannès works closely with local producers and takes pride in using fresh, 100% local or regional produce including wild fish, free range eggs and locally farmed pork, much of which he buys himself at the market every day. Degustation menus that change weekly are the order of the day, and they’re terrific value, at US$22 for a 5-course or US$26 for a 6-course menu. We’ve eaten here regularly and every dish is always meticulously prepared, from the steamed maam with minced pork, herbs, flowers and local crudites to the braised beef cheek with palm sugar, star anise, pumpkin, and local cresson. The restaurant is in an old traditional timber stilted house that’s been given a very stylish makeover, however, while the food is refined this is no fine diner. The room has a casual elegance about it, the welcome by Carole is always warm, and the service is relaxed. Between Psa Dey Hoy market & Angkor High School, Wat Damnak village, Siem Reap; if your tuk-tuk driver can’t find it, just call +855 (0) 63 965 491, www.cuisinewatdamnak.com

Sugar Palm

Also set in a traditional Khmer wooden house with big breezy verandas, this is perhaps Siem Reap’s most romantic restaurant at night, although the atmosphere is laidback and friendly. The owner chef, Kethana, is a “Khmer-Kiwi”(she’s part Cambodian and part New Zealander) and the food is traditional Cambodian of the highest quality – tangy, crunchy pomelo salads, crispy spring rolls, rich fragrant curries, and the local specialty, an aromatic amok trey, a souffle-like curry that’s steamed in banana leaves. Fashion designer Eric Raisina says the prawn amok here is his favourite was one of the most memorable dishes to be had in Siem Reap. Taphul Road (backstreet, behind Hotel de la Paix), Siem Reap +855 (0) 63 964 838

Café Central

If you’re looking for a light lunch, coffee or cold beer in the afternoon, Café Central is a terrific choice. Light and airy, the décor – concrete floors and mismatched retro furniture, from 1950s vinyl and chrome kitchen chairs to wooden benches – is a modern take on one of those grand old colonial-era cafés. The menu is just as eclectic, with everything from shepherd’s pie and fish and chips to burgers and quesadillas making an appearance. There’s cold beer on tap, reasonable wines by the glass, and decent coffee. Old Market, Siem Reap 855 12 175 6723

SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Lara Dunston Patreon
Advertisement

Find Your Cambodia Accommodation

Booking.com

AUTHOR BIO

Photo of author
A travel and food writer who has experienced over 70 countries and written for The Guardian, Australian Gourmet Traveller, Feast, Delicious, National Geographic Traveller, Conde Nast Traveller, Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia, DestinAsian, TIME, CNN, The Independent, The Telegraph, Sunday Times Travel Magazine, AFAR, Wanderlust, International Traveller, Get Lost, Four Seasons Magazine, Fah Thai, Sawasdee, and more, as well as authored more than 40 guidebooks for Lonely Planet, DK, Footprint, Rough Guides, Fodors, Thomas Cook, and AA Guides.

5 thoughts on “Eating Out in Siem Reap”

  1. Ah, you missed my favorite Siem Reap haunt. Whether or not you are vegetarian, go and check out Chamkar. The food is simply exceptional and unusual. Their eggplant dip is out of this world. We did a travel blogger meetup there two years ago with Jodi from Legal Nomads and Keith and Amy from Green Around the Globe and all of us agreed that they served up the best food we had in Cambodia.

  2. Yeah, we had an inkling it was like this, which is why we got the magazine commission in the first place, but we were very pleasantly surprised at how good the food was, and how stylish and sophisticated it was. But what we always loved was that it had a gritty side too, and is still very much a rough around the edges SE Asian city in some ways. It’s a fascinating place. You must go there!

  3. W.O.W. This is totally NOT what I expected of Siem Riep! (But of course, I’ve never been there, so what do I know?).

  4. @Akila now that we live in Siem Reap, I finally forced myself to try Chamkar with my vegetarian cousin. I’m assuming it’s gone downhill since you ate there, as the food wasn’t at all exceptional, was far from being the best food in Cambodia, and unfortunately it isn’t even Cambodian food. Everything was mushy and lacked seasoning. Even my vegetarian relative thought it was awful. There are a couple of other vegetarian options in town that I’ll check out as, while not a vegetarian, I occasionally get readers ask for tips.

Leave a comment