The Sugar Palm
Cambodian restaurant · Siem Reab
"Tuck into Cambodian food in a traditional house The Sugar Palm restaurant is the first Cambodian restaurant that many visitors to Siem Reap try, and it often becomes a favorite. The food is some of the most delicious, traditional, home-style Cambodian food in the country. It also happens to be served in a very traditional, Khmer teak-wood house, with high ceilings and wide verandahs—oozing atmosphere. Everything on offer is scrumptious, from the amok trei or fish amok, to the hearty Cambodian chicken curry. If you're not a fan of pungent and sour flavors but want to try one of Cambodia's quintessential ingredients, prahok (fermented fish), then this is the restaurant to do it. The prahok k'tis (a minced pork dip made with prahok) is a fairly tame albeit still very tasty iteration of the dish. The owner-chef, Cambodian-New Zealander Kethana Dunnett, is often around if you have questions about the cuisine. Kethana is the go-to person for celebrity chefs -- from Gordon Ramsay to Luke Nguyen -- when they are in the country filming food programs, and she certainly knows her stuff."
Chanrey Tree
Cambodian restaurant · Siem Reab
"Try refined Khmer cuisine on the riverside Chanrey Tree's location on the leafy riverside makes it a lovely spot for both lunch and dinner. Delivering refined renditions of authentic Khmer cuisine, you'll find some of the same dishes on the menu that you'll see at the Sugar Palm, along with dishes that don't feature on other restaurant menus, including many of the owner’s mother’s recipes. I love starting with the crispy sticky rice with natang - a dip of minced pork, shrimp, coconut milk, and peanuts. It comes with fried tempura-like frangipanis and vegetables. Chanrey Tree is also the place to try char kroeung, a quintessential Cambodian dish of pork, chicken or beef stir-fried with kroeung, a paste that is the basis for many dishes. The basic yellow kroeung is made from lemongrass, turmeric, galangal, lime, garlic, and spring onion. Try the char kroeung with frog's legs if they're in season. They're wonderful! Another dish I adore is the free-range Khmer chicken, roasted with honey, rice brandy, young jack fruit and lemongrass, and served with a deliciously-pungent prahok (fermented fish) dip and fresh vegetable crudites. The restaurant itself is a stylish space consisting of a traditional Khmer timber house with a contemporary extension. If you're a people-watcher, sit in the front courtyard. If you enjoy the buzz of a chatty room, book a table out the back. Note the impressive sleek kitchen as you stroll to your table. Book a day ahead during high season."
Cuisine Wat Damnak
Cambodian restaurant · Siem Reab
"To many gastronomes, the subtle flavors and spicing of Khmer cuisine makes it one of Southeast Asia’s great food secrets. That’s certainly the view of French chef Joannes Riviera, who has taken inspiration from Cambodia’s unsung culinary traditions to create one of the region’s biggest restaurant success stories. Cuisine Wat Damnak has received numerous accolades since opening for business in 2011. Using only the freshest local produce (think juicy tropical fruit, bamboo shoots, and fish from nearby Tonle Sap), Riviera devises regularly changing tasting menus that burst with creativity. Recent hits include a fish sour soup with green banana and rice paddy herb, and a duck confit curry with fresh rice noodles. Dinner is a steal at just $27 for five courses or $31 for six."
Aha Restaurant
Restaurant · Siem Reab
"Sip wine and snack on tapas at this stylish spot Located on a lively lane called The Passage, parallel to Pub Street on the Old Market side (there's an entrance on the lane and another opposite the market), this stylish, air-conditioned restaurant and wine bar is an excellent choice for a sophisticated lunch, casual dinner or pre-dinner drinks. The sleek, contemporary lines of the interior design by local architects ASMA, come as a surprise to many. As does the delicious, modern Cambodian 'tapas', which allow you to taste a number of different specialties, some with creative twists. There are more substantial meals if you've worked up an appetite after a morning at the temples and decent wines by the glass as well as a good selection of international wines by the bottles. The wine bar section is a fantastic spot to sit and chat if you just want a drink."
Marum
Cambodian restaurant · Siem Reab
"Try creative Cambodian at this training restaurant You can graze on creative, contemporary Cambodian tapas, including delights such as red ant fritters served with prahok sauce (my favorite), in the gorgeous courtyard garden at Marum, a hospitality training school restaurant that educates, employs and trains disadvantaged youths. Much of the menu features the innovative small sharing dishes (some of which work, some don't), but there are also more traditional Cambodian dishes offered as mains. Try the rich Seafood Amok or hearty Kor Ko (vegetable stew). The desserts are also delicious (I love the coconut tart with chilli ice-cream) and the cocktails are very good (I love the pineapple and chilli margarita). Symbols on the menu indicate which are the most traditional dishes if you're not tempted by the cutting-edge. Do ask staff for their recommendations also, as they need to practice their English. But do be patient. The t-shirts the staff wears indicate who the students and instructors are, so get the attention of an instructor if you need help rather than get angry with a shy young person who is working in a restaurant for the first time. This is a lovely spot for lunch or dinner. There's also a Friends 'n' Stuff boutique on site where you can buy cool gifts made from recycled materials. Profits go to Friends International, which runs the restaurant. If you're heading to Phnom Penh, book a table at Romdeng, their superb training restaurant there."
Kroya
Fine dining restaurant · Siem Reab
"Sample contemporary Cambodian from a swing seat If you’re not staying at Shinta Mani Resort and Club, it’s worth dining at the Shinta Mani’s Club’s Cambodian restaurant Kroya, just to enjoy the striking décor by Asia’s foremost hotel architect-designer, Bangkok -based Bill Bensley. Bensley has a flamboyant sense of style and meticulous attention to detail that can turn a simple space into something special. Inspired by Cambodia’s heritage, the restaurant features ribbed columns, which tip a hat to Angkor, and splashes of the tangerine of monks’ robes in the glassware and cushions. The Cambodian chefs in the kitchen at Kroya work with local produce to create menus that change with the country’s distinct seasons, with a focus on contemporary Cambodian cuisine and tapas-like portions of dishes that enable you to sample a range of local flavours. Reserve a table inside if you’re planning on trying the seven-course Khmer tasting menu. Otherwise, if you’re happy to graze in a more casual setting, then reserve a fun swing table outside. When you call ask if there’s live jazz on and if there is definitely book outside. Pop upstairs to the intimate Bensley Bar for a pre- or post-dinner cocktail."
Sivatha Rd
Siem Reab
"Tuck into a Korean BBQ feast Siem Reap sees a lot of Koreans visiting throughout the year, both tour groups and independent travelers. This means the city has a large number of Korean restaurants to cater for them. My favorite is Dae Bak, on busy Sivutha Boulevard. This simple place with stainless steel tables that get packed with groups of tourists, as well as off-duty guides and Korean expats, does deliciously authentic Korean food. There's a fairly long menu of specialties, including everything from dumplings to kimchi soup and bulgogi to seafood pancakes. A few dishes to share is enough for a couple, as also serve half a dozen tiny dishes of starters, from kimchi to various pickled and fermented vegetables. Dishes start at $5 and a bottle of soju goes for $4. My only gripe is that the Korean BBQ is done outside and not at the table."
Park Hyatt Siem Reap
Hotel · Siem Reab
"Judy Perl, Judy Perl Worldwide Travel “I highly recommend the classic Khmer cuisine at the Park Hyatt Siem Reap’s stylish restaurant, The Dining Room . The seafood amok, with curry paste and coconut milk, served over organic brown rice, was the best authentic Khmer dish I ate in Cambodia—or anywhere!” By AFAR Travel Advisory Council"
Il Forno
Italian restaurant · Siem Reab
"Feast on wood-fired pizza and filled pastas There comes a time for everyone on a Cambodia trip when, no matter how much you're enjoying sampling the local food, you'll get a craving you need to satisfy. Fortunately, Siem Reap has an abundance of restaurants serving cuisines from around the globe, and many of them are very good. Filling pastas are fantastic if you've been cycling or scrambling the temples all day and a plain Margarita pizza is a terrific choice if you've been a tad sick in the tummy. Of Siem Reap's handful of Italian restaurants, I love Il Forno, on a narrow alley off Pub Street, just down the lane from Asana and around the corner from Miss Wong. The pizzas come piping hot from the traditional Neapolitan wood-fired oven and many of the handmade pastas are made fresh daily on the premises. While some of the products, such as the Parma ham, are imported from Italy (as you'd hope!), others are local and seasonal, like the beautiful fragrant basil. They also offer decent Italian wines by the glass and carafe. Check the blackboard for daily specials. If you can't get a table, I also like Little Italy on the parallel lane on the other side of Pub Street. The specialty there is their excellent carpaccio and house-made charcuterie."
Siem reap's best restaurants
"Tuck into Cambodian food in a traditional house The Sugar Palm restaurant is the first Cambodian restaurant that many visitors to Siem Reap try, and it often becomes a favorite. The food is some of the most delicious, traditional, home-style Cambodian food in the country. It also happens to be served in a very traditional, Khmer teak-wood house, with high ceilings and wide verandahs—oozing atmosphere. Everything on offer is scrumptious, from the amok trei or fish amok, to the hearty Cambodian chicken curry. If you're not a fan of pungent and sour flavors but want to try one of Cambodia's quintessential ingredients, prahok (fermented fish), then this is the restaurant to do it. The prahok k'tis (a minced pork dip made with prahok) is a fairly tame albeit still very tasty iteration of the dish. The owner-chef, Cambodian-New Zealander Kethana Dunnett, is often around if you have questions about the cuisine. Kethana is the go-to person for celebrity chefs -- from Gordon Ramsay to Luke Nguyen -- when they are in the country filming food programs, and she certainly knows her stuff."
"Try refined Khmer cuisine on the riverside Chanrey Tree's location on the leafy riverside makes it a lovely spot for both lunch and dinner. Delivering refined renditions of authentic Khmer cuisine, you'll find some of the same dishes on the menu that you'll see at the Sugar Palm, along with dishes that don't feature on other restaurant menus, including many of the owner’s mother’s recipes. I love starting with the crispy sticky rice with natang - a dip of minced pork, shrimp, coconut milk, and peanuts. It comes with fried tempura-like frangipanis and vegetables. Chanrey Tree is also the place to try char kroeung, a quintessential Cambodian dish of pork, chicken or beef stir-fried with kroeung, a paste that is the basis for many dishes. The basic yellow kroeung is made from lemongrass, turmeric, galangal, lime, garlic, and spring onion. Try the char kroeung with frog's legs if they're in season. They're wonderful! Another dish I adore is the free-range Khmer chicken, roasted with honey, rice brandy, young jack fruit and lemongrass, and served with a deliciously-pungent prahok (fermented fish) dip and fresh vegetable crudites. The restaurant itself is a stylish space consisting of a traditional Khmer timber house with a contemporary extension. If you're a people-watcher, sit in the front courtyard. If you enjoy the buzz of a chatty room, book a table out the back. Note the impressive sleek kitchen as you stroll to your table. Book a day ahead during high season."
"To many gastronomes, the subtle flavors and spicing of Khmer cuisine makes it one of Southeast Asia’s great food secrets. That’s certainly the view of French chef Joannes Riviera, who has taken inspiration from Cambodia’s unsung culinary traditions to create one of the region’s biggest restaurant success stories. Cuisine Wat Damnak has received numerous accolades since opening for business in 2011. Using only the freshest local produce (think juicy tropical fruit, bamboo shoots, and fish from nearby Tonle Sap), Riviera devises regularly changing tasting menus that burst with creativity. Recent hits include a fish sour soup with green banana and rice paddy herb, and a duck confit curry with fresh rice noodles. Dinner is a steal at just $27 for five courses or $31 for six."
"Sip wine and snack on tapas at this stylish spot Located on a lively lane called The Passage, parallel to Pub Street on the Old Market side (there's an entrance on the lane and another opposite the market), this stylish, air-conditioned restaurant and wine bar is an excellent choice for a sophisticated lunch, casual dinner or pre-dinner drinks. The sleek, contemporary lines of the interior design by local architects ASMA, come as a surprise to many. As does the delicious, modern Cambodian 'tapas', which allow you to taste a number of different specialties, some with creative twists. There are more substantial meals if you've worked up an appetite after a morning at the temples and decent wines by the glass as well as a good selection of international wines by the bottles. The wine bar section is a fantastic spot to sit and chat if you just want a drink."
"Try creative Cambodian at this training restaurant You can graze on creative, contemporary Cambodian tapas, including delights such as red ant fritters served with prahok sauce (my favorite), in the gorgeous courtyard garden at Marum, a hospitality training school restaurant that educates, employs and trains disadvantaged youths. Much of the menu features the innovative small sharing dishes (some of which work, some don't), but there are also more traditional Cambodian dishes offered as mains. Try the rich Seafood Amok or hearty Kor Ko (vegetable stew). The desserts are also delicious (I love the coconut tart with chilli ice-cream) and the cocktails are very good (I love the pineapple and chilli margarita). Symbols on the menu indicate which are the most traditional dishes if you're not tempted by the cutting-edge. Do ask staff for their recommendations also, as they need to practice their English. But do be patient. The t-shirts the staff wears indicate who the students and instructors are, so get the attention of an instructor if you need help rather than get angry with a shy young person who is working in a restaurant for the first time. This is a lovely spot for lunch or dinner. There's also a Friends 'n' Stuff boutique on site where you can buy cool gifts made from recycled materials. Profits go to Friends International, which runs the restaurant. If you're heading to Phnom Penh, book a table at Romdeng, their superb training restaurant there."
"Sample contemporary Cambodian from a swing seat If you’re not staying at Shinta Mani Resort and Club, it’s worth dining at the Shinta Mani’s Club’s Cambodian restaurant Kroya, just to enjoy the striking décor by Asia’s foremost hotel architect-designer, Bangkok -based Bill Bensley. Bensley has a flamboyant sense of style and meticulous attention to detail that can turn a simple space into something special. Inspired by Cambodia’s heritage, the restaurant features ribbed columns, which tip a hat to Angkor, and splashes of the tangerine of monks’ robes in the glassware and cushions. The Cambodian chefs in the kitchen at Kroya work with local produce to create menus that change with the country’s distinct seasons, with a focus on contemporary Cambodian cuisine and tapas-like portions of dishes that enable you to sample a range of local flavours. Reserve a table inside if you’re planning on trying the seven-course Khmer tasting menu. Otherwise, if you’re happy to graze in a more casual setting, then reserve a fun swing table outside. When you call ask if there’s live jazz on and if there is definitely book outside. Pop upstairs to the intimate Bensley Bar for a pre- or post-dinner cocktail."
"Tuck into a Korean BBQ feast Siem Reap sees a lot of Koreans visiting throughout the year, both tour groups and independent travelers. This means the city has a large number of Korean restaurants to cater for them. My favorite is Dae Bak, on busy Sivutha Boulevard. This simple place with stainless steel tables that get packed with groups of tourists, as well as off-duty guides and Korean expats, does deliciously authentic Korean food. There's a fairly long menu of specialties, including everything from dumplings to kimchi soup and bulgogi to seafood pancakes. A few dishes to share is enough for a couple, as also serve half a dozen tiny dishes of starters, from kimchi to various pickled and fermented vegetables. Dishes start at $5 and a bottle of soju goes for $4. My only gripe is that the Korean BBQ is done outside and not at the table."
"Judy Perl, Judy Perl Worldwide Travel “I highly recommend the classic Khmer cuisine at the Park Hyatt Siem Reap’s stylish restaurant, The Dining Room . The seafood amok, with curry paste and coconut milk, served over organic brown rice, was the best authentic Khmer dish I ate in Cambodia—or anywhere!” By AFAR Travel Advisory Council"
"Feast on wood-fired pizza and filled pastas There comes a time for everyone on a Cambodia trip when, no matter how much you're enjoying sampling the local food, you'll get a craving you need to satisfy. Fortunately, Siem Reap has an abundance of restaurants serving cuisines from around the globe, and many of them are very good. Filling pastas are fantastic if you've been cycling or scrambling the temples all day and a plain Margarita pizza is a terrific choice if you've been a tad sick in the tummy. Of Siem Reap's handful of Italian restaurants, I love Il Forno, on a narrow alley off Pub Street, just down the lane from Asana and around the corner from Miss Wong. The pizzas come piping hot from the traditional Neapolitan wood-fired oven and many of the handmade pastas are made fresh daily on the premises. While some of the products, such as the Parma ham, are imported from Italy (as you'd hope!), others are local and seasonal, like the beautiful fragrant basil. They also offer decent Italian wines by the glass and carafe. Check the blackboard for daily specials. If you can't get a table, I also like Little Italy on the parallel lane on the other side of Pub Street. The specialty there is their excellent carpaccio and house-made charcuterie."
