Best Cafes in Siem Reap

"Sip Siem Reap's best coffee at Little Red Fox Located on the gritty backstreet of Hup Guan, an emerging coffee sipping-cum-shopping street that remains something of a secret, the Little Red Fox Espresso makes Siem Reap 's best coffee. No question. An early opener, the cool little cafe with a life-size portrait of Amy Winehouse above the bar sees expats kickstarting their day with caffeine shots soon after the Australian owners, barista Adam Rodwell, and hairdresser David Stirling, pull back the red curtains. And things don't stop until they shut up shop around 6pm. The menu is short—it's all about the coffee—although there are some breakfast items like homemade muesli, and sweets, like carrot cake. If you need a snip, David cuts hair upstairs (book ahead) while Adam overseas the excellent Cambodian staff downstairs."

"Kick Back at Cafe Central Set in an atmospheric colonial building with mismatched furniture, whirring ceiling fans, and rotating art on the walls, retro-chic Cafe Central is one of my favorite spots to kick back with a coffee or drink and watch the world go by. The laidback cafe serves some of the best coffee in the colonial heart of Siem Reap , Old Market is right across the road, the enormous picture windows are ideal for people-watching, the staff are always smiling, and I love the retro style of the place."

"Savor scrummy pastries made by baking students This breezy new al fresco coffee shop located at the Ecole du Bayon pastry school in Siem Reap looks into the school’s gleaming kitchen so you can watch the dedicated young cooks piping cream and decorating cakes. The pastry school was established by the Bayon L’Ecole School, near Bayon temple in Angkor Archaeological Park, to provide training and career opportunities for their female graduates and other disadvantaged young women from around Siem Reap, who would otherwise be staying at home or working in massage parlors or construction sites. The keen students undertake pastry classes, as well as lessons in English, mathematics, business skills, such as stock management and accounting, and personal development. They also do internships of six and ten weeks in the kitchens of Siem Reap’s finest five-star hotels. The earnings from the coffee shop go directly back into the school, which provides on-site accommodation, bicycles and an allowance for the students, so you know your money is going to a great cause. Expect excellent coffee and delicious European-style baked goods such as French madeleines and financiers, chocolate fondant, raspberry mousse, and, my favourite, lemon meringue pies. The café is open Tuesday to Sunday 7.30am-5pm."

"Sample fresh organic produce at Asana Farmers Market Every Sunday morning the quiet courtyard of laidback Asana bar in the old quarter transforms into Asana Organic Farmers Market, a petite farmers' market which started in December 2014. If you're staying in a holiday rental or serviced apartment and have a kitchen then grab a basket and get down there early before things run out. If you're not, you can safely turn up around 11am and settle onto a rice-sack cushion to sip a coffee and sample a pastry and buy some picnic snacks. Hidden away on a narrow alley off The Lane, which is best known as being home to Miss Wong bar, the tiny market has just ten stalls selling locally grown organic produce, jars of creamy palm sugar, free-range chickens and eggs, homemade French charcuterie, including delicious pâtés and terrines, delicious Middle Eastern dips, and freshly baked German-style bread. The market is an initiative of Asana's charming owners, Sophary ‘Pari’ Unn and her partner Guilhem Maitrepierre, who, with young children of their own, became concerned about the quality of some of the Thai-grown produce being sold in Siem Reap . While tiny now, they have plans to widen offerings. Expect to see local honey and seasonal fruits from Mount Kulen soon."

"Soak up the sunshine at Sister Srey The coffee may not be the best in Siem Reap and the food can be hit and miss. But there are few more relaxed places to hang out than the wooden tables and benches at the front of this sunny cafe opposite the riverside. Owned by two Melbourne sisters who do a lot of charitable work, it's a good spot to meet expats and there's a noticeboard promoting volunteer opportunities and other ways to give back."