10 Best Restaurants
Siem Reap is the starting point for Angkor’s temples, from the towers of Angkor Wat to the carved faces of Bayon and the roots wrapped around Ta Prohm. Give the city time too. Cambodian restaurants, craft workshops and contemporary circus performances add another side to the trip. Beyond town, Tonle Sap’s stilted villages and the sacred landscapes of Phnom Kulen make rewarding outings. Plan temple visits around the heat and leave space for slower afternoons.
Cuisine Wat Damnak
Wat Damnak, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Cuisine Wat Damnak explores Cambodian ingredients through tasting menus shaped by the season. Chef Joannès Rivière draws on local food traditions and French technique, using produce from farms and villages as well as fish and seafood from across the country. The traditional house setting keeps the evening personal. Book ahead, explain dietary requirements early and check the current menu. The restaurant welcomes guests aged twelve and above, making it better suited to an adult evening.
Seasonal Cambodian tasting menus
Embassy Restaurant
Street5, Mondul1 Village, Cambodia
Chef Kimsan Pol leads Embassy’s all-female team, creating a changing menu around ingredients from Cambodia’s provinces. The restaurant suits an evening when dinner is the main event, with a set-menu format and wines available to accompany the courses. Expect contemporary presentations grounded in Khmer flavours rather than a fixed collection of signature dishes. Reserve using the restaurant’s current contact details and confirm the Street5 location, since older guides show a different address.
A chef-led Khmer dinner
Lum Orng
Thlok Ondong Village, outskirts of Siem Reap, Cambodia
Lum Orng takes dinner out to the quieter edge of Siem Reap, where chef Sothea Seng’s cooking follows the garden and seasonal produce. His New Mekong approach combines Cambodian traditions with influences from the wider region. The warm wooden dining room suits a leisurely tasting menu, while à la carte choices offer more flexibility. Arrange transport both ways and ask about current menus when booking; the ingredients and dishes change with what is available.
Seasonal cooking beyond the centre
Kroya by Chef Chanrith
Shinta Mani Angkor, Royal District, Cambodia
Kroya gives Chef Chanrith’s childhood recipes a contemporary treatment within Shinta Mani Angkor. Native herbs, spices and local ingredients shape menus that look both backward and forward in Cambodian cooking. Lunch follows an à la carte format, while dinner offers tasting menus, including plant-focused choices. Choose the sitting that best matches your plans and appetite, and mention dietary needs when reserving. The hotel setting makes it convenient for a polished evening in the Royal District.
Contemporary Khmer cooking
1932
Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor, Cambodia
Named for the year Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor opened, 1932 serves contemporary Cambodian tasting menus in an elegant hotel dining room. Chef Dorn Doeurt’s approach draws on both royal and everyday Khmer traditions, with seasonal produce and a substantial wine selection supporting the meal. It is a natural choice for a special dinner after a day of sightseeing. Reserve ahead, review the available menus and follow the restaurant’s smart dress guidance when planning your evening.
Cambodian fine dining in a historic hotel
Mahob Khmer Cuisine
Traing Village, Slorkram, Cambodia
Mahob occupies a restored Khmer house with several ways to settle in for a meal: an airy upstairs room, an air-conditioned dining area and outdoor tables near the garden and lotus pond. Chef-owner Sothea Seng’s cooking uses local produce to give Cambodian dishes a contemporary touch. The setting is a large part of the pleasure, so request your preferred seating when booking. It works well for a relaxed lunch or dinner away from the busiest central streets.
Khmer food in a restored wooden house
The Sugar Palm
Street27, Siem Reap, Cambodia
The Sugar Palm is rooted in the cooking Chef Kethana learned from her mother and grandmother. Fragrant curries, fresh salads and stir-fries give diners a direct introduction to Cambodian home-style food, with herbs and spices doing much of the work. It is a good place to share several dishes and compare flavours across the table. Plan for dinner, check the current menu and remember that the restaurant’s published schedule closes on Mondays.
Traditional home-style Cambodian food
Chanrey Tree
Pokambor Avenue, riverside, Cambodia
Chanrey Tree combines a restored wooden house with garden and courtyard seating beside Siem Reap’s river. The kitchen focuses on Cambodian countryside cooking, making it a useful place to order several dishes for the table and explore beyond a single curry. Choose between the house and outdoor seating according to the weather and your group. Its central riverside location makes dinner easy to combine with a gentle walk through the surrounding streets.
Khmer dishes in a courtyard house
Jomno Modern Khmer Cuisine
Wat Damnak, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Jomno gives Cambodian dishes a contemporary presentation in a relaxed setting near the centre. Fish amok and beef lok lak sit alongside a broader menu that includes vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free choices. Chef Seiha Chomnab’s cooking draws on family recipes as well as experience with other cuisines. It is a useful option for a group with different preferences, though specific dietary requirements should still be discussed in advance. Choose lunch for a break between outings or book for dinner.
Creative Cambodian food and plant-based choices
SPOONS Café and Restaurant
Wat Damnak, Siem Reap, Cambodia
SPOONS serves Cambodian food while giving hospitality students practical experience in a working restaurant. The social enterprise supports SPOONS Cambodia’s education programmes, with profits returning to the organisation and its students. A distinctive bamboo structure makes the setting memorable, and the relaxed format works for a meal between city outings. Come for the food and allow time for the experience; this is a restaurant where learning is part of daily service.
Cambodian cooking with a training mission