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What makes the nightlife here enjoyable is how easy it is to get from place to place in this compact city. Most of the dusk-to-dawn nightspots are near the Tonle Sap riverside, along streets 240 and 51. A useful website for upcoming events and venue information is www.lengpleng.com, which is updated every Thursday or Friday. Keep your wits about you after dark in Phnom Penh—robberies are common, and although foreigners aren't specifically targeted, they are certainly not exempt from the rise in crime.
Tricky to find the first time but well worth the effort, this micro-distillery transforms into one of the buzziest bars in Phnom Penh on Thursday nights. Their excellent Samai rum is distilled on-site in 200-year-old copper stills, the process of which you can learn more about on a short tour with a drink in hand. The rums make a great base for their original inventive cocktails.
Arrive at this breezy rooftop bar of the Amanjaya Pancam Hotel well before the sun goes down so you can nab a table overlooking Wat Ounalom—the view is magical at sunset. The bar has birds-eye views of the palm-lined waterside promenade, as well as the Tonle Sap and Mekong Rivers, making it a wonderful place to spend an evening sipping wine or cocktails.
This cool, dimly-lit cocktail and whisky bar is one of the places to head when everywhere else is closing down, but you don't have to be a late-night owl to enjoy a drink at this convivial sipping spot. The atmospheric lighting and speakeasy vibe are complemented by a surprisingly comprehensive menu.
This is the place to head if you don't want to miss a major game while you're traveling. Open until 2 am on weekends, Phnom Penh's largest sports bar is a favorite of expats, locals, and tourists alike, who all want to catch a sports game live on one of many TV screens while enjoying a tipple among the enthusiastic crowd. There's pub grub and a British-style weekend roast.
It may not have a riverside vista of the Mekong, but this cocktail bar somehow manages to top that with a view of the kaleidoscopic-colored tin roofs of its noisy neighbor, Russian Market. The cool factor continues with the tiki theme, cocktails made with local spirits, craft beer, and a menu of tapas-style Asian fusion. Arrive an hour before sunset to nab a stool overlooking the market. There are few better spots for watching the sun go down in the city.
