9 Best Restaurants in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Set in a traditional-style Khmer wooden house with French colonial tiles, floor-to-ceiling windows looking onto a garden with herb boxes, and smooth jazz music in the background, Lum Orng (which means “pollen” in Khmer) is renowned for its innovative contemporary Cambodian cuisine. This casually elegant fine diner, in a village on the edge of town, is owned and helmed by one of Cambodia’s most creative chefs, Sothea Seng, who can be found most nights cooking at his intimate Chef’s Table upstairs. The dishes reinterpret Cambodian specialties, both preserving and reinventing them, using the freshest of organic local produce grown in the gardens around the restaurant and at the chef’s farm out near Banteay Srei.

Cuisine Wat Damnak offers a unique journey for the taste buds with its five- or six-course set menus (changing every fortnight). Beyond the sophisticated indoor sala and romantic garden, the concept here is Cambodian food remodeled into creative modern dishes by French chef Joannes Riviere, whose knowledge of the area allows him to source rare ingredients such as shellfish unique to the Mekong and Tonle Sap lake, fresh lotus seeds, wild lily stems, and edible flowers.

If you're interested in learning more about Riviere's culinary philosophy and techniques, you can buy a copy of his cookbook here.

The name translates as "food," and if you're after a Cambodian menu that appeals to the Western palate but is not without an adventurous element, this is an excellent choice. Try deep-fried frogs' legs coated with crispy rice flakes, or wok-fried local beef with tree red ants served with rice. If that's too much of a challenge, there's the duo amok soufflé of lemongrass and coconut paste with chicken and river fish, or the fun option of cooking fish or meat exactly to your liking on hot stones.

This top-notch open-air garden restaurant, out-of-the-way from the noisier part of the city, reflects the forward-thinking new generation of postdisaster Cambodia, represented here by the visionary young owner, Siv Pola. Everything is prepared with sensitivity, creativity, and great skill: try the Tonle Sap Fish, a carpaccio of snakehead fish fillet, marinated in fresh picked herbs, with a tempura poached egg.

The first proper restaurant to open in the post–Khmer Rouge period remains the city’s best destination for delicious traditional home-style Cambodian cooking in a beautiful wooden building. Owner-chef Kethana Dunnet was the country’s first celebrity chef, introducing some of the world’s best chefs to Cambodian food, including Gordon Ramsay, Rick Stein, and Luke Nguyen. Expect the best iterations of Cambodian cooking—everything on the menu is delicious.

Located in the heart of the hip Wat Bo neighborhood, Banlle—which means "vegetables" in Khmer—is Siem Reap’s only urban farm-to-table restaurant. Dine at one of the terrace tables and you’ll be able to see the organic vegetable garden, which wraps around the restaurant's remodeled traditional timber house. The options include Cambodian, pan-Asian, and international fare, all of great value.

Located on Siem Reap's quiet Kandal Village shopping street, this cool Australian-run cafe provides more than just great coffee: there's a menu of healthy breakfasts and lunches like the tofu scramble or the Tri Grain Bowl, a combination of red rice, chia seeds, and couscous, topped with kale and beetroot hummus. There is a shaded seating area out front and a relaxing light-filled space upstairs.

This pleasant Japanese-style café by the river serves good snacks, small plates, desserts, and drinks. Try a cashew-nut shake—you'll probably want a second. You can also try the sauna upstairs.

Possibly the most happening restaurant in Kandal Village, this French-owned and retro-themed bar and international bistro is the go-to place for French cuisine and Khmer staple dishes. Their good selection of wines and cocktails also attracts Siem Reap's drinking elite, especially on Funky Friday, their club night with live DJs. Don't miss the art gallery on the first floor.