4 Best Restaurants in 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.

This small laidback cafe is popular with expats, locals, and visitors from Phnom Penh, and it's the perfect spot to stop before catching a boat to Koh Tonsay (Rabbit Island). The handwritten chalk menu features quesadillas, burgers, and grilled sandwiches, served in large portions.

There are three branches of Khéma in the city, but this one, with its French colonial stylings, heritage building, and location in the heart of the old French quarter, is the one to go to. Expect classic French and European cuisine served at all times of the day, but weekend brunch is popular with Cambodians and expats.

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.