Cambodia: Food Guide

Pub Street is definitely the go-to place for food, drinks, and a lively atmosphere. But there’s a lot more to be said about the places off Pub Street and the side streets across town! There are some really great restaurants that support local initiatives, focus on sustainability, and have awesome vibes. If you have time to explore off of Pub Street, here are four of our favorite places:

Vibe Cafe

This is THE place for awesome atmosphere, cool design, and amazing (HEALTHY) food! Vibe is the first 100% Vegan restaurant in Siem Reap and they believe eating a plant based diet is best for the environment. The café has an extensive menu with a ton of healthy and delicious options! After debating for ages, I decided on ordering the Live Sandwich.

The sandwich was on rye bread and had smoked tempeh, superfood pesto, fresh avocado, tomato, living sprouts and salad on the side. And the best part…it was only $4.50! I love Cambodia. Vibe isn’t exactly John’s scene and he prefers the exact opposite of a vegan diet. John being the good sport he is, ordered the “Buffalo Cauliflower Bites,” but was saving his stomach for his real meal after. Vibe café is just a 10-minute walk from Pub Street, so it’s still relatively easy to get to from the main city center! Huge shout-out to Jaclyn for giving me the recommendation to come here! When she was in Siem Reap, she came to Vibe every day! – and that should tell you how good this place is!

Maybe Later

John looked up some Mexicans restaurants in Siem Reap and all the reviews pointed to Maybe Later! Amazingly, It’s located right next door to Vibe Café, so John and I planned to go there after I ate my vegan lunch–John was really excited to eat his real lunch! We walked next door and were greeted by a chalkboard sign that said, “Mexican food so good, Trump wants to build a wall around it.” I knew I was going to like this place! The restaurant had a chill, laid back, style with big murals covering the walls. The restaurant supports local artists and has a skateboard/California vibe. John ordered the smothered burrito and I just got a margarita and some chips & guac! They are known for their margaritas which definitely lived up to the hype. The staff was so helpful and couldn’t have been friendlier; which is consistent with all the restaurants we’d been to in Siem Reap. We both agreed that the Cali-Mexican style food is worth the visit.

Asana

This is an old treehouse that has been transformed into an awesome trendy bar! Upstairs is an actual tree house, they have rows of rice bags lined up as couches and seats. If you don’t want to be seated upstairs you can sit underneath the “tree-house” on hanging chairs / beds.

Along the walls they have posters of old Cambodian movies and pictures of famous Cambodian singers and actors. If you’re able, try to sit at the bottom of the treehouse so you can sit on a hanging bed or hanging sofa! They have an extensive drink menu, so you are bound to find something you like. John ordered a beer and I ordered a mango margarita and the drinks come with small appetizers of your choice! There was no one else was in the treehouse, so John and I hung out here for a while, relaxing to the 80’s rock music. We talked about the songs that our dads used to play for us growing up and which songs reminded us most of our childhood. Mine was the Rolling Stones hit, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” It was such a nice change of scene, from the booming techno music blasting from the clubs on Pub Street. Huge shout out to Shannon for recommending Asana!

Genevieve’s

Getting here was quite the trek and it took two tries! The first time, our tuk tuk driver took us to the old address because Genevieve’s had recently moved to a new location. Then the next day we tried to go, our tuk tuk driver was also unsure of the location! As you can imagine, the streets aren’t labeled well (if at all) and it’s really hard to figure out which roads lead where. But we were persistent! John pulled up google maps and tried to guide our driver the correct way. After a few U-turns and driving down some dark dirt roads, (that were kind of scary), we saw the blue lit up sign that said “Genevieve’s.” We walked inside and it was packed with people! The entire restaurant is open air, so it’s good to dress for the heat.

There were a bunch of cool tables in huts and in the garden, but we didn’t make a reservation so we were seated at a regular table. Definitely make a reservation because it gets packed and we were lucky to get a table right away! Genevieve’s is known for their authentic Cambodian food and we were so excited to have good local food. I ordered the Fish Amok and John ordered the Beef Lok Lak. The food was so delicious, tender and flavorful! The owner of the restaurant, Phil, came by our table multiple times to chat and check-in on our food. Phil is from Australia and was so friendly and interesting to talk to! He named the restaurant after his late wife, and now loves to give back to the community of Siem Reap. So not only does this restaurant have delicious food, but a portion of the restaurant’s proceeds goes back to the community by supporting local initiatives. They have local handmade crafts for sale and hire young local workers. This restaurant is one of the top restaurants in Siem Reap for their food, atmosphere and for the support of people of Siem Reap!

This is an expert from their menu: In December 2015, Genevieve’s Fair Trade Village for people with disabilities opened. Various artisans who make jewelry, wood carvings, clothes, art works, etc., often using recycled products now gets a fair price for their work. The village is located at our first restaurant site. If you have time, drop in and say hello. You don’t have to buy anything; your interest alone makes a real difference. The prices at Genevieve’s are partially a reflection of our desire to pay our staff well, employees as many as we can and give them 10% of the profits. You also contribute directly to our ability to support Genevieve’s Fair Trade Village as well as one-off request for aid for housing, hospital costs etc. for need Cambodians. We thank you for this.

I hope that if you have extra time in Siem Reap, you’re able do a bit of exploring off Pub Street and into the other areas of the city! There’s something special about the local restaurants that care more about just catering to tourists. We met some pretty amazing people that care deeply about the country of Cambodia. In our opinion, seeing that is what makes traveling so special.