Guidebook for Phnom Penh
Food Scene
Barebones but very popular Indonesian/Malaysian food just a few yards from our door. The menu's very hit-and-miss: the chicken is best avoided, but the beef rendang and most of the veggie dishes are quite good, and everything is pretty cheap.
Warung Bali
Preah Ang Makhak Vann St. (178)Barebones but very popular Indonesian/Malaysian food just a few yards from our door. The menu's very hit-and-miss: the chicken is best avoided, but the beef rendang and most of the veggie dishes are quite good, and everything is pretty cheap.
Probably the best foreign-owned bar in the city, a cosy 'local' with some great Tex-Mex food and fun live music events a couple of times a week
Tacos Kokopelli
Saint 19zProbably the best foreign-owned bar in the city, a cosy 'local' with some great Tex-Mex food and fun live music events a couple of times a week
The Artist Guesthouse
Good food and cocktails at this popular neighbourhood diner
Excellent vegetarian restaurant inspired by traditional Khmer cuisine, just a short walk away
The Corn
Excellent vegetarian restaurant inspired by traditional Khmer cuisine, just a short walk away
Popular neighbourhood cafe has some excellent and unusual sandwiches - but there's no sign! (It's upstairs, through the back of a charity boutique: sign says 'Daughters of Cambodia Visitor Centre')
Sugar 'n Spice Café
#321, Street Preah Sisowath QuayPopular neighbourhood cafe has some excellent and unusual sandwiches - but there's no sign! (It's upstairs, through the back of a charity boutique: sign says 'Daughters of Cambodia Visitor Centre')
Just around the corner on Street 13, this place always draws a good crowd with its above-average Mediterranean fare (there is alleged to be a genuine Italian chef out back in the kitchen!)
Opera Cafe
Just around the corner on Street 13, this place always draws a good crowd with its above-average Mediterranean fare (there is alleged to be a genuine Italian chef out back in the kitchen!)
Widely acclaimed as the best coffee shop in Phnom Penh - or at least the one that makes the best coffee (they have their own roaster)
11 personas locales recomiendan
Feel Good Café
House 79 Street 136Widely acclaimed as the best coffee shop in Phnom Penh - or at least the one that makes the best coffee (they have their own roaster)
My favourite of the many nearby cafe spaces: very friendly staff, and a good range of local and foreign dishes on offer.
Q Coffee House
My favourite of the many nearby cafe spaces: very friendly staff, and a good range of local and foreign dishes on offer.
They take a lot of 'family days' off, but when this place is open it provides some of the best cheap eats in central Phnom Penh. Its speciality is Chinese-style noodles and dumplings (hand-made to order, right in front of you on the sidewalk), but they also do a range of Khmer and Western dishes at very keen prices.
David's Homemade Noodle
#166 Preah Ang Eng St. (13)They take a lot of 'family days' off, but when this place is open it provides some of the best cheap eats in central Phnom Penh. Its speciality is Chinese-style noodles and dumplings (hand-made to order, right in front of you on the sidewalk), but they also do a range of Khmer and Western dishes at very keen prices.
There are quite a lot of Indian restaurants in the area, but this one (at least since the sad demise of nearby Spicy Planet) is much the best.
Corriander Restaurant
21Eo Preah Trasak Paem St. (63)There are quite a lot of Indian restaurants in the area, but this one (at least since the sad demise of nearby Spicy Planet) is much the best.
Drinks & Nightlife
The tallest building on Street 178 (it has an elevator!), its rooftop bar offers a sundown happy hour with impressive views
Frangipani Royal Palace Hotel
27 Street 178The tallest building on Street 178 (it has an elevator!), its rooftop bar offers a sundown happy hour with impressive views
Just next door (the middle one of three - possibly quite unconnected? - bar/restaurants in the same building), Touk has the best cocktails and river views on Sisowath Quay
River Crown Restaurant
178Just next door (the middle one of three - possibly quite unconnected? - bar/restaurants in the same building), Touk has the best cocktails and river views on Sisowath Quay
The former Foreign Correspondents Club is now a boutique hotel/bar/restaurant; I don't rate its service that highly, but it has live music and art exhibitions quite often at its adjacent event space.
7 personas locales recomiendan
FCC
363 Preah Sisowath QuayThe former Foreign Correspondents Club is now a boutique hotel/bar/restaurant; I don't rate its service that highly, but it has live music and art exhibitions quite often at its adjacent event space.
Delightful covered courtyard offers a haven of calm, insulated from the buzz of traffic. It has some good bar food, and some very nice - but dangerously strong - self-made craft ales.
9 personas locales recomiendan
Botanico
9B St 29Delightful covered courtyard offers a haven of calm, insulated from the buzz of traffic. It has some good bar food, and some very nice - but dangerously strong - self-made craft ales.
French-owned (but welcoming of Anglophones) bar with a cosy living-room vibe - only a few minutes' walk away, looking out on to the bustling park in front of the Royal Palace.
Blue Dragon
Samdach Preah Thoamak Lekhet Ouk St. (184)French-owned (but welcoming of Anglophones) bar with a cosy living-room vibe - only a few minutes' walk away, looking out on to the bustling park in front of the Royal Palace.
Arts & Culture
The best of the three Flicks locations, in nearby Chaktomuk district: a cosy little bar/cafe that also shows recent films in a small theatre
The Flicks 3
57The best of the three Flicks locations, in nearby Chaktomuk district: a cosy little bar/cafe that also shows recent films in a small theatre
Entertainment & Activities
Another bijou arts cinema above a bar, this has a bit more of an eclectic programme than the Flicks mini-chain, and some great value daily food specials (esp. the pork ribs on Mondays!)
9 personas locales recomiendan
The Empire
Another bijou arts cinema above a bar, this has a bit more of an eclectic programme than the Flicks mini-chain, and some great value daily food specials (esp. the pork ribs on Mondays!)
German arts centre with many interesting photography exhibitions and indie film screenings (usually three or four separate events per day, and nearly all FREE). Quite a good bar/restaurant as well. Closed on Mondays.
17 personas locales recomiendan
Meta House
12207 Street 228German arts centre with many interesting photography exhibitions and indie film screenings (usually three or four separate events per day, and nearly all FREE). Quite a good bar/restaurant as well. Closed on Mondays.
PADI dive shop just around for corner, with information on diving anywhere in Cambodia
Scuba Nation Diving Center
Street Samdach Sothearos Blvd (3)PADI dive shop just around for corner, with information on diving anywhere in Cambodia
Essentials
Best place in town to get a gent's haircut (I believe there are many more options for ladies, but I'm not in a position to make a recommendation on that!). Mr Sophy, who works here mornings only, speaks very good English.
Khmer Barber
Preah Norodom BoulevardBest place in town to get a gent's haircut (I believe there are many more options for ladies, but I'm not in a position to make a recommendation on that!). Mr Sophy, who works here mornings only, speaks very good English.
There are a couple of smaller stores even nearer to the apartment, but.... Panda Mart has pretty much EVERYTHING.
6 personas locales recomiendan
Panda Mart
184 Preah Ang Eng St. (13)There are a couple of smaller stores even nearer to the apartment, but.... Panda Mart has pretty much EVERYTHING.
Good clinic for foreigners, just south of the Pasteur St bar strip - only a 15-minute walk away. They won't give you anything unless you undergo a consultation with a doctor, so for non-serious problems you're better off just getting some help from the local pharmacist. However, they can usually see you fairly quickly without an appointment. (They charge nearly twice as much to see a foreign doctor as a Cambodian one, but it may be worth it.)
Raffles Medical Phnom Penh
12211 Rue Pasteur No. 51Good clinic for foreigners, just south of the Pasteur St bar strip - only a 15-minute walk away. They won't give you anything unless you undergo a consultation with a doctor, so for non-serious problems you're better off just getting some help from the local pharmacist. However, they can usually see you fairly quickly without an appointment. (They charge nearly twice as much to see a foreign doctor as a Cambodian one, but it may be worth it.)
Reliable pharmacy chain has a large store on the corner a few yards away; it has just about everything you might need, and good English-speaking help.
UCare Pharmacy Sothearos 1
Reliable pharmacy chain has a large store on the corner a few yards away; it has just about everything you might need, and good English-speaking help.