The Best Restaurants in Phnom Penh
A curated, personally-visited guide to where to eat in the city — modern and royal Khmer, omakase, French bistro, Spanish tapas, and Vietnamese.
This is not a ranking by ticket price or by who paid to appear. Han Recommended is an editorial directory: every restaurant below was chosen and visited in person before it was published. The list is small on purpose. It favours kitchens with a clear point of view — a single dish done well, a tasting menu built around the Tonlé Sap, a room that knows exactly what it is.
It spans the city's strongest cooking right now, from royal Khmer in a colonial villa to a twelve-seat omakase, organised below by the kind of meal you're looking for.
Modern & Royal Khmer
Yum Bay
Six seats around a charcoal hearth, no menu, classical technique applied to strictly Khmer ingredients — fermentations, smoke, freshwater fish from the Tonlé Sap. Prahok blanched and pressed into a single bite; river prawn cured in palm sugar. Reservations open on the first of the month and go within the hour. The most quietly ambitious cooking in the city.
Mahob
Royal Khmer cuisine plated with restraint inside a 1930s villa. The kitchen works from a narrow register — river fish, herbs, smoke, palm sugar, acid — and gives older Khmer dishes enough space to be seen clearly. Formal without becoming theatrical.
Ratri
A late-night Khmer kitchen where the menu changes when the market does. Modern in framing, traditional in its sourcing — the place to end an evening when the better-known rooms have closed.
Phka Slaa
A garden kitchen serving banana-flower salads and grilled river fish. Unpretentious, green, and built for a long lunch — the most relaxed of the Khmer rooms on this list.
Sambo Fish
Freshwater fish grilled over coconut husk, with one very good sour soup. A specialist that does a few things and does them properly.
Sambok
A nest of a room serving slow-cooked, market-driven Khmer stews, with no menu translated. This is home cooking at a high level — go with someone who reads Khmer, or trust the kitchen.
International
Sushi Lab
A twelve-course omakase from a chef who trained for years at a counter in Ginza. Two seatings a night, no walk-ins, and at around $53 a person the cheapest serious omakase in Phnom Penh by a wide margin. The room is spare; the fish makes the argument.
Tomatito
A small tapas bar built around a wood-fired plancha. The room is narrow, the list is short, and the plancha carries the argument — anchovies, tomatoes, squid, bread. Nothing performs more than it needs to.
La Table
A French bistro inside a 1920s colonial building. The duck confit is the reason to come; the room is the reason to stay. The most classic European meal in the city.
Vibe
Plant-based cooking with unusual discipline — three courses, no choice. It avoids the usual substitution theatre; the best plates are vegetables cooked as themselves, seasonal and built around texture.
Roka
A family-run northern Vietnamese kitchen — bún chả, phở, and the city's best bánh cuốn. Honest, consistent, and worth the trip up to Toul Kork.
Bahn
A bún-chả specialist doing one dish, done well, since 2011. The kind of single-minded lunch counter every city needs more of.
Frequently Asked
What is the best restaurant in Phnom Penh?
For modern Khmer fine dining, Yum Bay is the standout — a six-seat charcoal hearth in BKK1 serving a no-menu tasting built around the Tonlé Sap. For royal Khmer in a formal setting, Mahob inside a 1930s Daun Penh villa is the reference. The right answer depends on the occasion: Sushi Lab for omakase, La Table for a French bistro, Tomatito for tapas.
Where can I eat authentic Khmer food in Phnom Penh?
The strongest Khmer picks are Yum Bay (modern Khmer tasting menu, BKK1), Mahob (royal Khmer, Daun Penh), Ratri (late-night modern Khmer, BKK1), Phka Slaa (garden kitchen, Riverside), Sambo Fish (grilled freshwater fish, Riverside), and Sambok (slow-cooked stews, Toul Tom Poung). See our full guide to the best Khmer restaurants in Phnom Penh.
Where is the best omakase in Phnom Penh?
Sushi Lab in BKK1 — a twelve-course omakase from a Ginza-trained chef, two seatings a night, no walk-ins, around $53 per person. The most accessible serious omakase in the city.
What are the best restaurants in BKK1?
BKK1 holds the densest cluster of the city's best restaurants: Yum Bay (modern Khmer tasting), Sushi Lab (omakase), Tomatito (Spanish tapas), Vibe (plant-based set menu), and Ratri (late-night modern Khmer).
How are these restaurants chosen?
Han Recommended is an editorial directory, not a paid-listing platform. Every restaurant is selected and personally visited by Han Khim, founder of Han Studios. There is no paid placement in the editorial selection — businesses can separately verify their details, but verification does not influence whether a venue is recommended.