Where to eat in Battambang: cafes, Khmer kitchens and social enterprises

Battambang is Cambodia's laid-back second-largest city, and its food is more interesting than its size suggests. You get real Khmer country cooking, a genuine cafe and coffee-roasting scene, and a cluster of social-enterprise restaurants that train young Cambodians for hospitality careers and happen to serve some of the best food in town. The old centre and the riverside are walkable, so most of this is within a few blocks. The full list, with photos and a map, is on the Battambang directory.

The social-enterprise kitchens

Jaan Bai is the standout: a modern Cambodian menu built around regional dishes and local produce, run as a training restaurant, and the most reviewed place in the city. Coconut LyLy is a family-run Khmer restaurant that also teaches cooking classes, with a long menu of classics done properly. Nary Kitchen is in the same mould, popular for its class and its amok. Bar Ang rates near the top for a relaxed Khmer-and-Western menu.

Cafes and coffee

Battambang takes coffee seriously. The Lonely Tree Cafe is a fair-trade spot with a Spanish-leaning menu and a shop attached. Cafe Eden is a large, comfortable social-enterprise cafe good for a work session. Cafe HOC and The Gecko Cafe are the other names for a proper coffee and a light plate. Browse the wider list on Asian restaurants in Battambang and European restaurants in Battambang.

Dinner and drinks

For Khmer classics in a casual setting, Smokin' Pot is a long-running favourite that also runs a class. La Pizza and Ristorante Italiano cover Italian; Flavors of India is the pick for a curry. Au Cabaret Vert and Vintage Bar lean French. For a drink with a view, The Place is the rooftop, and Riverside Balcony Bar sits above the river in an old wooden house.

How to plan it

Battambang is an easy overnight between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Do the market and the Khmer kitchens by day, use the cafes through the afternoon heat, and keep the evening for the riverside and the rooftops. Meals are cheap: US$2 to US$5 at a local spot, US$5 to US$9 at a Western-facing restaurant. The countryside around town, with its rice fields, the bamboo train and the vineyards, makes for gentle half-day trips between meals. The directory has the full list.