Siem Reap Restaurants: 5 Great Community Restaurants For Breakfast and Dinner
Siem Reap breakfast and dinner restaurants are hot on supporting locals through their community restaurant start-up schemes.
Visitors can enjoy breakfast in Siem Reap, knowing that not only will their food taste amazing, but they will also be helping to support local social enterprises by eating in one of the community-run restaurants and cafes in Siem Reap.
Western favourites of avocado toast and smoothie bowls sit side-by-side on menus with delicious local Khmer meals. Everyone is covered with a wide range of dishes for all tastes.
The restaurants pride themselves on offering training and employment to the local people to aid in their development and well-being. Local and international charities support these ventures, creating great places for the traveller to eat while giving back to the community.
During my four nights in Siem Reap, I discovered these excellent community restaurants and ate there for breakfast and dinner. It felt good to support local ventures and experience some fabulous meals.
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Best Siem Reap Restaurants and Cafes for Travellers
Footprint Cafe
This was my favourite cafe on Street 26, near Siem Reap's river.
I loved the concept of a restaurant within a bookstore where travellers can enjoy a meal and then leave with a book. The Footprint Cafe is supported by a charity and managed by local staff, making it a viable self-sustained business. Visitors can buy donated books, with sales helping to generate grants for local communities. The motto "People, Planet, Profit" certainly explains their ethos.
What's on the menu?
The menu offers mouth-watering dishes such as a peanut butter and dark chocolate porridge combo, vegan pumpkin pancakes with sautéed green apples and bananas with a ginger glaze, and Sunni's savoury fry-up. For those with a more savoury palate, fresh smoothies and great coffee complement the dishes.
I was so impressed with my Siem Reap breakfast and the friendly staff that I returned in the evening for dinner. The Cambodian chicken curry was sensational and washed down with a delicious cocktail.
Find Footprint Cafe on Street 26, 50 metres from the river in Siem Reap.
The Little Red Fox Espresso
A cafe started by an Australian and managed by a Cambodian in the heart of Siem Reap’s Kandal Village precinct.
Diners can enjoy breakfast created with ingredients sourced from local Cambodian growers. This ensures that small Cambodian-run family businesses in the Siem Reap area receive continued support from the community throughout the year.
The Little Red Fox Espresso was one of the first cafes in Siem Reap to take noticeable action to lower its daily carbon footprint and share knowledge on going green and clean with its team and the community.
What's on the menu?
As you would expect, the menu offers a vast selection of coffee, providing the best quality fair trade and organic beans from Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos.
The brunch menu features popular choices such as breakfast bagels, Bircher muesli, and sunshine smoothie bowls.
Find Little Red Fox at 593 Hap Guan St, Krong Siem Reap, Cambo
Sister Srey
Two sisters opened this cafe near Pub Street and the Old Market area.
This cafe donates a percentage of its profits to a landmine clearance organisation to aid in making Cambodia safer.
Educational support is provided to staff members to bridge the gap between work and home life. Sister Srey's ethos is that it is a cafe with a heart, a cafe with the desire to see change and the ability to do so.
What's on the menu?
Fresh organic produce is vegan and gluten-free and sourced only from suppliers who support the local community. Breakfast choices range from green eggs and ham to stuffed toast and dragonfruit smoothie bowls with a wide selection of beverages.
Find Sister Srey at 200 Pokambor St, Riverside - Old Market Area, Siem Reap
HAVEN
A Swiss couple opened this restaurant on the aptly named Chocolate Road in Siem Reap.
HAVEN is a training restaurant and social enterprise that creates new life prospects for disadvantaged young adults, teaching them valuable work and life skills while serving delicious, honest food.
What's on the menu?
HAVEN's Siem Reap breakfast dishes include favourites like eggs benedict, blueberry pancakes, and local Khmer noodle dishes. These are washed down with fresh milkshakes. HAVEN is also open for lunch and dinner.
Find HAVEN at Chocolate Road, Sangkat Sala Kamreuk, Siem Reap
WILD
Started by a Parisian couple, WILD is an excellent cafe in the heart of Siem Reap.
Committed to serving great food and drink while supporting its staff and the wider community, WILD offers travellers amazing Western and Eastern breakfast and dinner dishes.
The philosophy is to support the staff with flexible working hours, decent hourly rates and training in community issues such as plastic reduction and education.
What's on the menu?
WILD calls itself a finger food restaurant and specialises in spring rolls.
Catering to meat-eaters and vegetarians, WILD even offers dessert spring rolls with fillings such as caramelised pineapple and cinnamon!
Find WILD at Wat Damnak, Krong Siem Reap
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Angela Price: is an accomplished travel writer bringing extensive expertise and passion to the world of travel.
With over 40 years of globetrotting adventures under her belt and with a keen eye for unique experiences, she has established herself as an authoritative voice in travel, offering invaluable insights for fellow adventurers seeking to uncover the delights of worldwide destinations.
Her motto is “live life wandering not wondering”. Read more about Angie.
I got so hungry reading this post! I'm planning a trip to Cambodia when we can safely travel again and I am so excited to try some of these cafes! I like to make breakfast one of the biggest meals of the day when I travel! Gorgeous food!
A lovely post listing helpful choices in breakfast selections in Siem Reap - definitely a must read for first time travellers to this part of the world.
We at at Joe to Go in Siem Reap ... and I just linked back to your article so my readers can get more inspiration about where to support the community, and get great food next time they're in town.
Thanks Jay! I'm glad that my post appealed to you. I loved finding all the community brunch spots and helping support their causes whilst enjoying amazing food.
We are off to Cambodia soon so will definitely try out some of the cafes you have recommended !
You will love Cambodia and the curries are incredible! Have an amazing journey.
Wonderful post angie. Really nice read.
Thank you