Cuisine Wat Damnak, Siem Reap: What to eat and visitor guide

Useful facts

Cuisine Wat Damnak facts at a glance

Location

Wat Damnak Market Street, behind Wat Damnak pagoda

Dining style

Set menu, dinner only

Price signal

Higher than most Siem Reap meals

Cuisine

Cambodian flavours, French technique

Age rule

Guests must be 12 or older

Good for

Special dinners, meat and fish eaters

Why it matters

Why Cuisine Wat Damnak is worth your time

Cuisine Wat Damnak is the Siem Reap restaurant that guides name most often. In the pages we opened, Wikivoyage, two travel blogs and the restaurant's own site all describe it, and it is the one place most pages treat as a special-occasion dinner rather than a casual stop.

For an Indian family it is a choice about trust and diet. The meal is built around fish, local produce and a changing menu, with no fixed vegetarian offer that we could verify. If the group is strictly vegetarian, Jain or has small children, Peace Cafe or Banllé on this guide are easier. If the group eats everything and wants one memorable dinner in the trip, this is the booking to make early.

Highlights

What not to miss

1. 01

   Seasonal set menu

   The restaurant says the menu changes with the seasons and the chef's creativity.

2. 02

   Local sourcing

   It names farms around Siem Reap, Koh Kong seafood and Tonle Sap and Mekong fish.

3. 03

   Quiet setting

   It sits behind the Wat Damnak pagoda, away from the Pub Street crowds.

Plan your visit

How to experience it

Cuisine Wat Damnak sits behind the Wat Damnak pagoda on Wat Damnak Market Street, a quiet residential stretch south of the Old Market. Travel guides describe it as a set-menu restaurant, and Wikivoyage mentions two tasting menus with dinner service only, with opening days given as Tuesday to Sunday; another guide says Tuesday to Saturday, so confirm days before you plan around it.

The restaurant says its food is Cambodian flavour prepared with French technique, using produce from farms and villages around Siem Reap, seafood from Koh Kong and freshwater fish from the Tonle Sap and the Mekong. The menu changes with the seasons and the chef's ideas, so do not go expecting a particular dish. One guide mentions Mekong langoustine soup and beef cheek with laksa leaves as examples from past menus.

Because the menu is fixed and changes, tell the restaurant about meat, fish, egg or allergy limits when you reserve, not at the table. We found no statement about vegetarian or Jain menus, so treat this as a restaurant for travellers who eat fish and meat unless the kitchen confirms otherwise.

Know before you go

Timing, access and comfort

Area

Wat Damnak Market Street, behind Wat Damnak pagoda, south of the centre

Time needed

2 hours

Best time

Dinner, booked ahead

Walking level

Easy

Senior comfort

Short tuk-tuk ride from the Old Market area; a seated, unhurried meal suits older guests. We could not confirm step access or seating details, so ask when booking. Children under 12 are not admitted.

Tickets and access

Reserve ahead. The restaurant says guests must be 12 or older and that it takes US dollars or riel in cash, plus Visa and Mastercard only. Confirm opening days and times on its website.

Plan it with

FAQs