Vegan in Cambodia – Your Vegan Food Guide to Cambodia

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Traveling Cambodia as a vegan? No worries – there are some amazing vegan cafes in Phnom Penh and some delicious vegan restaurants in Siem Reap. Being vegan in Cambodia is easy!

Unfortunately, I was only in Cambodia for a couple of days so I only went to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Also, I didn’t have the time to test out a lot of different places. (Which was partly because I quickly found an amazing cafe where I ended up going to for almost all of my meals). Without further ado, here are three places you shouldn’t miss when being vegan in Cambodia!

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Vegan in Phnom Penh

Backyard Cafe

During my short time in Phnom Penh, I looked up vegan cafes in Phnom Penh and quickly discovered Backyard Cafe and Vibe Cafe. Because Backyard Cafe was closer to our hostel, we went here for breakfast on our first day and immediately loved it. I later found out that they are both founded by Emma Fountain who also published a cookbook containing lots of the delicious meals served at Backyard Cafe and Vibe Cafe. Of course, I had to order the cookbook and have it send to my home. You can buy the Vibe cookbook here (this is an affiliate link; purchasing through this link earns me a commission at no extra charge to you). Thank you to Emma for making being vegan in Cambodia an actual dream!

Location and Interior

Backyard Cafe is located within walking distance of the Royal Palace of Cambodia which helps to make it one of the best vegan restaurants in Phnom Penh. It might be hidden away in a smaller street but looks very welcoming with a lot of plants around the entry. The interior is kept clean and minimalist with plants everywhere as well. 

Vegan Food

Backyard’s menu is full of delicious vegan options. I only had the chance to try three of them since we were only in Phnom Penh for one full day before leaving for Siem Reap early the next morning. I can highly recommend the Avocado Toast with fermented cashew cheese and fresh mango. Alternatively, go for one of their tasty bowls for breakfast. For lunch or dinner, go for one of their Abundance Bowl which was fabulous, with tempeh, spinach, sesame pumpkin, quinoa, cashew cheese and much more.

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The food at Backyard Cafe is healthy, yet filling and will leave you happy and satisfied with your meal.

Price

Backyard Cafe is more expensive than typical Cambodian places. You can definitely compare it to western prices. As common in Cambodia, prices are listed in USD. You can pay by credit card at Backyard Cafe.

Vegan in Siem Reap

I can definitely recommend staying at Onederz Hostel which a bunch of travelers recommended to us. We certainly weren’t disappointed. Close to the night markets and with a rooftop swimming pool it was already an amazing find. Even better though, it is located within walking distance of two amazing vegan restaurants in Siem Reap.

Vibe Cafe

The sister cafe to Backyard Cafe has an additional place in Siem Reap which made us look forward to going to Siem Reap even more. Again, I can highly recommend buying the Vibe cookbook here (this is an affiliate link; purchasing through this link earns me a commission at no extra charge to you) to have a go at their delicious meals at home. 

Vegan Food

Trust me when I tell you that within our short stay in Siem Reap, I managed to get in as many visits to Vibe Cafe as possible in order to try as many of their vegan meals as I could. While I didn’t have a single thing that I didn’t like, I can give you a list of my favorite dishes I had. Vibe Cafe has got to be not only one of the best vegan cafes in Siem Reap but also one of my favorite vegan cafes in Asia in general.

My Recommendations

For breakfast, go for the Peanut Butter Cookie Pancakes. (If they currently have them, they were a special when I was in Siem Reap). They taste as good as they sound and are served with acai, raspberries, blueberries, goji berries, banana, vanilla and chia seeds.

For lunch or dinner, I can recommend either the Positive Pancakes (pancakes with a fruity touch) or the Live Sandwich. The sandwich comes with smoked tempeh, delicious pesto, rye bread and more.

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As for dessert, you can’t miss out on the Superfood Brownie Bites. Made out of chia seeds, maca, cacao nibs, cacao, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and dates, they are the perfect sweet snack.

Last but certainly not least, take a Cashew Chai drink. I absolutely fell in love with this drink that tastes like nothing I’ve ever had before. I guess, you just gotta trust me on this one and try for yourself.

Price

Like Backyard Cafe, Vibe Cafe is definitely more expensive than typical Cambodian places. You can compare it to western prices. As common in Cambodia, prices are in USD. You can pay by credit card at Vibe Cafe.

Green-Go Garden

This 100% vegan restaurant in Siem Reap was located just steps away from our hostel. Naturally, we had to check it out. It is a very cute small place, decorated with lots of plants. The staff is really nice.

Vegan Food

While they have a big menu with lots of different vegan choices, I only got to try one of their options. I went for the Trio of Pesto which are the little bowls of penne with different pestos. I enjoyed all three pestos and would order this dish again. The pineapple juice was also delicious.

Price

Green-Go Garden is a lot cheaper than the other cafes mentioned in this post. You can get a main dish for less than 5 USD. Don’t forget to bring cash since you can’t pay with credit card (at least you couldn’t when I was there)!

That’s it for my top recommendations on where to go when being vegan in Cambodia. Feel free to add your favorite places in the comments since I didn’t have the time to check out a variety of different restaurants and cafes! Also, let me know if you have any further questions. And make sure to send me pictures or tag me when you try any of the places that I recommended!

Tip: Follow me on Instagram here to keep up with my life after traveling.

Check out more of my vegan food guides! I got guides on Canggu, Ubud, Queenstown, New Zealand, East Coast Australia, Byron Bay, Hobart, the Philippines, Vietnam, the Ha Giang Loop, Thailand and Alicante.