Battambang has a small but lively restaurant scene that has grown with the town's popularity among backpackers and independent travellers. The night market along the riverside is the easiest option for a cheap meal — grilled meats, fresh noodles, and Cambodian curries served at plastic tables under the stars.
Jaan Bai (The Rice Bowl) is the most-recommended restaurant in town, run as a social enterprise training young Cambodians in hospitality. The menu covers Cambodian home cooking and some Western dishes, and the food is genuinely good. Nary Kitchen and The Lonely Tree Cafe are popular spots for Khmer cuisine at budget prices with outdoor seating.
For something more substantial, the White Rose restaurant in the centre has been serving Cambodian and Thai food to travellers for years. The riverside restaurants south of the old market are fine for a beer and a plate of rice at sunset.