Phnom Penh's drinking culture has shed its rough backpacker reputation. There are still cheap riverside dives, but a serious cocktail scene has grown around Bassac Lane and the BKK1 grid — small, design-led bars run by Cambodian and foreign bartenders working with local ingredients (palm sugar, lemongrass, kampot pepper, prahok-washed spirits).
The coffee scene has changed even more dramatically. Cambodian-grown beans, single-origin filter, and well-trained baristas are now standard in most BKK1 and Toul Tom Poung cafés. For a glimpse of the older café culture, sit on a plastic stool at any local kafé tek doh ko (iced milk coffee) cart at sunrise.