Cuisine Wat Damnak near Wat Damnak in the Wat Bo neighbourhood is consistently rated among the best restaurants in Cambodia. Chef Joannès Rivière — a Frenchman who has spent over a decade embedded in Cambodian culinary traditions — serves a changing five-course tasting menu built entirely from local Cambodian ingredients: tubers and wild herbs foraged from the Tonlé Sap floodplain, river fish, game, fermented pastes, and seasonal vegetables that rarely appear on tourist restaurant menus. The cooking technique is precise and French-influenced; the flavours are thoroughly, specifically Cambodian.
There are two seatings each evening and the restaurant closes on Mondays and for part of the low season. Booking in advance is essential — sometimes weeks ahead during peak season (November to March). The price is high by Cambodian standards but quite reasonable by any international comparison for cooking of this quality. Rivière also runs occasional cooking classes and food tours of the market, which are worth enquiring about.