Vegan Guide to Siem Reap
Updated August 2022
Due to COVID pressing the pause button on tourism, Siem Reap suffered in so many ways. One of these ways is that many restaurants had to close, some temporarily and some permanently, so they’ve now all sadly been removed from our vegan guide to Siem Reap. In addition to our vegan guide, this other post shows some of the delicious vegan food in Siem Reap for you to enjoy, we’re simply blessed in Siem Reap when it comes to vegan food!
Siem Reap should most definitely be on your vegan travel hit list; you can see the magnificent temples of Angkor Wat and surrounding ruins of the ancient Kingdom of Angkor, eat great vegan food, enjoy cheap and chilled massages, shop in vibrant local markets or fairly trading boutiques. Because it’s such a popular destination with a huge local and international community, there are vegan options from a range of cuisines. In our Vegan Guide to Siem Reap you will find everything everything from a Southern Indian masala dosa to a kick ass vegan burger, as well as plenty of local Cambodian food in between.
There’s something for all budgets and occasions; you can eat dinner for $1 in a busy local noodle shop or eat in one of Asia’s top 50 restaurants and there are restaurants that support local charities or train disadvantaged local people too. Add a good variety of vegan Cambodian street food and delicious vegan versions of the local cuisine including fresh spring rolls, creamy coconut based curries and spicy peanut dips and you’ll find it hard to go hungry in Siem Reap.
Cambodia Vegan Tour
We have been working with the award winning Vegan Travel Asia to create a series of immersive 14 day Cambodia Vegan Tours which launched in December 2022. Exploring the country and learning about the people, the traditions, the culture and the food that makes Cambodia such an enchanting destination. The itinerary for these small group tours will include spending time in Phnom Penh, Battambang, Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary and Siem Reap. Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to join our Cambodia vegan tours!
Vegan Restaurants in Siem Reap
Hey Bong :: The Healthy Secrets
Hey Bong :: The Healthy Secrets
Smiling Circuit
Opening Times: 8am-9pm every day
Hey Bong :: The Healthy Secrets is currently the only exclusively vegan restaurant in Siem Reap and we love their food. Dishes including an excellent home made burger, delicious and interesting salad bowls and super tasty tofu cumin noodles (our favourite). All served by a friendly team, in a peaceful setting just a few hundred metres from Old Market. Check out their detox juices too and keep an eye out for their vegan guest house opening soon.
Slam Dunk Sandwich Co
Slam Dunk Sandwich Co
Baby Elephant Boutique Hotel
Siem Reap
Opening Times: 10am-9.30pm every day
Slam Dunk Sandwich Co started as a delivery only vegan sandwich and burger outlet during COVID times, but their full menu is now available for dine in at Baby Elephant Boutique Hotel. Expect a selection of vegan burgers and vegan sandwiches with vegan cheese, vegan slaw and french fries. Check out their sweet potato fries and popcorn tofu for more fried vegan naughtiness.
Vegetarian Restaurants in Siem Reap
Banlle
Banlle
Street 26
Opening Times: 11am-9.30pm every day, closed Tuesday
Banlle is in a peaceful garden setting which also has a modern AC restaurant downstairs and open air seating on the balcony. The menu covers Khmer and Western vegetarian food that is mostly vegan and absolutely delicious, since the recent refurb this is fast becoming our favourite spot in Siem Reap due to the setting, food and ambiance. Banlle should be on your ‘must visit’ list in Siem Reap and make sure to try the insanely good vegan fish and chips made from banana flower.
Peace Cafe
Peace Cafe
River Road
Opening Times: 7.30am-9pm every day
Peace Cafe is a long standing 100% veggie restaurant with excellent labelling that points out the dishes that aren’t vegan (plenty of dishes are). The menu is a fairly international mix of everything including yummy brown rice vegan sushi, vegetable tempura, salads and Khmer curries, must try dishes include the ‘Kreung Khitis’ (a curry paste, tofu, peanut and coconut dip with green beans), any of the sushi platters, the tempura and their Vegetable Red Curry with Tofu.
Kang Le
Kang Le
on Google Maps
just off Road 6, towards Phsar Leu
Siem Reap
Opening Times: 7am-9pm every day
Serving Khmer and Chinese dishes offering veggie food including lots of mock meat, soups, fried rice and noodles. Some dishes contain egg (fried egg on top or egg noodles) so order carefully. The food at Kang Le is very cheap and the restaurant is very simple but the food is tasty with our favourite being the noodle dumpling soup for just $1.75.
Cheerful House
Cheerful House
South of Phsar Leu
Opening Times: 7am-8pm every day, closed Sunday
Cheap, tasty, local dishes that are mostly vegan apart from dishes containing egg. The staff are very helpful but don’t all speak great English so ordering can be a bit of a challenge. The crystal dumplings shown below were excellent, but the mock meat and rice dish (which came with a clear) soup had chopped omelette on the sided despite us ordering with no egg and having visited a few times previously…
Vitking House
Vitking House
Phsa Nhe and St 24
Opening Times: 8am-8pm every day
There is hidden egg in so many dishes we never go there any more, so if you don’t want to accidentally eat egg, then Vitking is best avoided. In fact, we ate here for around 6 years, having been told multiple times that certain dishes were vegan before finding out they contain egg. We met with the owners and offered to help them label the menu correctly (free of charge) but they declined our offer. If you’re veggie, this could be an option for you, if you’re vegan then it’s not…
Vegan Friendly Restaurants in Siem Reap
New Leaf Eatery
New Leaf Eatery
behind Angkor Trade Center
Opening Times: 7.30am-9.30pm every day
This is our favourite vegan friendly restaurant in Siem Reap and the only place to go for a full vegan breakfast, do not miss this when you’re in town as it really hits the spot and there are other vegan dishes on the menu including veg and tofu stir fry and an amazing noodle soup. They’ve also added dishes featuring OmniMeat including the curry shown below and a selection of Beyond Burgers that will blow you away. This is a lovely place to relax and enjoy some tasty plant based food in the knowledge that your money is going to a great cause at this ‘not for profit’ restaurant in Siem Reap.
The Chippy
The Chippy
New Leaf Eatery
behind Angkor Trade Center
Opening Times: 7.30am-9.30pm every day
Opening as a delivery only option during COVID The Chippy was an instant success and is now available as a dine in option at New Leaf Eatery. Vegan options include, burgers, sausages, chicken nuggets, sausage rolls all served with excellent hand cut chips. Vegan gravv, curry sauce, baked beans and mushy peas are available too, and watch this space for vegan pies coming very soon…
HAVEN
Haven
Chocolate Road
Opening Times: 10am-10pm every day (closed on Monday)
HAVEN is the place to go if you want to eat good food whilst supporting a great local cause. The beautifully designed restaurant (a short tuk tuk ride from pub street) trains and supports vulnerable young people who may be from orphanages or very rural poor areas. The food is excellent, service is spot on and they can easily make vegan adaptions to the menu. Don’t miss their excellent Nom Banh Chok for a real taste of Khmer cuisine…
Little Red Fox
Little Red Fox
Kandal Village
Opening Times: 6.30am-5pm every day (closed on Monday)
Little Red Fox is the perfect place to get a good, pure, clean coffee hit, friendly vibes, community minded folk, great coffee and they have excellent vegan food on their menu, we LOVE the tofu scramble, possibly the best tofu scramble in Siem Reap? Home made plant based milk for your favourite coffee means that if you don’t already have a caffeine habit then the Little Red Fox is the best place to get one!
Vanakkam
Vannakam
The Lane
Opening Times: 10am-11pm every day
Our favourite dosa in town is from Vanakkam where they have an amazing array of vegan friendly indian food, our other favourite dishes include the South Indian thali and the chilli gobi. The father and son are super friendly and we have worked with them to introduce a 100% vegan menu that is now available upon request meaning this is for sure the most vegan friendly Indian restaurant in Siem Reap.
JOMNO Modern Khmer Cuisine
JOMNO Modern Khmer Cuisine
Wat Damnak Market Street
Opening Times: 11am-10pm every day
JOMNO is led by one of the most talented chefs in Siem Reap and his vegan food is sublime and impossible to fault. Add to this, a wonderful new location and it’s easy to see why JOMNO is so popular. As tourists return we guarantee this will be one of the busiest restaurants in Siem Reap, so be sure to make a reservation to avoid disappointment.
Fellini
Fellini
Bamboo Street
Opening Times: 5pm-10pm every day, closed Monday
This is the finest Italian vegan cuisine served in a stunning setting. Fellini not only creates incredible vegan dishes (OMG the lasagna) but they have a whole vegan menu where all of you vegan Italian dreams can come true. We are big fans and have never been disappointed by the vegan food at Fellini, it’s outstanding.
Maybe Later
Maybe Later
Kandal Village
Opening Times: 11am-9.30pm every day
For years everyone raved about Maybe Later and their creative and delicious take on Mexican cuisine. But as vegans, there really was nothing for us that was exciting so we gave it a miss. That all changed recently when they introduced OmniMeat as a vegan meat options and also vegan cheese and vegan sour cream. If you’re craving a vegan Mexican experience in Siem Reap then go and treat yourself to the best vegan tacos and vegan burrito in Siem Reap. Excellent.
Kebab & Falafel Time
Kebab & Falafel Time
Svay Dangkum, just off Sok San Rd
Opening Times: 8am-10pm every day
Located just off the busy Sok San Road, Kebab & Falafel Time serves homemade vegan falafels in home made wraps that are great value and very tasty. Choose from a selection of salads and sauces to add to ‘pimp’ your wrap and you’ll love it. They’ve also got a homemade vegan burger with vegan cheese, and gyoza type veggie dumplings too, either steamed or fried. Excellent option and well worth a visit.
Elia Greek Kitchen
Elia Greek Kitchen
Steet 9, Mondul 1
Opening Times: 11am-11pm every day
Located on the busy Sok San road amongst many bars and restaurants this place stands out. Bright and clean interior with friendly staff and a menu with a few clearly marked veggie and vegan options. The vegan souvlaki with home made (and delicious) chips is a favourite of ours and good value for money at just $4.50. They’ve recently added lots of new vegan options including vine leaves and an insanely good ‘rizogalo’ on the dessert menu, did someone say vegan dessert?!
Footprints
Footprints
Street 26
Opening Times: 6.30am-10pm every day
Footprints is a socially conscious cafe that opened in 2016 with a number of vegan dishes on the menu including possibly the best Cambodian Vegetarian Curry in town (served with brown rice) and also a delicious Vegan Pasta amongst other plant based options. They also serve ‘Sundowners’ $1.50 cocktails every evening which is well worth checking out.
Gelato Lab
Gelato Lab
Alley West
Opening Times: 9am-11.30pm every day
When you want a little sweet treat and you’re wandering around the Pub Street area, there’s no better place to go than Gelato Lab who have an entire menu of vegan sorbets. If you can’t decide which flavour to try, they’re always happy to let you sample first. We love the fresh fruity cavours as well as the decadent chocolate sorbet.
Baby Elephant
Baby Elephant Boutique Hotel
Street 53
A great option for somewhere to stay in Siem Reap if you are vegan is the Baby Elephant Boutique Hotel where you can eat a choice of healthy vegan bowls, tasty vegan burgers plus delicious spring rolls, vegan pastas, tofu ‘fish’ and chips or even have a leisurely breakfast of tofu scramble and home made potato hash before relaxing by the pool. Non hotel guests are welcome, the food is great and the pool is lovely, as are the friendly staff.
Tajine
Tajine
Steung Thmei
Opening Times: 12-10pm every day
Brand new relaxed and chilled spot serving an excellent selection of authentic Arabic cuisine. You will find many vegetarain and vegan options on the menu which are all clearly marked. No beer served but you can pick up a beer from the bar downstairs. The large portions, great value for money and friendly staff make this a favourite of ours.
Vietnamese Coffee & Noodle Soup
Vietnamese Coffee & Noodle Soup
Steung Thmei
Opening Times: 11am-4pm and 6pm-9pm every day, closed Sunday
One of the best bowls of vegan pho we’ve ever eaten and believe us when we say we’ve eaten it many times all over Vietnam. The stock is made fresh and is 100% vegan with no MSG. When the bowl of steaming goodness arrives you will be amazed at the amount of vegetables, tofu, noodles and tofu skin that Emma has managed to cram into the bowl. A ‘small’ bowl at just $2.50 is possibly the best value vegan meal in Siem Reap. If you think you can finish a large bowl, good luck to you!
Vegan Shopping in Siem Reap
For those of you planning to stay a little longer and with access to a kitchen we hope these spots help you create some home cooked vegan delights. There is an excellent organic fruit and veg supplier called Happy + Co who are currently supplying supermarkets, hotels and restaurants but hopefully their shop will open again soon. In the meantime, every weekend there is an organic fruit and veg market in the Royal Park which is well worth a visit too, great spot to pick up cashews and dried fruit from one of the stalls which is a favourite of ours.
We are also blessed with two excellent artisanal bakeries in Siem Reap. The excellent BREAD HEADZ is a delivery only option but that means that you’re bread is delivered fresh from the oven and straight to your door, don’t miss out on their delicious tortilla wraps and breakfast muffins. The other option is brand new and called The Village Bakery, they are located in Kandal Village and bake some of the finest sour dough breads, and a vegan choc fudge cake that is oh so good. Take your pick, they are both very good indeed.
Finding what you want in the supermarkets can be a challenge as items are often out of stock but at the moment, Angkor Supermarket on Road 6 is leading the way with vegan butter, products from Linda McCartney, Quorn and Amy’s Kitchen. They also have Alpro vegan ice cream in 3 different flavours! There is a zero waste shop at Babel Guesthouse that’s is excellent for everything from insect repellent to shampoo and soaps, supporting them is supporting a cleaner and greener Cambodia which we love.
Vegan Friendly Luxury Hotels and Resorts in Siem Reap
Tough call, but these are our four favourite vegan friendly luxury hotels and resorts in Siem Reap. They each have talented and passionate chefs who have embraced the growing demand for vegan food and every one of them serves creative and delicious vegan food. We would always recommend contacting your hotel or resort in advance to advise them of your dietary choice, and then to follow this up upon check in by asking to speak with either the restaurant manager or member of the F&B team.
HappyCow in Siem Reap
No vegan travel adventure would be complete without using the excellent HappyCow website or app, their Vegan Siem Reap page currently lists 4 all vegan and 10 all vegetarian restaurants for you to choose from. HappyCow enlists ambassadors in each location to keep their information up to date and we are thrilled to fulfill that role in our current HQ of Siem Reap, Cambodia. Here are links to the HappyCow listings for our ‘Ambassador City Picks’:
Other Vegan Guides to Siem Reap
Being based in Siem Reap we love to connect with other vegan travel bloggers who pass through Temple Town. Cody and Giselle from Mindful Wanderlust and Kristin from Will Travel for Vegan Food were guests at Vegan Villa whilst they were working with Vegan Travel as competition winners, here are their blog posts on the Vegan Travel website. Mostly Amelie and Nicole from Vegan Nom Noms also stayed recently and have featured us in these helpful posts and guides:
The Best Vegan and Vegetarian Restaurants in Siem Reap from Mostly Amelie
World Vegan Accomodation Guide from Vegan Nom Noms
This is SO awesome! Going in a few months and I can’t wait to put all of these recs into action. Okay maybe not all (only a few days!) but I’ll do my best! Thank you.
Hi Randi,
Thanks for the comment and also the email which we will reply to later today 🙂
Hope you find our guide helpful when you’re in town, wish we were here to show you around but we’ll be in Vietnam I think…Watch this space for a Cambodian Vegan Street Food Guide which is about to be published and also blog updates about new options including ARTillery Cafe which we sampled pre opening on Sunday – very, very nice indeed..
All the best,
Paul
almost forgot to mention we’ve just started a ‘Vegan Cambodia’ Facebook group which should also have some helpful hints 🙂
Mmmm, I’m saving this for the next time I’m in Siem Reap. Thank you 🙂
hi Justine – let us know when you are back in Siem Reap as we will be there for a few months next year…
Paul & Caryl
Reading this on the bus to Siem Reap now and it’s making me hungry! Can’t wait to start exploring everywhere in Siem Reap. Sitting and eating is definitely something I can still do, and I’m so bored of hostel food! X
You can eat your way through the guide and add some new places too Amelia! Happy vegan eating!
Thank you for this. I’m volunteering in Siem Reap for a month and I can’t wait to try some of these. Excellent list.
Hi Adam,
If you are in town for a while then you should be able to try all the vegan options at least once – there are just so many! We run a Vegan Cambodia Facebook group too where you can share info, get up to date tips and generally talk vegan stuff to other vegans who are travelling or living here in the Kingdom of Wonder. Please feel free to join and get involved and do get in touch if you need any other help during your stay. 🙂 Caryl
Hi Carly,
Will be joining the group for sure. Thank you again.
Adam
Wonderful! I haven’t been to Siem Reap in over 5 years and I’m excited to see all these new options (as well as old favorites). Thank you so much! I hope to have time for sightseeing in between all the vegan yummies 🙂
One question: I’m a sucker for a cappuccino. Do you know any coffee shops that have soy/almond/plant-of-some-kind milk on offer?
Thanks for your comment on our Vegan Guide to Siem Reap
There are some fabulous coffee places in town including those that will make you a plant milk cappuccino.
My favourites are:
Little Red Fox Expresso
Vibe (all vegan cafe so have a range of milks inc cashew and almond)
Sister Srey
If you are on more of a budget you can get a decent coffee from a little roadside stall (they normally use ‘Boncafe’ beans which are OK, freshly grind them and then whip up a coffee in proper coffee machine) for about $1.25 – if you want to take your own soya milk then you can easily buy a small amount of it from the shop (widely available) and ask them to use. The most popular brand is Lactosoy but make sure you get the pink carton which has the Thai ‘Jay’ sign on it (looks like the number ’17’ in red on a yellow background). You might also want to take your own cup to them too to avoid them using a plastic lid, stirrer, and a couple of plastic bags to top it all off.
The coffee shops / cafes are more pricey but all have very good ethics, fabulous coffee, and lovely vegan friendly people.
Enjoy!
Thank you so much for this extensive overview of vegan eating in Siem Reap. This was my first major trip as a vegan, and this guide was so helpful in finding places to eat. I stayed very near Peace Cafe and ate there numerous times. I also did the cooking class there which was a lot of fun. I completely agree with you about that wedding day dip at Chamkar. It was fantastic. We made an extra stop there one night just to have that for an appetizer.
hey eric thank you for your comment and we are very happy to hear that our vegan guide to Siem Reap helped! we’ve not had the wedding day dip for a little while so need to get back there soon for sure. peace cafe is our local, we only live 5 monutes walk away and love the chilled garden vibe (and the food too).
Amazing guide, working through all those tasty places since we arrived! Thank you!
glad it’s helping you find plenty of vegan food. where is your favourite so far?
This is a very good article, thank you for sharing, there are not many such articles in this field.
We found the blog to be very informative and well written. Shiva-Shakti is also in the food industry! We serve a wide variety of vegetarian foods at our restaurant in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. For more information about our catering, menu, and event planning services, visit our website- https://shivashaktikh.com/
Pomme also has a vegan full english. Lots more places to add to this list for sure.
we’ve had the vegan Thai curries (they are delicious) but not the vegan breakfast at Pomme, we will have to try it soon!