Kampuchea Restaurant

This place is great! The staff is really friendly and the sandwiches are fantastic! Always can count on it for a really tasty treat! Not sure what's up with that other review that mentions the address of another restaurant...pretty convenient that you just happen to know their address! more

The food here is just not that amazing and verges on pricey for what it is -- for truly fabulous Vietnamese (this is not really cambodian food - they would serve Amok if so) in a cute hip place nearby, check out AN CHOI at 85 Orchard. I went there the other night and was blown away by the bahn-mi and pho. Pros: Ambiance, location Cons: Food, price more

I am Asian and I have eaten a lot of Asian food in my life. Kampuchea's food is good and acceptable but it is at least 50% more than what one should pay. The higher prices is not because it has a better atmosphere, better quality, nor better service. My noodle soup (PHO) was served at luke warm temperature and small portion. For those of us who have been eating noodle soup all our lives, noodle soup should be served HOT. I am not the type that judges a restaurant by its portion, but when the portion is rediculously small compared to the price charged then there is is a problem. Pros: Order the Pork Belly Cons: Over price more

I grew up in NY, and I eat out 5 days a week.. I've probably been to half the restaurants and eatery's that this city has from Pelham Bay to Hudson Bay to Rockaway Bay... the jacket-onlys to the ""english not necessary""s.. and this place, is honestly the biggest let down I can recently remember.__________________ Pros: Interior/ Decor Cons: The food #1, The inexcusable prices #2, The service #3.. more

I love Kampuchea, it is one of my favorite spots in NYC. The food is a cross between Vietnamese and Chinese cuisines and the chefs are great in turning out savory dishes with exotic flavors. My favorites are their noodle soups, i would make recommendations but they change their menus every once awhile. I am a very picky eater especially with Asian food and i must say, this place is a must go. Pros: great food, great prices. New menus Cons: can't make reservations more

Service was absolutely horrible. Had dinner there last weekend with some friends and asked for a dessert menu at the end. They did not have dessert, so we asked to see the drink menu again. Next thing we know, the host was in our face telling us to vacate our table and go to the bar if all that we were going to do was have drinks. He had a long line of people waiting but refused to serve us drinks at the table. It was pretty shocking. No restaurant in New York had ever told us to get the hell out of our table unless we had food in our mouths. Usually, if a restaurant wants to turn a table quickly, waiters would hover or repeatedly ask if they could get you something else. But not at Kampuchea. Pros: location Cons: terrible service; overpriced more

The quality of food for the price is unsurpass. the chef and this restaurant is definately hitting their marks. We went in with some doubts since South east asian food 'should' be in inexpensive. From first glance, you would assume they are charging so much. But once you order and see and taste. Thats when you say to yourself, stop and enjoy. reccomended items (atleast what we loved and have gone back for): Pros: all dishes listed Cons: had to wait almost an hour a few times/ chairs are uncomfortable for a long period more

This restaurant should be on top of your list to try. They have these great sandwiches 'numpang' (sp) . One of the best we've ever had. We had the tasting sandwiches, with Homemade bacon!!!! freakin spicy though, I bit into a whole chili. lots of choices. Their small plates are amazing!! Awesome baby back ribs and grilled mackerel. such a cool place. I loved their drink list. It does get very busy so try to go a little early. Pros: tasty food, very friendly staff, and great music selection Cons: all the way in the lower east side!!! come up town please more

Kampuchea is a great place to relax with friends and share the many spectacular dishes on the menu. The service and ambiance are as good as the food. The soups are delicious and filling, and could certainly be split between two people. Along with a great wine list they also have several tasty cocktails to choose from, I recommend the Coconut Mojito, you will not be disappointed!!! Pros: good service, excellent food, great place for a group more

There is nothing like this small bustling Cambodian Noodle bar in lower Manhattan. Located on a quiet street corner, this place is one of a kind. I have never regretted a dinner at Kampuchea. I am constantly trying new dishes and they are ALL excellent. Their staple dish are the soups, large enough to be shared by two, are a great value. The sandwich tasting platter is an excellent way to try all the yummy offerings without full commitment to any one type -- also a good value for sharing. This restaurant attracts foodies and hipsters -- all looking for a fun spot to start or end their evening. Excellent place for a group. Get a whole bunch of items & share. The head chef DJs from the front of the room and the music is sure to put you in a good mood. more

Kampuchea makes some of the greatest ribs I?ve ever tasted, incredible Tamarind Baby Backs?s. The place has a ?cool vibe? with a large wooden communal table in the middle of the restaurant. The menu is a tasting of Cambodian ?street food? and includes a variety of amazingly flavored soups, lettuce wrapped ?Cambodian crepes?, and sandwiches, as well as other ?small plates?. Kampuchea uses high quality organic ingredients and artisanal food preparations. more

As a total southeast asian foodie, I was excited to try out this place. Previously I'd lived in the SF bay area where cambodian restaurants are plentiful, and the savory crepes to die for. I was a bit dismayed to find the crepes on Kampuchea's menu listed for $15 when I used to tuck in delicious crepes in my old neighborhood for $5.50. Everything seemed overpriced ($15 for a sandwich?) for what appeared to be a common noodle bar. This is streetfood - and not the culinary inspiration that the Momofuku restaurants are, so they should be priced more accordingly. Try it once since clearly NY is in need of other cambodian places and this place corners the market; but I wouldn't recommend it as a good place for the value. Pros: only place that serves good cambodian food in ny Cons: three times more expensive than it should be more

Yes, we ordered and loved it all. Who cares what it was that I ate, I am almost positive that everything on the menu would have been just as delicious. The service was spot on, host was gracious, I am even the kind that enjoys sharing a table (lets eat together, it makes people merry!) The server was knowledgeable of the food, very attentive, and cute-that never hurts. We ordered two appetizers and two main plates (one for each) and loved every bite. Can NOT wait to go back and try more. The vibe is far from pretentious, the interior design is exposed, industrial edge, but not in an obnoxious/overdone way. Oh thank Buddha-or chef Ratha Chau in this instance-for this place. *hint* try the Coconut Tiger Shrimp! Pros: food, service, atmosphere Cons: . . . ah c'mon. . .there are none! hah! more

I went here with a friend on a Friday night at around 9pm. We had to wait for about 15 minutes, which was great, considering every other restaurant in the area had a wait time of an hour to an hour and a half. There are communal tables and high stools, which gives it a cool but cozy ambience. I felt like I was at the Beer Garden. The music (reggae and hip hop) was a little too loud for my taste; I kept asking my friend to repeat himself. We ordered the three sandwich taster plate and the skirt steak appetizer. The sandwiches (oxtail, shrimp, and pork meatballs) were savory and absolutely delish. The skirt steak was unlike anything I've ever had before. It was sweet and the marinate was just mouth-watering. I also ordered the lychee martini, which was sweet but didn't seem to have much alcohol in it. Overall, a great experience. Good to come with friends, not with a date. Will come back next week! Pros: Mouth-watering food, friendly community ambience Cons: Music was too loud more

The only Cambodian restaurant in the city, I'm pretty sure, even though it's too much trendy-LES-noodle bar for me and not enough authentic home co... more

Seared Monkfish Liver - average at best; Ground Duroc Pork & Chives Crepe - Insipid; Good sandwiches; Tofu Katiev - unpleasant; Oxtail Stew - Bland. Good Service. Nice Decor. Pros: Sandwiches; Ambience; Service Cons: The Rest more

Since it opened a little over a year ago, Kampuchea has become one of my favorite restaurants in the city. It's called a ""noodle bar,"" but in my experience the non-noodle items tend to be a little more rewarding (although the noodles are certainly very good). If you're in the mood for a sandwich, they're all excellent (my favorite is the house-cured bacon with spicy pickled Thai chilis). The savory crepes are very solid, but a little messy to eat. You might be best off piecing together a meal from the hot and cold Cambodian ""small"" plates. The pork ribs with cilantro-lime sauce are truly a standout. Also, try the meatballs, grilled prawns and the cured duck breast salad. If you're feeling adventurous, the seared monkfish liver tastes like the fois gras of the sea, and the sweetbreads in mushroom broth do not disappoint. The atmosphere is comparable to the Momofukus: a casual, slightly up-market noodle bar. It can get a little crowded during peak hours. I personally enjoy sitting at the bar by the open kitchen and chatting with the chefs. Pros: Universally excellent food, diverse menu, casual and comfortable Cons: Liquor is a little pricy, can get crowded and loud during peak hours more

We went there yesterday and had the most horrible experience ever in my ten years in New York. We were a party of 5 and were seated at a table at the back of the restaurant. We placed our orders and some of us got our drinks. At that point the waitress comes and asks us to move to the cornermost table so that they could seat someone else on ours. The only way to get to that table was for two of us to get up so others could pass behind us. Cons: We were asked to leave because we did not want to move to a corner table after we had been seated for 20 minutes. The chef said he will not serve us more

I've eaten here twice - the first time, I was blown away by the flavors, from the lychee fizz drink, roasted corn-on-the-cob appetizer, and crispy pork belly, to the sweetbreads, the Banh Mi sandwiches, and the oxtail stew. I'm not a big fan of overly spicy food because you can't taste the dish, but the first time I dined here, I thought the spicy-ness added to the dish rather than take away. I had a great first-impression. I was literally licking my fingers at the end of the meal. But tonight, I brought 2 more girlfriends to try this place, and I gotta say, I must've remembered my first encounter differently. We ordered a similar range of dishes as my first visit (it's a partially seasonal menu, and the first time I visited was summer). The dishes were still decent, but they didn't do it for me this time. The flavors weren't as impressive - the crispy pork belly tasted artery clogging, the oxtail stew seemed less hearty, and the sweetbreads were bland - however, the Hoisin Pork Meatball sandwich was a big winner. Although I still enjoyed the food, tonight's meal didn't grab me as much as it did the first time. What changed? I can't figure it out. But overall, Kampuchea is definitely worth at least one try. Other points to mention: they have small hooks under the table to hang your bag! Great for the summer, but not so great in the winter when you have giant winter coats, and the hooks are too low for long coats. The communal style seating makes it hard to have conversations without strangers eavesdropping. The bench seats don't have a back to lean on - so people with bad backs are straining. Pros: Tasty Dishes, Good Atmosphere, Friendly Staff, A try-it-at-least-once kind of place more

I went to Kampuchea on Friday with my boyfriend around 8. While the hostess told us we would be seated in 15-20 minutes, it was closer to 45 minutes before we were seated. Normally this would aggravate me, but we were able to find a spot close to the bar, out of people's way, and the music was very good! We ordered drinks and the hostess, who was quite attentive, brought us over a round of drinks on the house since the wait was longer. While we were waiting the restaurant got very crowded! I would suggest getting there a little before 8 in order to get a seat. We ordered the sandwich tasting - 3 small sandwiches for $17. The coconut tiger shrimp and sweet pulled oxtail sandwiches were VERY good. I wasn't a fan of the ginger rubbed catfish. The catfish tasted undercooked and too salty! We each ordered an entree, which were delightful and spicy. I am a big fan of spicy food, but if you're not, tell the waiter to make the food less spicy. The entrees were generous in size and in theory we could have ordered one entree with the 3 sandwiches and would have been fine. Kampuchea is on my lits of restaurants that I will keep returning too. While I've been to Momofuku and have really enjoyed their food, I much prefer the ambience and staff of Kampuchea. Pros: The food, drinks, ambience, service Cons: Only one bathroom! more