Even if you are on a shoestring budget in Sihanoukville it’s possible to find decent quality meals if you know where to look. You can, of course, find fried rice or noodles at many local vendors for a dollar or even less, but if you fancy something different, here are a few of the best of Sihanoukville’s cheap eats where we’ve enjoyed a tasty meal or two.

In the Serendipity Beach Road area, Cafe Mango offer a menu of the day deal for $5.50 which includes a starter, main and a drink; it’s good value as you can choose from several pizza and pasta dishes including penne amatriciana and pepperoni. It’s available 12 p.m. to 2.pm. and 5 p.m. to 6.30 p.m.

Cafe Mango

Open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Serendipity Beach Road, Sihanoukville
T: 013 842 169
facebook.com/cafemangosihanoukville

Up the road from Cafe Mango is Nice Foods, an unpretentious locally owned restaurant that offers a varied menu of western staples such as burgers, fries, and pizzas as well as more authentic dishes such as Khmer curry, noodle soup and fried rice. Prices start from as little as $1.25 (or 50 cents if you just want a plain baguette or steamed rice) which will get you a burger, noodle soup or a pad thai. Draft beer at Nice Foods is always 50 cents a glass and is served in frosty glasses which go down far too easily.

Nice Foods

Open 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Serendipity Beach Road (near Led Zephyr), Sihanoukville
T: 070 7878

Ochheuteal Street is home to a plethora of BBQ restaurants all offering a similar menu; all that competition means prices are pretty low and you can enjoy a hearty dinner with a drink for around $3.50. Most offer a selection of meats and seafood including pork steaks and ribs, local beef steak, marlin, and fresh tuna cooked fresh to order. If you want to spend a little more you can have imported Australian steak for $9 or whole fresh snapper from around $7. Meals are served with a choice of rice or salad and either baked potato or fries, and most places will throw in some free garlic bread.

The meat and fish will be on display so take a look first to make sure it looks fresh. There isn’t too much to choose between them in our opinion; we’ve eaten at Lucky Pizza a couple of times and found it nice.

Lucky Pizza

Open 10 a.m. to 12 a.m.
14 Mithona Street, Sihanoukville

In the Downtown area there a few places that have some great deals. Snooky’s Bar and Bistro have a daily special served from 5 p.m. for $3 including a choice of drink (draft beer or glass of wine). The menu changes monthly, but some recent dishes on offer included chicken tacos, BBQ chicken, and a huge fish and chips. It’s popular with local expats and it has a reputation for providing large portions.

For a couple more dollars they also have regular BBQ nights with dishes starting from $4.75, all dishes are served with a jacket potato or potato salad and their signature garden pasta salad — carb heaven!

Snooky’s Bar and Bistro

Open 12 p.m. til late
87 Makara Street, Sihanoukville
T: 034 677 3444
snookyscambodia.com

Also in the Ekareach vicinity, Spaghetti House is a little Italian-run restaurant that offers dishes from a very reasonable $2. Their menu includes traditional pasta and pizzas and they offer fresh pasta daily. We enjoyed a delicious parmigiana and lasagna here. No draft beer, but their espressos are only 75 cents.

Spaghetti House

Open 11 a.m. til late
Just off Ekareach Street, next to the Pizza Company, Sihanoukville
T: 097 736 0262

If you fancy something finger lickin’ good but don’t want to visit Sihanoukville’s new KFC, CP Five Star on Ekareach Street is the place to go. It doesn’t look like much — it’s just a stall but they have some seating behind — but their fried chicken is delicious and incredible value at only 3,500 riel (around 80 cents) per generously sized piece. You can choose from original or spicy coating (we go spicy every time), and they mostly cook to order so you know it’s fresh. They also have several other dishes such as hot dogs and meatballs which look intriguing but we haven’t tried them yet.

CP Five Star

Open 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Ekareach Street, next to Orange Supermarket, Sihanoukville

Heading towards the Vietnamese Consulate on Ekareach Street is Va Restaurant, a Danish-run restaurant with several different daily specials that are excellent value as well as being delicious. They offer different meals depending on the day, including a beef rib sandwich (our favorite) and a Danish-style roast beef sandwich. Prices are $3.75 including a free drink.

Va Restaurant

Open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Ekareach Street, opposite the Vietnamese Consulate, Sihanoukville
T: 016 915 906
facebook.com/VaRestaurant