For a city as small as it is Kampot really punches above its weight when it comes to restaurants, and according to the cool kids Twenty Three Bistro is now one of the top places to hang out.
Advertising itself as a Khmer fusion type establishment it is, supposedly at least, one of the top places to dine in Kampot. With this in mind I felt it only good and proper that I go check it out myself.
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The Kampot Culinary Scene
There’s a reason so many people end up “getting stuck” in Kampot. The riverside charm, sleepy pace, cheap long-term rentals and laid-back lifestyle make it a sort of paradise for old-school expats, digital nomads and budget travellers on their final $200. And when you’ve got a town packed with people who have nowhere better to be, a food scene will eventually evolve to keep them fed and happy. Kampot has done that in spades.
Whether you’re craving tacos, cheap curries, sourdough pizza or fine dining with Kampot pepper in just about everything, the town has your back. There’s even a thriving vegetarian and vegan scene, something most other provincial towns in Cambodia haven’t quite caught up with. Places come and go fast, but the ones that stay build a loyal following.
And that’s exactly where Twenty Three fits in. It’s not cheap by Cambodian standards but it’s not aiming to be. Instead, it has found a comfortable niche among the mid-range to higher-end crowd who want proper meals, actual service and a rotating menu that changes more often than the monsoon winds.
What is Twenty Three Bistro
Founded in 2020, Twenty Three Bistro quickly became a word-of-mouth success in Kampot. Nestled in a quiet part of town but just close enough to the riverside, it hits that sweet spot of being central but not noisy. Its claim to fame is modern European dining with local influence and a focus on fresh, seasonal ingredients. The place is small, intimate and well-lit in the evenings, giving it the vibe of a dinner party with strangers who are mostly in on the same secret.
The menu isn’t extensive, but what it does, it does very well. On any given week you might find pan-seared seabass with Khmer herbs, duck leg confit with a tamarind glaze, or hand-rolled pasta with Kampot pepper cream. The chicken liver pâté is a regular favourite and a holdover from when the place first opened, while the desserts, especially the homemade panna cotta are legit food porn bait. It’s won glowing reviews from TripAdvisor users, racked up almost universal five-star Google ratings, and even got a quiet nod from the likes of Focus Cambodia and Wanderlog as one of the best places to eat in town.
And the food
Apparently the menu gets floated around and changed regularly, but on the day I went at least there was not a lot on the mains that really rocked my world. Although with that being said the twice-baked cheddar soufflé, crispy pork belly, chicken ragu pasta, and seared seabass certainly didn’t look bad.
I ended up going for the chicken liver pate with toast combined with the pan-fried garlic chilli prawn with linguini. Both of these were excellently served and tasted great. The pate was so good I needed more bread to finish it up, which was happily given to us gratis by the manager.
This is the kind of place where food is actually cooked not just heated up, and where you can tell there’s a chef back there who takes pride in what’s coming out of the kitchen. Service was unhurried but professional and the staff clearly knew what they were doing without hovering or making small talk unless prompted.
Drinks and overall ambience at Twenty Three Bistro
While I found the food list a little limited the same could not be said for the drinks with there being a whole raft of serious craft beers, as well as international and house speciality cocktails. I personally went for a non-alcoholic “Kitchen Ginger Beer” which was more than worth the $4 price tag.
Ambience wise this was pretty much a classic Kampot eatery, dead in the daytime and with ultra-friendly staff who it would appear rarely break a sweat. To be fair though that is pretty much what Kampot is all about. The furniture is tasteful without being flashy and the playlist was mostly lo-fi chill beats and soft jazz, which is exactly the kind of thing you’d expect in a place where someone is fussing over the exact crispness of pork belly skin.
Overall I would not say this is my favorite restaurant in town, for that honour goes to Kampot Pepper and Seafood, but I would happily go back there again. Especially if they rotate in something weird like a fish head curry with foie gras, because this is the sort of place that would not only try it but probably make it work.
Twenty Three Bistro – Practical Details
📍 Address:
23 Street 726 (East Street), Krong Kampot, Cambodia
📞 Contact Details:
Phone: +855 88 607 9731
Email: 23kampot@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/23Kampot
⏰ Opening Times:
Wednesday – Sunday: 12:00 PM – 9:30 PM
Monday & Tuesday: Closed