NYCReview
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Angkor Cambodian Bistro
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Note: As of early 2024, this restaurant has reopened as Bayon in the same location.
Angkor may be the best unofficial secret of the east 60s. It’s one of the city’s only sit-down Cambodian restaurants. And we have a hunch that if it were below 14th Street, or just not on the last possible block of 64th Street before you’d have to start swimming in the East River, it’d be impossible to get into.
If you’re unfamiliar, Cambodian food has a lot of similarities to Vietnamese and Thai. But you’d be hard-pressed to find our favorite dishes at Angkor on other menus in the city. Like a duck salad with crispy charred meat instead of lettuce, a rich red curry with pungent, ground fish and silky vermicelli noodles, and sweet barbecued pork sausage on a stick. These are just a few of the delicious, fish-sauce-covered things people should be lining up for at Angkor. But somehow, this spot manages to go relatively unknown.
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
The space is dark, brick-walled, and filled with metal sculptures, and you can claim a table on their big back patio if it’s warm outside. When you walk in, you’ll be greeted by a shiny Buddha statue. If this Buddha could talk, he’d say, “You’ve made a great choice for dinner.” Or, “Help, I’m stuck in a statue. Call the police.” Buddha is right in both cases.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Nem Nuong
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Shrimp And Crab Spring Roll
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Duck Salad
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Banh Chao
photo credit: Noah Devereaux