A lively evening of food, drinks and browsing
Pub Street is the pedestrianised bar and restaurant strip (officially Street 8) in Siem Reap's Old Market quarter, surrounded by several night markets including the Angkor Night Market, opened in 2007, and the Art Center Night Market across the river. The area comes alive from about 5:00 pm, the markets run until around midnight, and it is free to wander. It is the place for street food, a cheap beer, a foot massage and souvenir shopping.
September 2026
Photo: Marcin Konsek, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Pub Street and the Siem Reap night markets fill the old French quarter around the Old Market, a few minutes’ walk from the river. After dark it becomes the liveliest corner of Siem Reap: neon bars, street food, massage chairs and stalls of silk, silver and souvenirs. It is loud, cheerful and easy to enjoy for an evening.
Nothing here is representative of rural Cambodia, and it does not pretend to be. But after a day among the temples, an evening in the old quarter is part of the Siem Reap experience. The trick is knowing where to eat well, what is worth buying and when to head home.
Pub Street is officially Street 8, a short stretch of bars and restaurants one block north of the Old Market. It runs for about 100 metres between the Red Piano and the Banana Leaf restaurants, and is closed to traffic in the evening, so the whole road becomes a pedestrian party. Two narrow alleys run parallel on either side, The Lane to the north and The Passage to the south, lined with smaller bars, cafés and boutiques.
Today Pub Street is at its busiest from about 8:00 pm. Happy hours run in the early evening, and draught Angkor beer is still among the cheapest in Asia. Weekends and holidays, particularly Khmer New Year in April, draw big Cambodian crowds too.
The heart of the quarter, a single-storey market with a working food hall at its centre: fish, meat, fruit, prahok and fresh herbs. Around the edges are silver, silk, carvings, spices and souvenirs.
A few minutes’ walk north-west of Pub Street, near Sivatha Boulevard. Opened in 2007, it has hundreds of stalls selling clothes, silk, paintings, silver, soaps and spices, with bars and foot massage along its lanes.
Over the lit footbridge from the Old Market, on the east bank. More spacious and relaxed, with clothes, wood crafts and paintings, and prices that can be slightly lower.
On King’s Road by the river, a calmer market where small Cambodian brands and social enterprises sell their own products, with food stalls and occasional live performances. Confirm opening days locally.
Small markets and alleys off Pub Street itself sell T-shirts, elephant trousers, silver and bric-a-brac. Convenient, but compare prices before buying.
The big local market on National Road 6, east of the centre. Not a night market, but the place to see how Siem Reap shops. Go early in the morning.
The old quarter has every cuisine you can think of, but it is also a good place to try Khmer food. Many of the restaurants on and around Pub Street serve fish amok, lok lak and Khmer curries at fair prices, and some put on Apsara dance shows with dinner.
For a quieter meal, walk two minutes to the riverside or into The Lane and The Passage, where the pace drops noticeably. Our food experiences can add a local guide to show you what to order and where, the easiest way to eat well without guesswork.
The markets sell a mixture of Cambodian-made crafts and goods imported from neighbouring countries. Much of the “silk” is not silk, and many carvings are mass-produced. That does not make them bad souvenirs, but price them accordingly.
If you are going to Phare, The Cambodian Circus, the 8:00 pm show finishes in time for a late drink on Pub Street afterwards.
| Where | Old Market quarter, central Siem Reap, west of the Siem Reap River |
|---|---|
| Night markets | Every evening, from late afternoon until around midnight |
| Pub Street | Busy from about 5:00 pm; many bars close around midnight, some later |
| Entry | Free |
| Money | US dollars and riel; cards in restaurants and larger shops |
| Time needed | Two to three hours for dinner and a wander |
| Getting there | Walk from central hotels, or 5 to 15 minutes by tuk-tuk; Grab and PassApp both work |
With children. The early evening is lively and fun for families. After about 9:00 pm Pub Street gets louder and more crowded, and the music rises. The riverside and the Art Center Night Market are calmer.
Our guides can show you the old quarter by night, from the best street-food stalls to the crafts worth buying, or simply book you a table and a tuk-tuk. Evenings in Siem Reap are built into our Siem Reap Slow Travel and Cambodia Classic Highlights journeys. Ask us to plan yours.
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