“I think Phnom Penh has become far more confident in its own voice,” says Vanna Sann, founder of the Phnom Penh-based ethical clothing brand Dorsu. “A few years ago, much of the retail and lifestyle scene felt either NGO-adjacent or heavily expat-driven. Now there’s a noticeable shift toward Cambodian-led creative businesses that are designing for a more discerning local audience.” Industry insiders ascribe this to a younger generation of entrepreneurs who are more worldly and grew up without memory of the war. “[They] are bringing a sharper design sensibility and a stronger understanding of global standards while rooting their work in Khmer identity,” says Sann.
Cambodia’s still-evolving regulatory framework also paints the capital with an electrifying sense of creative freedom. “As a developing country, it’s a lot easier to implement change,” says Jan van Dyk, Rosewood Phnom Penh’s director of culinary, who is building a sustainable supply-chain network of local producers that other businesses are now tapping on. “If you were, say, in Hong Kong or Singapore, it would be much more difficult.”
All of this has catapulted Phnom Penh into the limelight as a modern travel destination—even as traffic lights remain a rarity in this compact city of 2.5 million, tai chi-performing aunties rule the parks, and tuk-tuks are the most common mode of transport.
Here’s what to pay attention to in this emerging—and hugely captivating—creative capital.
Where to drink in Phnom Penh
Perhaps nothing is evolving as quickly in Phnom Penh as its cocktail scene, which has turned the city into one of Asia’s fastest-rising cocktail hubs. Industry players new and old are experimenting with what Cambodian identity looks like in a glass, from vibey Kravat Bar, a young speakeasy tucked deep in an alley lined with laundry racks and motorbikes, to Mekong-themed craft gin distillery Seekers, where a laid-back bar-in-a-shed atmosphere occasionally gives way to thumping underground raves. “When we arrived 13 years ago, there was no real cocktail scene to speak of,” says Tania Unsworth, co-founder of Seekers. “Now the city is full of cocktail bars that are locally owned. Everything has kind of leveled up.”
Speaking of up, Sora, Rosewood’s rooftop bar that in 2025 became the first in Cambodia to be included in Asia’s Best Bars, is not to be missed. In this sophisticated show of local talent and bounty, the drinks draw inspiration from traditional dishes, play off herbs plucked from an on-site garden, and star spirits produced with local partners, including Seekers and the country’s first rum producer, Samai. It’s also the best perch for unblocked skyline views. (From here, I counted at least six new skyscrapers that had mushroomed in the year since my last visit.)
