Khmer Kitchen

Great place! I definitely recommend it. The caramelized pork and red curry mussels were my favorite– but all of the other dishes we got (bamboo/​fish soup and frog dish) were delicious too. Will be returning.

Great Cambodian food in South Philly! I’ve been here three times (once to eat in and twice for take out) and haven’t been disappointed once.
The must haves:
Mussels in red curry sauce (Cha Mussels): creamy, savory, and a little spicy. I poured the red curry sauce over everything.
Prat-​Hee: Minced pork with raw veggies to dip (eggplant, peppers, cucumbers, etc.) It’s a little bit oily and a little bit salty but extremely flavorful and satisfying
Chicken Curry (or whatever they have as a special): potatoes and chicken and a delicious warm soup. Perfect for winter days.
Papaya salad is also great for something light and fresh!
4 stars instead of 5 because I pass out every time post-​meal. Pretty sure there’s some MSG in there.

We couldn’t find a dish or two that got talked about highly on here; we ordered two stew-​type dishes, both of which were good; the pineapple one was the more favored of the two but the other was tasty and distinct. Their customer service, while not unfriendly, could have been a bit better – they weren’t that attentive and seemed anxious to close up for the night.

khmer kitchen is delicious! the Sah-​Law Ka-​Koe with chicken is soooo tasty and perfect on a cold or hot day. the wait staff is most likely all family/​owner and extremely kind. the food is made with love… straight outta mama’s kitchen-​style.
maybe they could use a new paint job… yikes! can you say ORANGE CRUSH?!? i’ll buy the can myself and donate it.

Being of Vietnamese descent, I honestly didn’t know what to expect of Cambodian food. It’s sort of a mix between Vietnamese and Thai, but with its own unique and amazing flavors (lots of herbs and sauces). It’s a cozy (tiny) family-​run BYOB. The staff is so friendly, they are like family.
Our favorites: prah hok kateeh — caramelized ground pork with an assortment of veggies that you eat sort of like a chip & dip. Curried green mussels are a must — spoon the sauce over some rice. Roasted eggplant with chicken, also amazing! Honestly, I’ve never had a bad dish here. We usually pick a dish or two and let our server suggest/​surprise us with other dishes.

Been wanting to go here for quite some time and finally went on a Sunday night. We arrived around 6 and were seated immediately, but in half an hour there was already a wait. So if you can, try to go early!
Food: First was the prah hok kateeh — caramelized ground pork with an assortment of veggies: carrots, celery, eggplants, and cucumbers galore. The contrast in textures from the veggies was fun, and the pork was of course the main star… reminded me of a bowl of chili, but curried with coconut and accentuated with fermented fish. We soaked every last bit of this with white rice.
Fish soup with tomatoes, pineapples, and a type of Asian squash. Tangy, spicy, and ooh so good for a cold winter night! This really hit the spot!
Last but not least, mussels in red coconut sauce… big plump juicy mussels simmering in a pool of creamy, spicy, coconut broth. I’m a sucker for seafood and this did not disappoint.
Besides the food, the service was quick, the servors were friendly, and this place is a BYO. So yeah, it’s pretty great.

This is my first review so I decided to do it on one of my favorite restaurants in Philly. My favorite dish off the menu is the Cha La Pauh with pork, I get it almost every time and it’s consistently delicious. I also recommend trying your favorite kind of skewers from the menu, the dipping sauce that’s included is amazing.
The staff at Khmer are equally as badass as the food. They will go out of their way to make sure even strangers are comfortable and happy with their meal. I always see happy faces when I’m in there. I took off a star (really more like half a star) because it’s not a very good place to eat in big groups. The inside is fairly small and it can get packed with people during certain busy hours. Best thing to do of course is call in before hand and check to make sure they have room to seat you.

This place is truly one of the best restaurants in Philadelphia.
The food comes straight from the cooking talents of a Cambodian grandmother and is, fresh, unique, and ultimately incredibly delicious. There are so many dishes that are absolutely fantastic that it is hard to narrow down and recommend one over the other. I really enjoy the papaya salad each time I go, but it’s the primary entrees that steal the show.
It is not the biggest place in the world, but the service is OUTSTANDING, and the family atmosphere with which the ownership runs the business is really great. We went with a group of 7 recently and had to wait for a half hour or so, but it was a weekend and the fact that it is BYO made our wait very easy to get through.
This place is worth going to regardless of where you live in or outside of the city. I love Khmer Kitchen and will miss it when we leave Philly.

4.5 stars. Being Vietnamese, I’m very familiar with many of the ingredients used in Cambodian cuisine, which features a very similar flavor profile to Vietnamese cuisine (there tends to be a lot of overlap in SE Asian Cooking). That said, what really makes Khmer Kitchen stand out is the delicate balance of flavors they have crafted in each dish; There are no condiments on the table, and frankly they don’t need them. Each of the dishes we ordered was perfectly balanced with sweet, spicy, sour, there was a lot of flavor without any being particularly overpowering (except maybe for the spicy Papaya salad, but we ordered it that way so it’s to be expected). We got 5 dishes, the Bok La-​Hong (Papaya Salad), Cha Mussels, Prah-​hok Kahteeh (Ground Pork w/​spices and seasonal vegetables), a mixed seafood dish with a lemongrass curry sauce, and an off-​menu stir fry chicken dish with coconut milk on top of yet another delicious lemongrass sauce. I was consistently impressed with all of their offerings, and truly can’t think of a superior SE Asian food experience (home-​cooked Vietnamese food aside… Grandma still beats all restaurants).
You can tell this is a busy place, and for good reason. It’s a small location with seating for only 20 or so people, but coming in at 5pm on a Sunday, we were lucky to get a seat as people coming in after us had to either wait extensively… or just left knowing that there would be a line. Fantastic for a small mom and pop shop too. There is only one person (my best guess is the son of the owners) taking orders, bringing out food, cleaning the tables, and working the cash register, so it’s a tight operation. But the place is small and he does a damn good job of remembering all the orders, so more power to him.
Words of warning: Cash only, and tucked away in the corner of a very unimposing area. Also all the food is cooked to order so it may take some time for a dish to come out… our final dish came out 45mins after we had ordered it (but fortunately just as we finished the one before it). That aside, great food and a must-​try if you’re in the area.

This is hands down a MUST try! If you are adventurous these dishes here are refreshing and new to the palate. We took the in laws (who were born in Cambodia) and they said the food was very authentic.
#Wait: No wait on Tues for lunch at noon. However their hours were super inconsistent. States open at 10am but they didn’t open until noon. FYI: last seating is 1hr before they close.
#Food: In order of what I would recommend.
— Cha Trop– roasted eggplant with oyster sauce: A+. Sauce is creamy and curry like. Big portions
–Soup– Sah Law Ka Koe with fish ⁹⁄₁₀. A+ Deep curry like broth. Get it with fish for no extra charge
— Cha La Pauh with Pork– pumpkin with pork: A+. Pumpkin super soft and combo of spices very unique. Only negative is that it’s kinda oily
–Appetizer: Cha Mussels B+. Mussels mildy chewy. Curry sauce brings it over the top
–Cha Lok Lak with Beef B+. Beef cubes medium rare not too chewy. Good to try but would try above first before this.
— Sah Law Machue Kahteeh with Check C-​. Broth is weirdly sour and too salty for me. I would say skip this one.
#Service: B– This is a mom/​pop place. The son is only server and parents cook in the back. They serve ingredients fresh so as a result we waited almost full 45mins before food came out (even though restaurant practically empty).
#Parking: street only
Overall this place really has some simple dishes that hit a home run. Prices reasonable. Other than slow service and inconsistent hours we would definitely come back here again and again. This is a gem of a restaurant in Philly.

Yum yum Cambodian food!
I’ve never had Cambodian food before, but this place rocks.
Very low key, family run business. Don’t expect fancy décor. BYOB. Friendly servers.
The papaya salad was delightful. I almost got it very spicy until the waiter warned me. Even with medium spice, i was dying. But the salad itself was very good!
The Sah-​Law Macheu Kahteeh (coconut milk and pineapple chunks) was amazing! Tangy and delicious. Lots of pineapple and chicken.
Big portions for family style. The papaya salad and one entrée had us both stuffed!
I will definitely be back for more!

WHERE DO I START?
Khmer Kitchen is a (somewhat?) hidden gem in Philadelphia that’s tucked away in a slightly out of the way location. A few things: they’re cash only, BYO, and the place stops seating at a certain time (a little after 8, maybe?). I’ve been here twice, and both times it’s been super packed. The restaurant itself is pretty tiny, which isn’t a bad thing in itself, just be prepared to wait a while before being seated.
The food is AMAZING. I’d definitely recommend the mussels in the curry broth. The mussels are perfectly cooked, but the broth is the real stand-​out. I could just eat the broth alone with rice, probably. A perfect balance between creamy, sweet, and rich (but not too rich). The flavors of the caramelized beef are out of this world, and they serve the dish with a few raw veggies on the side to nibble on with the meat. We also got the stir-​fried beef which was nice and spicy, a good complement to the rest of our dishes.
The service is fantastic. There was only one main waiter attending to all the tables, but I felt like we still were able to get his attention whenever we needed, and he was personable and friendly, and was able to fulfill any requests we had fairly quickly and efficiently (more water, more rice, uncorking our wine bottle, etc…).
From University City, Khmer Kitchen can be a bit of a trek to get to. It’s. So. Worth. It. One of my favorite restaurants in Philadelphia. A must-​go!

Amazing.
1) We got the cha krung (beef stir-​fry) and salaw karee saramohn (peanut infused Chicken coconut curry). Both were out of this world.
2) The service is excellent. Ambiance is wonderful.
3) Cash only.

I have visited this place twice. The second time i went, i got to try weekend special (curry chicken) and crispy frog legs (sounds odd?) nah, it was delicious!
We ordered deep fried fish with salted soy bean and ginger, oh my… they gave a very gracious amount of ginger and bean, it made the fish very savory. even though lots of ginger, but i don’t mind the spice…
it good as it gets, but you have to come earlier before the place is packed!
i hope they keep the good work. :)

Since I’ve posted the last review, I came here a few more times. What can I say, I am obsessed with the food here, and my goal is to try every single dish in the menu. Unfortunately I am a long way from reaching that goal as I tend to order the same dishes each time because I can’t help myself, namely Prah-​Hok Kateeh and Sah-​Law Machue Yuin. I have tried a few new dishes since my last review, see below:
Pan Fried Tilapia with Ginger Sauce — my new second favorite dish, after Prah-​Hok Kateeh! They gave you an option to either get a whole fish, two filets or one filet. We opted for one filet so that we can order more dishes. I definitely want to get a whole fish next time. The fish was perfectly breaded and seasoned, it was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. The star of the dish was the ginger sauce, it was perfection. I love the different notes in the sauce, including sweet, sour and a hint of spiciness. I would be happy with a bucket of this sauce and a bowl of rice.
Nkahp-Ch’in — I’ve never had frog legs before (I know, bad Asian!), and was hesitate to try it, but the dish looked so delectable that I had to give it a try. I think the frog legs being fried really helped, I mean everything taste good fried no? It kind of tasted like chicken, but with less meat. I liked the batter and the sauce that came with the dish, but I am not sure I would try this dish again.
Pleak Sak-​Koe — I saw that a lot of people on Unilocal recommended this dish and decided to try it. The dish is basically thinly sliced beef that comes with a side of lettuce and basil to eat as a wrap, kind of like Korean BBQ style. I was not a big fan of the dish as the meat was a bit bland, a rarity as nearly all of the other dishes I’ve tried have been burst with flavor. I think this would be a good dish for someone who is new to South Asian food and not used to all of the bold flavors.
The four of us polished off 8 dishes the last time we came here. Despite a few misses, I still think this is one of my favorite restaurants of all time. If only I can convince the family to move to NYC and open up the restaurant here. The three hours round-​trip commute is kind of killing me :) I highly recommend you to give this place a try!

Khmer Kitchen has been on my must-​eat list basically since it opened, so when my colleague suggested that we head there for a mid-​week dinner, there was no way I was going to pass up the chance to FINALLY try Khmer Kitchen. I was surprised at how small the dining area was, but this is the case for a lot of small BYOBs in South Philly (maybe 24 seats tops?) The atmosphere is clean and homey, and the service is warm and welcoming. I came by with a friend who is a regular, but I don’t think that we got any more special treatment than any of the other diners. Our server was awesome and super funny. For the table of three we shared:
Nyum La Hong, the green papaya salad, which we went for with medium spice, just trying to be cautious, but I think I definitely could’ve gone for spicy
Prah Hok Kateeh, pork in coconut cream with fish sauce and tons of fresh veggies for scooping — this was like nothing I had ever tasted before and was a true highlight, as many of my fellow Unilocalers have pointed out
Sah-​Law Kah-​Ree Mohn, curried chicken with lots of fresh veggies, especially celery, and rice
Cha Throp, purple eggplant with oyster sauce and we went with the pork option — this reminded me a lot of Thai sweet basil dishes I’ve had in the past and while it was tasty it was not the most unique in terms of our overall experience, but seriously it was tasty
If you’ve never had Cambodian before, I would say strongly that you should not hesitate to check Khmer Kitchen out. There is nothing intimidating about the experience even if you’re a newbie, so expand your palette and hit up these folks ASAP.

If you want truly authentic Cambodian food, you have come to the right spot. They don’t change their flavors to cater to the typical Americans. This place is great for when I miss mom’s cooking and can’t make it up to North Philly to visit her. My mom’s of course is better, but this place is comparable. Very small here, so make sure you come during an off peak time or be prepared to wait.
If you are unsure what to order, just ask the owner for the most popular dishes and don’t change a thing! The way these dishes are made, it requires all the ingredients to be delicious.
Overall — I think I actually might be back more now that I’m not living close to my mother any more.

I had my heart broken the night before when I sought out Cambodian food at ‘I heart Cambodia’ and had one of the worst dining experiences of my life. My bf, in effort to fix said broken heart, hesitantly suggested Khmer Kitchen. I put up a fight for about 10 minutes but reluctantly conceded. I’m so glad I did!
We arrived to find a small place, 6 or 7 tables, some that seat 2, some that seat 4. We had about a 30min wait. The waiting area inside directly faces a 2top table, which felt a bit awkward. There was only 1 guy manning the entire front of the house, and he did a fantastic job, despite being harassed by a rude patron upset that the small place couldn’t accommodate her party of 11. Once seated, we got the cha-​mussels, the cha-​lok-​lak (beef) and the chicken curry dish. All of our choices were fantastic, and not just because of the bad experience we had the night before. The mussels were our favorite but all were really great. I was eyeing up a soup on a nearby table that I plan to get next time. There WILL be a next time! I’m still thinking about those flavors; I just wish they were on grubhub!
I’d strongly recommend this place and, despite not being in a great area, it’s totally totally worth the trip. Give ‘em a shot!
BYO, Cash only

A very, very tiny place. I recommend coming with only 2 – 4 people, and on a weeknight.
However, I planned badly enough that 12 of us attempted to come here on a Saturday night. We arrived around 7 PM, and put our names on the list to be seated; the (only) waiter told us to come back at around 8 PM, as that was when they seat the last people. We came back, had a hard time being seated (to be fair, each table fits only 2 – 4 people, and there are only about 15 seats total in the restaurant), so we almost just gave up and did take out. At the end, though, the waiter stuck out his neck for us and asked the kitchen to seat us anyway, so 8 of us squeezed into 6 seats (the rest went home and did take-​out). So 5 stars for finally accommodating us!
Once we were seated, the food came quickly, perfectly, and the waiter was excellent. We were BYOing and were pretty obnoxious, and ordered 5 dishes to share. The mussels were absolutely divine, as was the carmelized pork dish (pictured) that you dip with vegetables and rice. The three other dishes (including an entire fried tipalia) were also very, very good, and each came out with an explanation of how to eat the dish. This was my first time trying cambodian food, and the beautiful bursts of spice, curry, rice, and sweetness were so exhilarating!
Dishes are family style, and we ended up each only paying $ 15 even with a generous tip. SO worth it to come and wait so long for a table. Bonus points to the new age music playing in the background.

I came here twice now and wished I had more time to stop by and eat more. First time eating here was a month ago with my friend and family.
The food is all home cooked like your momma cooks kinda food. Lol. Never knew how delicious Cambodian food can be. Four dishes that really stand are are the mince pork dip, the papaya salad (is amazing — sweetly and tangy at the same time), the beef wrap is so good, my mouth is watering as I am writing this review and the last is the sweet and sour chicken soup (tons of chicken in the soup and a huge taste of flavor in every slurp, the soup is hot and tangy).
I do have to make another round as I always miss out on their sold out meatball sticks, chicken and beef every week. Smh… Someone pick me up some. Lol
Parking is plenty but the area is iffy. The interior is small but cool. I’d highly recommend this place for a good home cooked meal that is reasonably priced and fills you up. The food here is also served family style, so bring friends or you will have lots of left overs.