Tangram Restaurant

The Concept

Set in a garden of over 2800sqm, Tangram is one of the most spacious restaurants around town. Catering to only 60 seats with a total of 14 dedicated staff members, Tangram encourages a personal approach with good service levels tailored to your every needs. Trained by a Dutch chef with 10 years of experience, the local staff has learned the skills of taste, quality and hospitality and works with full dedication together to deliver the concept of intimacy, authenticity and quality.

We wanted to create a setting for people in which Cambodia can be truly appreciated; with its tropical climate, lush vegetation, authentic rural scene and friendly people. Our open air setting features 11 pavilions, a bar and lounge area and a playground for children. Designed in the traditional Khmer style, mostly natural materials are used around the property, giving people a real al fresco feeling while being seated underneath their own thatched roof. Tangram caters to the casual dining experience in which we aim to balance proper service, a friendly atmosphere and good taste for a price that is more than reasonable. 

The individual pavilions allow for privacy, intimacy and romance and invite people for a real afternoon away from the crowds or a night out without all the hassles that can be found elsewhere. At Tangram you are encouraged to unwind after a busy day exploring the magnificent sights around town. Lunch or dinner with us should be an experience and therefore we ask people to take their time to dine and enjoy the Khmer hospitality and environment rather than rush it through. Our team loves to chat with their guests and often end up in interesting conversations with their guests.

At Tangram we created a concept of tranquility that compliments the local way of life. Being based in the community, a stone throw away from the busy "Pubstreet" and Old Market, Tangram welcomes you to taste the delicacies of Cambodia fused nicely with the Western grill.

Our Food

Our menu is a mix of Khmer cuisine using local ingredients and Western style grill. Accompanied by our own  homemade sauces, Tangram created a bit of its own flavor. Our menu has a selection of dishes rather than a large range of dishes as we like to focus more on the taste than the quantity of choice. However, our dishes are a very generous serve.

All grill dishes are prepared on our charcoal grill. Accompanied with a fresh garden salad and our own recipe for mashed potatoes or French Fries complete the grilled dishes. A selection of fresh salads and appetizers including soups and our own Summer Rolls and Spring Rolls can be selected before you chose your main courses from our grill or Khmer Menu. Our selection of local and international desserts, which includes ice cream and many fresh fruits complete the food experience.

All food is accompanied with a selection of the most common softdrinks and an international standard beer selection. The wine selection is special and has been carefully chosen by our chef who is a wine specialist in consultation with our professional wine supplier. A careful selection of international top rated spirits and cocktails top off the drink menu selections.

At Tangram we always serve all dishes at the same time, no matter it is just the two of you or you are with your entire party of 40 people. All our dishes are prepared fresh, meaning that they are cut and prepared upon order. No food is pre-prepared which may mean the dishes may take a bit longer to come out.

Our Staff

Tangram’s team is more like a family. Most of the staff has been with us from the beginning. Tasks are well divided according to each person’s individual strengths. Most of our staff is coming from rural areas around Siem Reap, who have been trained intensively to learn the skills in hospitality. Most of our staff is coming from underprivileged backgrounds and were trained by NGO’s that help poor young adults learn a skill so they can care for their family. Tangram proudly cooperates with EGBOK Mission in Siem Reap and The Boddhi Tree in Phnom Penh and offers these young adults a safe and well appreciated working environment. For most of our staff, Tangram is their first station to hopefully a bright and successful future.

Tangram works with less staff members than the usual restaurants simply because tasks are well divided and staff is dedicated. This allows us to better care for our team members by providing honest and competitive salaries, occasional staff trips and holidays and of course continuous training and education to improve their skills in this very demanding industry.

If you are considering dining at Tangram for a special occasion (your honeymoon, your anniversary, your birthday, graduation or any other joyful celebration), let us know up front. We always do all we can to make your evening special and even play your requested music if you like. There are no extra charges for these types of small arrangements. Just mention in your booking the occasion and Tangram will tailor something to the occasion!

Child Friendly, Gay friendly

The space that Tangram provides is a haven for families with younger children. The playground and garden are a perfect place for children to unwind after a day at the temples. The playground is a great place to wait until food is ready to be served. The privacy and individual pavilions help the gay community to feel at ease in a country where affection between two people of the same sex is usually frowned upon. At Tangram we welcome people from all backgrounds and all ages, with the exception of child abusers or other offensive behavior of course.

A promise of care of you and our community from Tangram

We use purified water to clean all vegetables and meat, we do not use MSG in our dishes and most of our ingredients are locally sourced to support the local community. Tangram does all it can to work towards an international standard as far possible in a developing country and complies with the local law. We pay salaries well above minimum wages and offer our team many additional incentives such as tip sharing (without management cut), staff trips, and continuous training, which may be the reason why we still enjoy working with the same team ever since we opened.