Babushka Siem Reap

Siem Reap Babushka Restaurant 

Type: International, Russian, Ukraine

Address: The Lane 

Tel: +855(0)77981002

Opening Hours: 07:00 until midnight

What do you know, a Russian restaurant in Siem Reap? Certainly something new on the local gastronomic scene and something worth checking out. Situated just off Pub Street in The Lane, the place proved kind of heard to find as there is no obvious sign.

Location is OK, interior is not: way too much Kitsch; supposedly inspired by the Grandmother (thus Babushka). First big disappointment when we got the menus with Pub Street staples such as Spaghetti, Amok, Lok Lak, Chinese Dumplings, etc. I thought this was supposed to be a Russian Restaurant. OK, they have Borscht (Ukrainian, not Russian) and "Salo" (another Ukrainian specialty), but not a single Russian dish. Seeing a menu full of spelling mistakes does not exactly inspire confidence either (Chocolate "muss" anyone?).

Cheap, but not really Russian.

Service was a bit naff as well. Ordered two bottles of water which came 15 minutes apart and the draft beer on the menu was not available. We got two forks and two knives between the three of us. They advertise draft beer but do not actually have any and on top of it I had to get my own beer a couple of times as staff seemed to be swamped with just the three of us.

Taboule?

I had ordered the pork cutlets with fried potatoes. The cutlets turned out to be minced meat patties and the fried potatoes were basically French Fries that were swimming in oil. Both were absolutely tasteless and could have been anything. Lucy had chicken with mushrooms sauce and she too proclaimed it to be completely bland.

The cutlets were hamburgers 

and the potatoes were swimming in oil.

A shame really, the owners could have found a niche here by serving Russian food. Instead, they are competing with all the other restaurants serving bland Western food. I guess the only thing the restaurant has in its favor are the fairly low places and the fact that one is not consistently hassled by beggars as The Lane is not exactly a tourist hot-spot.

Service: *

Food: *

Ambiance: **

Value for money: **

Recommended: No