Best coffee in town
Feel Good was so good they had to make it twice, so now we have Feel Good II, a small and simple, unassuming cafe on leafy hideaway Street 29, where you’ll find the best coffee in town — and there are people who will get very emotional about that if you disagree with them — honest, straightforward food, and radically fabulous service.
Happy, buzzing faces at Feel Good Cafe II.
Feel Good started up in 2013, with their far hipper outlet on Street 136. It’s a social enterprise — the staff are given shares in the business after working there for 18 months — that aims to create the best coffee in Cambodia, using beans sourced from the region that they roast themselves . There are few who would suggest that they have failed in their mission; the coffee is amazing. Strong, full flavoured, with a dense, silky mousse on top. They use fresh whole milk for the foam on your cappuccino too, so that comes out a treat too.
They do.
The atmosphere here is very friendly, even among the customers, fostered we think by the fact that the space is small enough that it almost feels clubbily intimate. The interior is divided into two rooms, with a handful of tables apiece. There is nothing fancy about anything here. The decor is entirely, comfortingly, unaffected, perhaps born of the confidence that comes from knowing you’re the best at what you choose. Outside, an enclosed courtyard, peppered with potted plants, has open and sun-shielded seating.
No delusions, just delicious.
The menu is short and veers towards Tex-Mex-style fare, with burritos, huevos rancheros, quesadilla and more among the offerings. Our chicken burrito was the biz; substantial, lots of flavour and they were generous with the sour cream too. Prices are around the $3 to $5 range. There’s also a small but hugely tempting selection of cakes and patisseries in the cabinet.
You can buy ground or unground coffee here too — in smaller bags.
It may be a function of smart hiring policy, or of the confidence that comes from a crew who are invested in the business, but the staff are huge fun. Efficient and effective, but also infectiously good-humoured. We loved going in just for that alone, never mind the outstanding coffee.
If you don’t want to make the journey south, the smarter outlet on Street 136 is equally worth a visit. Highly recommended.
Address: 11 Street 29, Phnom Penh
T: (017) 497 538
joser@feelgoodcoffee.com.kh
http://www.feelgoodcoffee.com.kh/
Coordinates (for GPS): 104º55'46.79" E, 11º33'17.44" N
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Reviewed by
Nicky Sullivan
Nicky Sullivan is an Irish freelance writer (and aspiring photographer). She has lived in England, Ireland, France, Spain and India, but decided that her tribe and heart are in Cambodia, where she has lived since 2007 despite repeated attempts to leave. She dreams of being as tough as Dervla Murphy, but fears there may be a long way to go. She can’t stand whisky for starters. She was a researcher, writer and coordinator for The Angkor Guidebook: Your Essential Companion to the Temples, now one of the best-selling guidebooks to the temples.
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