This post is part of the 'people doing amazing things' series supporting organisations, businesses, and individuals trying to make the world a better place.
After an emotionally difficult morning at the Khmer Rouge memorial site and S21 (which I will talk about in my next post) going for lunch at an organisation doing a bit of good was definitely a perfect idea.


 Sixty Eight percent of Cambodian people are under the age of thirty, and though the enrolment rates for primary education are very high just under half of children don't complete primary school. A lot of this is due to further education being something they just can't afford. This means a lot of young people in Cambodia without basic levels of education and therefore no skills to enter the workforce.

But this is where Friends Creative Tapas comes in, they're a restaurant owned Friends International and run by Mith Samlahn, an organisation working with street children in Phnom Pehn. They work to offer education, training, medical care and shelter for street children and other vulnerable children in Phnom Pehn.
So this restaurant is doing good things, they help over 1,800 children, but is the food any good?
I can safely say, yes it is. The food here is more expensive than anything else I ate in Cambodia, with each tapas ranging from $5-10 but that's still not ridiculous, and I think it was worth it.

The place had a super nice atmosphere, nice staff and definitely felt more upmarket than a lot of places I'd been to. It had quite a western feel to it and you could tell it was catered to tourists; but that's not necessarily a bad thing. A lot of the food was very western  but there were influences on the menu from all over Asia too. And it made me happy because they had plenty of vegan options.
I got the falafel burger but was sat staring at the menu for about ten minutes trying to decide between all the vegan options, I'm not used to having a big choice of food.
The food was really good, especially considering most of the chefs here are trainees, I mean it wasn't the best veggie falafel burger I've ever eaten but it was pretty high up on the list (and it's a very long list). Everyone else on my tour was pretty happy with their food too. If you want a peak at their menu you can view it here.
So if you're every in Phnom Pehn, give Fiends Creative tapas a go, good food for a good cause, not much more I need to say. Friends also have other restaurants and social businesses over Cambodia and you can view a list of all of their businesses right here if you're ever in Cambodia.

I got to visit Friends Creative tapas as part of  a G Adventures trip through Cambodia and Vietnam which you can view here.

Below is the video from my whole time in Phnom Pehn, including some footage of the Restaurant so make sure to give that a watch.
Thanks for reading!