Happy Hour

• 2 for 1 beer
• 3 for 2 premium drinks
• $1 famous Pacharan sangria

Lots and lots of tapas treats all night and the best views in Phnom Penh ...
The place to be every evening from 5 to 7pm.

If you find yourself in Phnom Penh and overwhelmed by a craving for tapas — the collective name for those platefuls of Spanish tidbits that accompany drinking or form a prelude to a meal — then you're in luck. You'll find the only tapas bar (and Spanish restaurant) in Cambodia, perched on the second floor of a restored colonial villa at Sisowath Quay.

The warmly lit wooden interiors and tiled balcony at Pacharan Tapas & Bodega, tel: (855-23) 224 394, hum with flamenco music and the chatter of aid workers and tourists. Start by rinsing away the capital's dust and heat with a glass of chilled rosé from a drinks list that is dominated by Spanish wines but includes pacharán — the Navarrese sloe gin that lends the restaurant its name. Then order some classic tapas — nutty Iberian ham, spiced shrimp and oil-drenched salads — to tide you over the 30-minute wait for seafood paella. Okay, paella isn't strictly speaking a tapas dish, but when it's this moist and intensely flavored who cares?

Pacharan is the latest venture from Steve Hayward, the founder of the famous FCC, with views to match or even better that of the FCC, indeed Pacharan was, according to Steve, the original site for the FCC but the intimacy and superb Spanish cuisine are well matched by those stunning Mekong River and Bassac Lake views as well as the Royal Palace and possibly unrivaled in vibrant Phnom Penh.

If you like this one, be sure to stop over at the sister restaurant, also called Pacharan in Ho Chi Minh City, tel: (84-8) 825 6024. The location next to the famed Opera House and opposite the grand Hyatt again give the famed Spanish vibe.

SOURCE: Time Magazine