The Restaurant with No Kitchen

Recently we ventured out to sample a new restaurant in Phnom Penh.  It seemed like a cute place at first.  The main feature of the decor was multiple aquariums filled with tiny blue fish.  The menu looked good too - including both Japanese udon noodles as well as Western cuisine such as burgers, sandwiches, and pasta.  

Our first stumbling block was when Jeremy ordered a draught beer.  The server went over to the bar and we heard the telltale dry gurgle of a tapped keg.  He settled for a can.

Then one of our friends used the rest room and walked around the restaurant a bit.  Noticing something strange, she asked the servers, "Where is the kitchen?"  And the servers replied "Oh, we don't have a kitchen.  We ordered your food from a restaurant down the street."  We couldn't believe it!  We were familiar with the restaurant the food was coming from, so if we had known that, we would have just gone there to get our food hot out of the oven.

But at that point, we figured we had already ordered and should try to make the best of it.  However, things just went downhill from there.  The servers got our drink order wrong and never did get it right.  We watched our food come in through the front door in plastic bags and then waited for it to be plated and brought to us.  When we asked for salt and pepper, the servers apologized that the other restaurant didn't provided them with salt and pepper.

Finally the servers brought us the check, and as we expected, it was wrong.  Three of our meals were supposed to come with a free beer.  But we had been charged for all beers.  The servers seemed to say that the other restaurant hadn't provided the beer like they were supposed to, so we couldn't get them free.  But we weren't going to accept a bait and switch from what was clearly stated in the menu.  After having to call over the owner, our bill was finally adjusted and we were able to leave the strangest restaurant we've ever experienced.  

We contemplated telling the owner that he needed to completely revamp his business model, but our brief encounter over the check showed that any advice about our dining experience would not sink in.  I actually felt quite bad for the servers.  They were really trying very hard to please, but were stuck in a situation destined for failure.  My bet is the restaurant without a kitchen will meet that exact fate - complete failure - within six months.