Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness is the bar that put Phnom Penh on the international LGBTQ+ travel map. Operating for over two decades near the Riverfront on Street 51 — a block that concentrates several of the city's most established nightlife venues — Heart of Darkness built a reputation that travelled far ahead of it: the name alone has appeared in travel guides, backpacker forums, and LGBTQ+ travel publications across a span of years that makes it one of the longest-running gay-associated venues in mainland Southeast Asia. The bar is not exclusively LGBTQ+-friendly in a strict commercial sense — the Riverfront crowd is mixed — but its gay-welcoming identity and consistent community support have made it the first point of reference for LGBTQ+ visitors to Phnom Penh across multiple generations of backpackers and expats. The interior is dark, atmospheric, and unpretentious in the manner of a bar that has understood its own identity for years. Live DJs on weekend nights push the dance floor from midnight; the earlier evening is more relaxed. The Riverfront location means the bar benefits from the general cosmopolitan tolerance of the promenade — same-sex couples here attract no attention.