Mawn

I remember this location back when the old Kalaya was here, so when I heard Mawn took its place, it had big shoes to fill. That was a couple years ago. Fast forward to today, Mawn is one of the hardest reservations to come by in Philly (make sure to get your reservations 2 months in advance). Mawn is a rather smaller, yet comfy venue. Low lighting and an intimate feel makes this the perfect date spot. Staff are very friendly, accommodating, attentive, and actually, familiar. I came back when they opened and again a week ago and I recognized a few faces. To me, that means they enjoy working here which is definitely a plus.Now food. The food I would say is Cambodian / Thai and the restaurant is filled with an authentic aroma from the kitchen. My partner and I had shared the following:Scallops in yuzu (special for the night) (4.5/5):The yuzu dressing was the perfect balance of acidity and sweetness to complement the fresh scallops. A very well balanced dish. For me, I wish there was just a touch of salt.Steamed clams (4.5/5):This was a table favorite the first time I came and the second time I came. The lemongrass and basil broth is super comforting and warm. Definitely a dish to be enjoyed with a side of bread. I would get this again and again. I will say, the second time I got it, it was actually a little on the salty side.Banh Chow Salad (4/5):I really liked the crepe covered in salad. Savory and sweet paired very nicely. To enhance the dish, my partner actually used the yuzu dressing from the scallops and that made this dish even better. Cabbage (4.5/5):Bravo. Coming from an Asian background, I yearn for the "wok fire" in dishes using a wok. It's basically the "char" you get from a wok and it's super flavorful. This dish did not disappoint with that flavor. It hit the spot! Perfect crunch and fry. Also, slightly on the salty side.All star seafood fried rice (5/5):Yes, I know, $52 for fried rice?? Was it worth it? Kind of a toss up. This dish was my favorite because of the umami of the seafood and the rice had that perfect "wok fire" I mentioned for the cabbage. Nice sear on the scallops, crab was super fresh, and all the ingredients complemented each other very well. Excellent! Uni wasn't my favorite and I wouldn't recommend the sauce given because it overpowers the seafood, but every bite was well balanced and bursting with flavor. I would definitely reorder this for a special occasion. Still kind of hurts to pay $52 for fried rice hahaI can definitely see why Mawn is a Philly favorite and difficult to snag a reservation, but from my experience, it is well worth it. With its authentic flavors, humble staff, and intimate venue, Mawn is among my favorites in Philly~

#1 tell that this restaurant is good: THEIR KHAO SOI ISN'T SWEETLike cloyingly overly sweet like most restaurants, even critically acclaimed restaurants known for their Khao soi. I almost never order it because chances are, it's like drinking candy soup. But I took a chance here because it is my ultimate benchmark.And it was amazing! Perfectly balanced. And everything else is very delicious too. We ordered waaaaay too much food, our leftovers were like 3 meals. And it was all delicious, zero misses whatsoever. In general it's not overly fussy food but very precisely made and also very bold in flavor. No sweeting up their Khao soi or milding down their chili dips for the white ppl masses here, and it's amazing to see Philly fully welcome and embrace that.The seafood fried rice is probably the most memorable thing I'll eat in a long while. The crab butter permeates throughout, there's a good amount of wok hei, a TON of seafood and the portion is massive. Huge bargain for what you get, and every bite is heavenly. Uncle Roger would be proud.The only thing I would not get again is the mawn Noodle soup, it's kind of similar to most Hu tieu / Cambodian rice Noodle you can get in Vietnamese / Cambodian restaurants. It's a little more aromatic but when you're here, you should go for their more special takes. Fried chicken, Pra hok, steak, etc...Servers are trained to guide you through if it's your first time eating this kind of food, so it's very approachable - try something new here, it'll be good!

Third time is a charm, but so were the first and second times. We've been wanting to come back here since our first 2 visits. Each time leaving way too full, and very satisfied. There's nothing ordinary about Mawn, but they are able to elevate simple Cambodian comfort dishes to this sophisticated level of balanced deliciousness I haven't experienced elsewhere. Today we tried chicken skin, some kind of random salad, and garlicky cabbage that were all fantastic. Not to judge a book by it's cover, but we weren't expecting to be THAT impressed by those menu items -but we were! Such unique flavors! All my preconceptions instantly erased with the first bite (learned to trust the staff suggestions, thanks Isaac, after my first visits).Wonderful service from Chelsea, Rachel, Emmanuel (ask him about the wall art) and someone I didn't catch the name of, but to be honest, I wouldn't care if they treated me poorly with food THIS good. Three phenomenal experiences in a row from my #1 favorite restaurant in Philly!

So glad to have visited this place. I went during the late lunch hours, so the wait was not too long for me (still like 15 minutes). Mawn is a famous Cambodian restaurant known as a noodle house with no rules. The noodles did not disappoint, and the softshell shrimp was so delicious. You actually eat the shrimp with the show, and it quite an experience. The ambience is cozy and exquisite. You can see them preparing the noodles.

Had to make a reservation about a month in advance to eat here. This is an awesome restaurant and certainly worth the wait. Everything I had was expertly done, plated well, and absolutely delicious. Our server was an expert and made our dining experience seem like a Michelin star experience (Emmanuel I think). I really didn't know what to expect with any of these dishes as I didn't look at the Yelp photos beforehand, but I was pleasantly surprised by each one -- each one creative and executed very well. Prohok Dip - The crisp and large cabbage pieces really made this dish -- each piece firm, holding the dip well and providing a refreshing element to the dish. The dip itself was flavorful -- very savory. At times, this was a little messy as the sauce really didn't have much to latch onto, but the textures and flavors worked really nicely together. Market Vegetables - Another round of crisp cabbage in this dish. Here, the seasoning was the star of the show, which coated the veggies and the egg. Very good. The seasoning was really everything. I probably would swap this for another dish next time, but worth trying. Beef Noodle Soup - The oxtail was the star of this dish -- so tender. The beef was good too, but I could've eaten the oxtail all day. The dish in general is very similar to pho, so if you like pho, you'll love this. This was a fairly large dish, but still best as a single person item -- hard to share this one. Khao Soi - This one was a little difficult to share too -- but we did it. This was probably my favorite of the night. So delicious and savory. So many flavors melding together to make this dish absolutely excellent. Plated well too. Highly recommend this one. The crispy noodles were fun too and helped to break up the texture. Funnel Cake - At the end of our meal, I really thought this would be too much since we were stuffed, but it seemed much lighter than other funnel cakes I've had. We shared this dish, and it was the perfect size. The caramel sauce was light and abundant. The actual cake was fluffy and mildly sweet. The coconut wasn't very prominent, but I really liked this one. Value: 4/5Quality: 5/5Quantity: 5/5Service: 5/5Atmosphere: 4/5

Mawn was so good and not too overly priced! This place is so hard to get a reserevation, but it is BYOB.The resturant itself is very small inside so I can see why its so difficult to get a reservation. We had a reservation for 4 almost 2 months in advance. There are not too many Cambodian resturants around the area so I was super excited to try. We ordered the fried chicken skin & prahok dip for apps.We ordered night market noodles, the fish, the fried chicken, khao soi noodles, and market vegables they had at the time. My all time favorite is the prahok dip, it is a must get! The khao soi is also very different from the typical khao soi. I will defintely be back to try other things on the menu!

Visiting New Yorker here Mawn was *excellent*If you're looking for food that's new but also comforting, this is the place to go. If you're a fan of Thai food, Mawn has Cambodian food that is somewhat similar but also refreshingly different. You'll find some dishes that may seem the same, but you'll come to realize that the nuances make it such a differing experience. My friend and I ordered the papaya salad, beef noodle katiew, and night market noodle. I recommend all three of these dishes. They complemented each other perfectly. It hits all the umami spots without making you feel heavy. I think I was lucky with my experience -- we lined up early on a weekend right before they opened and were able to snag a table pretty quickly. So if you don't have a reservation, I would recommend lining up 15 min before, as there was quickly a line that formed after us. Otherwise, service was excellent. Our waiter was kind and extremely attentive. He was also helpful with what options to choose from.

I think I'm not the intended audience here. I grew up eating some Cambodian food, and the food here is delicious and well done but it wasn't what I was expecting, especially upon walking in and hearing the Cambodian music that I grew up listening to. This is fusion food. The menu suggests Lao, Burmese, Thai and Viet influences. I ordered the prahok, which wasn't nearly as fermented as I'd thought it should be. It tasted more like an Americanized-Thai-influence dip. Was it tasty? Yes! But not like the prahok I know. Also got the $52 seafood fried rice, which I didn't love. It was good but not great, and it really didn't need that mix of seafood. The seafood itself was very fresh and perfectly cooked, though. The fried whole fish was the closest to legit. Super tender and crisp, great flavor on the sauce. I picked it to the bone, even ate the eyeballs lol. For dessert, we got the banana rice pudding with mango mousse. My husband really enjoyed it, but I thought it was just good. Wish there'd been more diversity in texture on it. Service was great! Fast, friendly, and attentive. It's a cute, intimate spot that could be a lil classy, a lil casual. Again, I think I'm the wrong audience for this. It's hard to impress someone who's grown up eating this kind of food for a fraction of the cost. I might be back for lunch to try the noodles, but I don't think I'd try for dinner again. Last I checked, though, it's completely booked up for the next three months! I'm also sure this restaurant has the potential to grow into something greater. Glad they're trying what they're trying!

Wow! Been meaning to try this place but it can be difficult to get a reservation. We were finally able to snag one, and it definitely lives up to the hype and worth the wait!! Service was impeccable, wait staff were very attentive and knew and explained the menu well. We ordered the prohok dip (must get!!!), crispy chicken skin, market vegetables, whole fish, fried chicken, khao soi, and night market noodles for 4 people. We were stuffed. It's also BYOB as well. This was great way to taste the different dishes and we loved all of them. However the prohok dip, vegetables, whole fish, and night market noodles definitely stood out. I can't wait to come back to try other dishes!

Cambodian restaurant located in the Bella vista neighborhood of south Philly. The food was so amazing. The clams in the lemongrass broth, delicious! The uni topped off with the roe over the seafood fried rice was so good, you definitely taste the southeast asian flavors. Plus it's a byob so bring your own