French Tacos at Electric Monkey

There’s an English saying that you should try everything once, except for incest, bestiality and country dancing, so when the chance to try French Tacos at Electric Monkey arose, I obviously jumped at the chance.

But, what exactly are French Tacos? Are they different from Mexican Tacos? And literally WTF is a French one? Khmer Nights went to find out.

WTF are French Tacos?

I’m a lover of both French and Mexican cosine, but the combination seemed like a strange idea, but apparently French Tacos are not only a phenomenon, but not really a taco, like at all.

So what is a French Taco? It is essentially a flour tortilla, filled with condiments, piled with meat (usually chicken, or beef), french fries, lathered in cheese sauce, and then folded into a rectangular packet and then lightly grilled.

My initial thought was that it tasted a bit like European style shawarma, but to borrow the words of the municipal newsletter of Vaulx-en-Velin, a suburb of Lyon (where it was allegedly invented) “In short, a rather successful marriage between panini, kebab, and burrito,” and over the last 14 years it has taken France by storm.

French Tacos have now displaced Kebabs as the late night drunk food of choice, with the biggest franchise O’Tacos growing faster than McDonalds in France. They have also now started to expand internationally and can now be found in places as diverse as London to Marrakesh. O’Tacos though are not yet in Cambodia….

What are French Tacos like?

I had come with low expectations, not because I thought it would be bad, but because I literally expected I was just going to get a French made taco, little did I know the culinary treat that lay ahead.

It is indeed served in a rectangular wrapped tortilla, which you then attack with a knife and fork, the treat that awaits is a meat, fries, and cheese sensation. You truly know something is good when there is literal silence when people eat, a silence only broken when my dining companion said “we should definitely come back here’

Electric Monkey is located on street 308 – AKA Bassac Lane and is part-owned by an intriguing French citizen by the name of Stephane Vanin. Stephane has been a professional chef for most of his life and has worked at top restaurants around the world, including The Savoy in London. How one might ask did he end up making French Tacos in Cambodia?

Covid has obviously been a terrible time for restaurants, but it has also been a time of innovation, and as Stephane put it himself “We wanted to make a really tasty snack that would look good and be easy to deliver hot, so I thought why not bring the French Taco to Cambodia”.

Therefore much like The Vine beat McDonalds to the punch and Mollys beat Subway, Electric Monkey have beat O’Tacos to Cambodia. But far from being a cardboard copy they are also innovating with the dish in really exciting ways, with the influence of Irish chef and co-owner Kevin MacDonagh being very apparent.

Electric Monkey are now selling an “English Breakfast French Taco”, which literally comes with the works. We personally got to bond over the question of “Ketchup, or HP sauce”? With us both agreeing over a beer that anything but HP sauce would simply be an abomination.

Oh and they have a great bar

This is a small update on the original article, but we previously forgot to mention that as well as being home of the French Taco, Electric Monkey is also just a great place to hang out. The bar is situated at the mouth of everything Bassac has to offer, the drinks are well priced and there is usually a great atmosphere, largely driven by the charismatic owners and managers.

They have also recently come up with some very choice upgrades that warrant and extension to the original artcile. Firstly they are no longer closed on Monday’s, but instead offer a “pop-up” Thai restaurant – which you can read about here, but they also have a great pool table on the second floor.

So, don’t come here expecting Mexican tacos, come here with an open mind to try something new and fantastic. And not only that, it is quite simply a great bar ran by great people, which is one reason I for one keep coming back.

French Tacos at Electric Monkey – It’s a thing

WTF are French Tacos?

What are French Tacos like?