The Elephant Walk

Specialties

We’re frequently misunderstood. Never a fusion restaurant, we’ve always been bi-​cultural, serving both Cambodian and French cuisine — a true reflection of the life experience of our founding family.

Founding chef Longteine «Nyep» de Monteiro — author of The Elephant Walk Cookbook — and her younger daughter Nadsa — now our Executive Chef — are native Cambodians. Nyep was raised in Phnom Penh while Cambodia was still a French Protectorate, part of what was known as «French Indochina.» They attended French schools, grew up enjoying both Cambodian and French food, and traveled extensively once Longteine’s husband Kenthao became a chargé d’affaires and later an ambassador for Cambodia’s government, with overseas posts in Cairo, Belgrade, Manila and Taipei.

It would be fair to say that each one of us in a position of responsibility at The Elephant Walk arrived here by accident. None of us went to school for this or has worked in any other restaurant but our own. The Elephant Walk is us.

History

Established in 1991.

Longteine [“Nyep”] and Kenthao de Monteiro, the Cambodian founders of The Elephant Walk, started their restaurant careers in Bezièrs, France, where they opened their first restaurant, Amrita, in 1980 featuring Cambodian food along with a few Chinese dishes. They ran Amrita until 1990 when they moved to Boston to join their newly-​naturalized American daughter Nadsa and her then husband Bob.

Together they founded The Elephant Walk in Somerville in 1991. The Elephant Walk in Boston, with Nadsa as Chef, opened in 1994. In 1997 the family opened Carambola at this Waltham location, a Cambodian-​only experiment.

Despite 7 solid years, the strain of managing two concepts, declining sales, and the gut feeling that The Elephant Walk was the stronger concept, got the better of the family. In July 2005 Carambola was renamed The Elephant Walk. Their suspicions were confirmed: Sales jumped 15%. Adding the French menu broadened the restaurant’s appeal and invited more guests with a taste for wine.

Meet the Business Owner

Bob P.

Business Owner

Bob Perry is an instinctive businessman and food lover with an unconventional background. Born in Massachusetts, he was raised in Asia.

His first and only management job working for someone else was at Herrell’s Ice Cream in Allston. What he couldn’t know was that this experience was to be his only and crucial training for his future career.

In 1985, he took a detour to Paris where he rekindled a teenage romance with Nadsa de Monteiro. The two married in France and returned to Boston. Nadsa’s parents followed Nadsa to Boston in 1990.

Nadsa’s family turned to Bob for advice about how to survive in their new country. Nadsa’s mother, Nyep, had run a small restaurant in France. Bob decided opening a risky restaurant was actually the safest thing for his in-​laws to try. Together they opened The Elephant Walk, the first Cambodian restaurant in Greater Boston.

Bob was the perfect business match for his mother-​in-​law, the West to her East, the brash enthusiasm to her quiet reserve.