Previous SlideNext Slide

Scrapes are best avoided in car parks, but just try not to drag a spoon around your bowl to catch every drop of tom yum soup at this longstanding favourite.

Concealed in a multistorey car park, Soi 38 draws lunchtime crowds for its steaming boat noodles. By nightfall fans are queuing for plates of barbecued meat: tender grilled pork intestine or black Angus brisket, their char punctuated by one of 12 papaya salads.

Fat scallops, crunchy pork and baby octopus lurk in the tangy soup of the “ultimate bowl”, a gargantuan dish that could easily serve three. Tofu larb’s honeycomb-like bombs prove bean curd can be as addictive as a bag of chips.

Bright plastic stools and industrial fans conjure a buzzing Bangkok street, a vibe the owners hope to replicate (sans car park) in Soi’s new Bourke Street home, opening in December 2024.

Soi 38 has relocated! After a decade in a CBD car park, the Melbourne eatery has found a new home on Bourke Street (access via Royal Lane). Find all the details below.