After nearly 10 years spent operating beloved Thai restaurant Soi 38 out of a Wilson Parking above-ground garage off Mcilwraith Place, husband-and-wife owners Chavalit “Top” Piyaphanee and Phawinee “Tang” Suwankamnerd are moving their restaurant to 235 Bourke Street.

“As soon as all the permits and registration go through, we’re just gonna do a swap overnight,” Piyaphanee tells Broadsheet. “One day we’ll open from here [the current space], the next day we’ll open from there. We don’t believe in soft openings.”

The new restaurant, which will be off Royal Lane, is in the same mid-century building as Sydney chef Junda Khoo’s three upcoming Malaysian venues: Da Bao, Ho Liao and Ho Jika: Junda’s Playground.

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Piyaphanee and Suwankamnerd have been cooking out of the original Soi 38 with electric appliances. At the new location, which they hope to move into in October or November, they’ll finally have access to gas. They’re keeping their entire menu, but Piyaphanee says gas cooking means they’ll finally be able to add stir-fries and more deep-fried dishes to the menu. Diners will be able to watch chefs preparing food from the open kitchen.

The couple are also expanding the seating capacity. The new space will have room for 300 people (compared to the current 60), with more seating on the street than currently. But Piyaphanee says the overall feeling of the space will be the same, so Melburnians should expect the same bold blue and red tables and colourful stools they’ve become accustomed to.

The building at 235 Bourke Street was acquired by Futuro Capital in 2020 for $206 million. The property developers have reportedly spent millions on the building and are planning to add 3500 square-metres of new retail space.

Soi 38 is expected to close it current venue and reopen at 235 Bourke Street later this spring.