Thai by the Park: Permanently closed and replaced with Vietnamese spot

A neighbourhood Thai restaurant known for its pad thai, tom yum soup, papaya salad, as well as $11 lunch specials has closed.

Thai by the Park had occupied the northeast corner of High Park until a couple months ago.

Besides Google reviews indicating that the location is permanently closed, the restaurant’s website is deactivated, and there’s another business in its place.

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Family-owned and operated Pho T & T Express had taken over the space two months ago, opening last week after a month of renovations. The Vietnamese restaurant features the same recipes as its parent location in Vaughan, which opened in 2009. The High Park outpost is owned and operated by son, Richard Nguyen.

Nguyen shares with blogTO that, unlike the flagship, the Toronto location focuses solely on crowd favourites like pho, rice, vermicelli, and staple appetizers like fresh rolls and spring rolls.

Those who might recognize the name might be surprised to learn that it is the same business that was previously located next to Robarts Library at 364 Huron Street. Opened only in November of 2022, Nguyen confesses that the first Pho T & T Express ran into “landlord issues,” closing the location and moving to High Park in February 2023.

“The area is exciting,” Nguyen tells blogTO of the new Bloor Street location. “We live close but there were no Vietnamese restaurants in the area. We thought, maybe if that’s the case, we’ll bring it to the locals here. Everyone is excited about the food.”

Pho T & T Express is now open at 1675 Bloor Street West.