Soi38 was an eatery tucked away in a car park, serving traditional-style Thai boat noodles. I’d tried both their crispy pork and beef noodles with the boat noodle soup and the clear soup and they were both soo flavourful! Their pork crackle side was another favourite of mine. The portions were quite generous for the dish prices. Loved the Thai-themed decor all over the eatery also.
I came to Soi 38 one night keen to try the boat noodles only to find that they had switched to a dinner menu. We tried the some dishes instead and they were very spicy. The dishes are quite small in size though and not as much of a great deal as the boat noodles. I hope to come back at lunchtime sometime to try the boat noodles.
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My Rating 4.5
My mind floats back to my trips to Thailand whenever I visit Soi 38 for their infamous boat noodles. So delicious and full of flavour – very authentic!
🔆LOCATION🔆
The cute little hideaway eatery is tucked within Wilson's car park on Mcilwraith Place. You can enter via Bourke Street or Little Collins Street.
The restaurant is very colourful and has a set up that looks like you're in the side streets of Bangkok. The register/counter looks like a make-shift tuk tuk! So cute!
🔆SERVICE🔆
The staff at Soi 38 is very efficient and prompt in preparing customers noodle orders.
On each table there is a menu where you select type of noodle flavour base, noodle options and whether you want it to be soup or dry noodle. It’s very simple but easy to order. You select which options you want, and then take it up to the counter to pay. You then receive a number which you place on your table.
🔆MENU/PRICE🔆
All standard noodle bowls cost $10.00. However please note this serving is actually a small size, so if you’re not particularly hungry or might want to order side dishes or extra meat, then this would be a suitable size.,
However, there is an upsize option for $15.00 which is my friends and I tend to order, as it’s perfect size!
Noodle options:
Sen Lek (rice stick noodles)
Sen Bamee (egg noodles)
Sen Mee (rice vermicelli)
Woon Sen (glass vermicelli)
Sen Yai ( wild rice noodles)
Mama (instant noodles)
Gao Lao (no noddles)
Select option of : Soup Noodle or Dry Noodles with soup on the side.
🔆VERDICT🔆
On my most recent and last visit before dine-in was not an option we ordered:
Boat Noodle with Beef (upsize), $15.00
Beef Thai Laksa (upsize), $15.00
The beef boat noodle is very authentic and delicious, with the distinct intense flavour of the soup combined with sliced meats and meat balls, rice vermicelli noodles, water spinach, bean shoots and garnished with garlic oil, fragrant coriander, spring onions and some crunchy fried pork crisps. Delicious!
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My friends and I visited this restaurant over the weekend. It is so obscure you wouldn’t know it’s there from the street side. It’s a tiny restaurant hidden out of sight next to a carpark.
We ordered the mookata, which is a Thai style combination of a bbq and hotpot. The set comes with a few meats, some seafood and some veggies and noodles and is for 2 people at $40. To be honest I thought the price was steep for the amount we got. The mookata was nice and it was fun cooking our own food but we wished we got more. We also ordered the deep fried pork belly which was crazy delicious - order it, you won’t regret it. The pork was fatty and juicy and crunchy all at the same time. We also ordered the fried chicken which was fried the same style as the pork (with lots of garlic) but it was way too dry. We also ordered the papaya salad which was tasty and balanced with sour, sweet and savoury flavours. It could be spicier but that is personal preference. The Thai milk tea we ordered for drinks was creamy, sweet and aromatic. All in all we had a good time.
Cheap, fast, no-frills, tasty... exactly what you would expect from a grest hawker place!
Emerensiana Vitalis Handoko
+5
Very yummy authentic Thai street food style! Really love the hot pot, scallop ceviche and thai lemon tea. Will be back for more. Service was very good too.
Can’t get enough of the rich, punchy broth in the beef boat noodles. Enjoyed all the ingredients except I found the beef slices a bit chewy.
The parking lot location and unapologetically hawker-style interior are unglamorous but signify that the food does all the talking. Be aware they are cash only.
The food was delicious! We got the hot pot. It came with all kinds of meat, noodles, veggies and an egg, and unlimited soup refills. All that only cost $30! It was pretty worth it. Would recommend. The environment of the restaurant reminds you of actually being in Thailand. It's a little warm in there but a good atmosphere.
Poor ventilation mean you and your clothes come out of the restaurant with cooking smell ☹️
We stumbled on this gem exiting the elevator of the parking garage. And we knew by looking at it that the food would be good. Proper Thai flavours. The real deal.
One of the best Thai style bbq steamboat can be found in cbd. Apart from that, we also order pork belly, pork neck, som tam, thai prawn salad and pork crackling. Too bad on that day I found hair inside the pork crackling but the staff generously took it out from our bill. Overall we will coming back soon to try many more dishes once they open on Monday.
Really nice Thai food! Pad satay is delicious and the green curry is creamy, sweet and a good level of spicy. Nice little hidden gem
Noodles that satiate my hot soupy noodles cravings!
Make sure to upsize and get additional noodles. I had the standard noodles for $10 and wished I had more noodles. The pork crackling is to die for
Soi 38 is well known for their super authentic and cheap noodle dishes. It’s located in a car park, and the ordering counter is a road side stall - it makes you feel like you’re in Asia. It’s a self-service concept, and it does get very busy! The dishes are about $10 a bowl - which is such a bargain! We had the Tom Yum noodles and the Boat Noodles with beef - both of which were super delicious. The Tom yum wasn’t like you’re typical Tom yum at any Thai restaurant here! The beef boat noodles were also really good, although the Tom yum was our favourite.
Consistently good lunchtime restaurant. Fast but not too fast, crowded but not too crowded, and cheap but not too cheap. It's pretty much the Goldilocks of noodle places. Just right.
This is a hidden restaurant inside a city car park and looking for it felt a little like a treasure hunt. The decor and atmosphere make you think that you are in Thailand which is pretty cool. We had the boat noodle, Tom Yum and crab noodle. The soups were all very flavoursome and the noodles were overall quite tasty. However I was a bit disappointed to see that the rice noodles in my boat noodle were broken up into small pieces rather than the long strands I was expecting. A tip for you next visit: if you are having the noodles for a main, order the up size, the $10 regular noodles are entree size only.
My partner and I had a very enjoyable time at the Soi 38, flavours from the broth were very homely and brought many great home memories.
This is place is awesome. I love the decor , feels like you are back in Thailand again. Love how they only do noodles , so that means they are made good noodles. I tried pretty much most of them. Their Tom Yum noodles are amazing! Oh and their crispy pork noodles , they always run out of the crispy pork. The broth are delicious , the Tom Yum soup are perfect not to sour , jst right. Service is fast, efficient and friendly. They always busy which is good sign , but not too long to get seats too.
Very authentic thai street food place! My second ranked comfort food apart form dodee paidang !!! Will come back very often!
I decided to try Soi 38 after recommendation from my colleagues. Woa, the restaurant is in the car park! It was easy to find tho! I went in peak lunch hour so I have to wait 20 mins for the food. I ordered dry beef boat noodle (come with soup on the side) and I was glad that I made this choice haha! The soup had a herbal taste. I choose eggs noodles which was springry and chewyn, which goes so damn well with the mix sauce. The beef was on the lean cut side. I have to order extra noodles as the portion was quite small. Next time i will try the crab noodles haha!!
I loved the boat noodles with beef. It was very authentic and same with the way the restaurant was decorated in a Thai style. I want to go back and try more dishes. I would recommend upsizing to the $15 large as it’s not so hot and humid in Australia and you can eat more than if you were eating this in a steaming environment like Thailand.
This is our favourite Thai boat noodle restaurant hidden away inside a car park. It only opens for lunch and you got to beat the queue. We have tried the boat noodle and the crispy pork noodles and it has transported us back to Thailand on many occasions. Only advise is go for the $15 bowl or you will be hanging out for more!!!
Brought my best friend for a nice authentic Thai food in the hidden alley ways of Melbourne CBD. The pork belly is a must try and that secret sauce is amazing. All dishes are seasoned very well and that kick of chillies are hot and perfect.
Their foods are super yummy!! Affordable price with $10 for a noodle, $13 for main (see picture below) and $30 for hot pot for 2. Located at a weird place but still survive thanks to their delicious menu.
Wow, a hidden gem indeed! A little shop tucked away inside a high rise car park opens its doors to the smells and sounds of Thailand. All dishes are $10 - you can choose your style (boat noodles, tom yum), noodles (rice noodles, glass noodles), protein, dry or soup - and they are delicious and hearty! Very good value. I absolutely love the tom yum with rice noodles combo, with a cheeky milk tea on the side 😋
We loved 😍
This hidden gem is located in a car park off of Bourke street. We really loved the quick service, generous servings and cheap eats!
Would recommend the crispy pork noodles.
Only dislike was the limited menu items
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3.5
If you anyone that knows a place that sells noodles for $10 please tell me. Soi 38 is located under a car park and can be very difficult to find especially if you’re not local to the area. But they sell the most traditional Thai noodle soups there at a reasonable price point.
Ordered:
Tom yum pork noodle soup $10
Tom yum dry noodle soup $10
Thai milk tea $4
Review:
I wouldn’t say this place is the most cheapest restaurant out there but it definitely reasonable. For $10 you get a really small bowl of noodles, I would reckon it can make a 10-12 yr old kid full not an adult, so if you wanna add more noodles or toppings it’s 3-7 dollar more. Despite that, the noodles itself were quite delicious, the broth was nothing like I’ve tasted it was light but flavourful it really let the squeeze of lemon (they offered a slice of lemon) shine through. The prawn and pork dumplings were good, as they used a whole prawn inside which showed the the wontons were indeed hand made. I personally preferred the dry noodles just because the seasoning on them was much better and if you want soup they do have a complimentary bowl of clear soup on the side for every dry noodle dish. I would’ve loved if they made the bbq pork they included to be more tender but everything else was executed nicely. I was expecting something different from the Thai milk tea but it waste the same with the one I make at home, (I bought a bag of loose leaf Thai tea for like $7 and last me for a year right now) so it’s not really worth it to pay $4 but it was ridiculously sweet maybe let the ice melt down a bit. It is a self serve restaurant so interactions with staff are limited, locals from the apartment and also Thai people come here to eat so it is pretty authentic.
One more thing, the tom yum soup had no Tom yum flavour what’s so ever! It just a really nice pork flavour which I needed up loving. This is the only reason why I’m not marking this place down to a 3.
I’ve always wanted to visit this little Thai place located in a car park because have heard how good & how authentic it is.. we came here during lunch around 12pm & it was almost a full house, luckily we came a bit earlier before the lunch crowd started.. every noodle bowl on the menu are about $10 except duck leg noodle which was $15. The portions however were smaller than what I thought it would be.. but you can upsize it with more noodles for $5.. they also served up pork crackling which was a bit too tough to the bite for my liking.. I had the beef noodle, the soup was thick & flavourful.. I want to come back to try the other noodle as I can see the dry noodle look yummy as well..
Located in the midst of a parking lot alleyway lies a cosy authentic Thai 'cheap eats' eatery.
$10 - $15 per dish.
Flavoursome broth and juicy meats cooked to perfection.
Busy during lunch hour which might not be enough seating space but the turn around is fast and quick. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
📸: Crispy Pork Noodles, Duck Noodles, Boat Noodles /c Pork
A very cute Thai place that serves good food at $10.
I got the beef boat noodles and the soup packs a punch! I added in chili flakes sparingly (as suggested by one of the reviewers) and glad I took that advice because it was so damn spicy. haha. The element I didn't really enjoy was the fried pork skins as they were too chewy and tough to bite.
Overall I'll say it's worth the visit and price. Portion is just right for me and will definitely be back to try the duck noodles! 😋
Cool authentic Thai spot in a car park out of all places. Great range food from noodles, individual dishes and hot pot - All very authentic! I will definitely come back. What a great gem!
This is a hidden little gem that is definitely worth treasure hunting for. Highly recommend the Crispy Pork noodles. The boat noodles with beef were pretty good too. Most noodles are just $10-15, so pretty good value.
A hidden gem that I kinda wish it will stand hidden. Place is located in an alley if carpark lot. However the food is amazing. Authentic and delicious. Would love to try everything in the menu.
Love this small establishment that full of gems. Been here couple of times and never get disappointed. They only have few menus so isn’t hard to try every single dish. My favourite will be crab noodle and crispy pork noodle. Yes, those two dishes are the most expensive on the menu.
Most of the menu is affordable which is perfect to have at the end of the month.
Will I be back? I already became regular customer here ^^
Typical Thai street food. They only open for lunch - late afternoon. Too bad they don’t open for dinner. Lunch time could get really busy. My favourite dish is the crab noodle soup. Wouldn’t mind to wait for a bit for this place.
I really like where this restaurant is situated and how it is decorated. The interiors and settings give a sense of Thai street food. The lunch menu is great with range of noodle soup or dry noodle options
I do love the lunch menu, which I can get some authentic Thai noodle soup. The location where it is situated is not a regular place for restaurant but that makes it unique
Delicious Thai noodle soup in a car park lot. Service is efficient. My go to dish is beef boat noodle with Thai ice milk tea. Perfect lunch spot.
I have tried both lunch and dinner menu. Lunch offer variety of noodle soup style. The tom yum broth is really flavoursome. While the dinner menu has more options. The hot pot is not that great, but I find other dishes yummy
If you’re looking for best authentic Thai noodles in Melbourne, with decor reminiscent of a Thailand street side restaurants Soi 38 is your place. If you’re a homesick Thai gal like me who misses her Tom Yum noodles like me then come here. A family favourite and for the awesome price of $10 a bowl you’d be stupid to pass it up. Some people are complaining about the portion size but one bowl filled me up and if you’re feeling real hungry you can always upsize for $15, I’ve tried and you get double the amount, so good!
Probably the best Thai boat noodles i have ever tasted in Melbourne city, including many options of meat, choice of noodles and toppings.Soi 38 is a good Thai option for lunch in city!
Good place for a quick lunch! Although the place is located in a carpark, it was cool inside, the tables are clean and quite comfortable to dine in. Portion was small though and there weren't many choices available.
Needed a simple lunch and something not too heavy. Decided to drop in at this bustling cafe that's located within a multi storey car park. I had the dried egg noodles with pork. The portion was a bit on the small side but the stock was flavoursome with several pork cubes braised in a rich soy sauce packed with unami. Milk tea was a bit too sweet for my liking. Would love to try the duck noodles next.
It's good, if a little basic. The food, and its presentation, gives you that whole street-eatery vibe, and their décor is definitely playing on that quite heavily.
Price tag isn't quite at south-east asian street levels yet, although it's pretty close!
The food itself is pretty great - we both had soups - and I had an ice coffee too, which tasted good. They made it with a coffee syrup that I've never had before, and it was great, although might be a little too sweet for some.
Worth checking out!
Delicious and authentic boat noodles, definitely makes me miss Bangkok even more! Good price for a standard bowl. Great service too as I don’t eat pork and they were accommodating to take the pork cracklings out for me. Highly recommend!
I love this place. The price, the interesting setting, and of course the flavours of these sumptuous Thai noodles. I've tried almost everything on the menu and I haven't been disappointes.
Affectionately refered to as "car park noodles", this is my go to place for lunchtime and it's a place I've recommended to others. So if youre on the East aide of The CBD, defo give this place a try!
We had a great lunch time at Soi . Soi 38 is the street number Bangkok. Here was recommended by my friend . I was so surprised that here comes with authentic feeling of Thailand street food. Food was 100% Thailand feel . You can’t miss pork crackling ! Thai milk tea was a bit too sweet for me ;) will come back again for dinner hotpot .
Was as excited as I was hoping for and then some! I’d wanted to come and try this place for ages. I can’t remember the name and I’ll update when I go back the next few nights in a row... I tried the soup with rice and prawns. Unusual and delicious. So fresh and tasty but still filling for a relatively small soup. And terrific value for only $10. Will be back tomorrow!
What a great little place! Hidden away, accessible to those in the know. This is Street food at its best. Definitely worth the quick searching to get there. Food is amazing and service is good
Brilliant food. Pork with egg noodles was spectacular. The broth was meaty and rich and so good i could drink a massive mug of it. The thai milk tea was great too
When i came to Thailan, i quite like Thai milk tea. I’ve tried a lot of thai milk tea in different restaurant in Melbourne but Soi 38 is one of the authentic thai milk tea. They known as noodle soup, i’ve tried duck noodle, the taste was so delicious.i’ll be back soon
Located ground floor car park building need times to look for it . But is worthy, the customer service is good . And remember this cash payment only , bring along your cash if not u hard find atm over these area . The food is tasty , price 10 per bowl selected only . So it’s reasonable. Cheers
This place is really nice, I tried the boat beef noodle with soup and the flavour is amazing was only 10$ the portion is reasonable, for 5$ more you can upgrade .. the only expensive was the crackling 4$ for 2 small pieces . But definitely I will come back for this amazing soup.
Very authentic Thai noodles soup. Ordered the duck noodles soup and was so so good. The thick soup had so much flavour and herbs, so unique. Different type noodles to choose from and price is reasonable. They take cash only so be prepared. Location is abit weird as it’s literally in a car park but the food is so good this place is always filled with patrons no matter the location.
[Closer to 4.5] I've been here 3 times in the last fortnight. In fact I'm here right now 😁 Cost per spoon of enjoyment, Soi 38 is very hard to beat. For $10, you can grab one of 4 meals (two of them being boat noodles, and another Tom Yum). The meals are served quickly, the service simple but friendly, and the dishes are always high quality. My favourite is the beef boat noodles. The soup is so rich and flavoursome, with ample ingredients. It's not a HUGE meal but it doesn't have to be at $10. There are side options but I haven't tried anything other than the milk tea, which was delicious! I always walk away happy after visiting Soi 38, and there's not much more you can ask from a meal.
Eat_today_diet_tomorrow
+4
This place is a bit hard to find as it is located in the car park area. This restaurant makes us feel like we are in Thailand. We had Thai bbq today. It was pretty good. The ventilation could have been better, considering its a bbq and hot pot place.
I had the pork boat noodle - dry version. Reasonably Priced and Good flavour. I have a thing for Dry Style egg noodles and this is one of the few places that do that version quite well. The place has the feel of a Bangkok street vendor to it which is great.
Food ✔️ unexpectedly delicious
Service ➖ had to wait for a few minutes for some of our orders
Staff ✔️
Price ✔️ very affordable
Ambience ✔️ if you don’t mind eating in a not so quiet room
Cool little quirky place tucked away in a car park, been wanting to try it out for a while but couldn’t due to it’s not opening for dinner. Had boat noodles today, was not disappointed at all. Loved the flavour and everything in it, will be back to try more if I’m around the city during their opening hours
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Simple & tasty.
Soi 38 is located in a side room of the ‘Secure’ Carpark lot in between Little COLLINS & Bourke St. The menu is simple and you fill out a small menu form then take it to the counter. You pick your noodle dish (we originally went with Duck Noodle & Tom Yum), pick your Noodle type (ie egg noodle, rice noodle), Soup (dry, half soup & soup), and bingo! There are a small range of side dishes also. Servings would set you back $10 with option to upsize for $15 and the Duck and Crab options setting you back $15. The Duck noodle dish was very fragrant. The soup base was extremely tasty and ample meat as well. The Tom Yum was great. Tasty and the base was very tasty. Have been to Thailand twice and can tell the dishes were authentic. The $10 serving size is probably not going to fill up the average eater. I’d say the serving sizes would be similar to a Hawker centre dish in Singapore or Malaysia. We ordered an additional pork boat noodles dish. I found this dish to be a lot sweeter than traditional boat noodles broth but each to their own. Thai milk tea was extremely tasty as well. I’d say on par to best Thai Milk Tea in Melbourne. Overall Soi 38 is perfect on a winters day for a Thai soup fix. Would return.
Do yourself a favour and jump in here for a meal. Extraordinarily fragrances woven into the wide array of authentic Thai dishes makes this hidden gem worthwhile.
Friendly staff, quick, efficient service and a modern, cosmopolitan atmosphere.
Reasonably priced as well. Will be back. Warning! Some dishes can be spicy!
You may need to wait for a table as this is quite a popular place, however, certainly worth it.
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With a queue as long as the dimensions of the store, I was pleased by the quality of the food. Authentic and full of spices and aroma - and spicy is an understatement (I was dying).
Ordered their most popular dishes and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Papaya salad was so fresh and full of flavour. And did I mention it was definitely spicy? I’m normally very good with spice but I was breathing fire and tasting nothing by the end of the meal.
The pork skewers were so juicy and bouncy, and that dipping sauce added a great kick to each bite.
The highlight of the meal was definitely the crying tiger steak. So succulent and aromatic. Would pair really wear with a bowl of rice or noodle dish.
The Thai milk tea was a great refresher with our meal, which helped relieve that burning pain. And it wasn’t too sweet surprisingly!
Expect a wait but the staff are working really hard and fast to bring out high quality and authentic Thai dishes. Definitely coming back to try their signature hot pot and boat noodles!
Food: 4/5
Value: 3.5/5
Service: 4/5
Ambience: 4.5/5
Definitely one of my favourite Thai restaurants in Melbourne. Aside from the unique location, the dishes are a big pull - there are many interesting options you won’t find at other Thai eateries in the area. Prices aren’t too steep but the quality is high. Glad to see several vegan menu items and a great natural wine selection. It’s also fun and cute that they use robot food runners. Be prepared that there may be a wait for a table but otherwise nothing should stop you from going here.
Really creative use of space, it feels like a restaurant in Thailand. The food is seriously delicious, really fresh ingredients, the flavours are amazing, it can be pretty spicy if you don’t have a very good tolerance. They don’t do reservations so plan accordingly at busy times but really worth the wait.
By far the best Thai restaurant ever. It's my favourite Thai restaurant of all time. It's the only restaurant that really reminds of Thailand. I love how flavourful everything is and how they don't hold back on the spice. Highly recommend this place!
Soi38 was an eatery tucked away in a car park, serving traditional-style Thai boat noodles. I’d tried both their crispy pork and beef noodles with the boat noodle soup and the clear soup and they were both soo flavourful! Their pork crackle side was another favourite of mine. The portions were quite generous for the dish prices. Loved the Thai-themed decor all over the eatery also.
They say don’t judge a book by its cover. This metaphorical phrase holds true here at Soi 38.
Soi 38 has the MOST affordable Thai dishes with great proportions for the price you’ll pay.
When I went here I felt like I was back in Thailand. And this definitely brought back happy memories.
The vibe and energy was AWESOME. Plus, the food was very delicious and tasted very authentic.
I would definitely visit again because I’d love to taste the other dishes.
And, without question, I recommend Soi 38 to my family and friends for the flavours, dishes, customer service and prices.
Went there for lunch and seems like only noodles are available for lunchtime. We ordered one boat noodle and one Khao Soi Kai, the boat noodle is okay but Khao Soi Kai is delicious. The soup base is very creamy and flavourful. Definitely would love to go back at night to try other dishes. Also, they have a robot that brings you food which is kind of cute.
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