Montreal’s Oldest Thai Restaurant Files for Bankruptcy — and Other Closures

MILE END — Longtime Laurier Avenue Thai restaurant Chao Phraya is closed, and has a bankruptcy notice posted in its window at the corner of Clark Street. The restaurant made a post to Facebook a few weeks back that announced the closure and thanked staff and customers, but did not mention the bankruptcy filing or any other reason for closure. Chao Phraya was one of the first Thai restaurants to open up in Montreal, and enjoyed a long run — 31 years, to be precise, making it the oldest in town at the time of its shutter. It was certainly popular for much of that time, but seemed to have faded in recent years — plus the last time a critic visited, it drew a fairly measly one and a half stars (although that review was in 2009, so it’s probably not to blame).

PETITE-PATRIE — Cozy St-Zotique E pastry shop Pâtisserie Bicyclette has closed its doors, amid some apparent drama with a landlord. In a long post on Facebook, owner Ariane Maurice detailed the reasons for the closure — in early 2018, the building was sold, and the new owner told her that when her lease was up for renewal, the rent would be hiked significantly. (Maurice also claims in the post that the landlord illegally evicted residential tenants above the bakery.) In any case, Maurice arranged a potential location in a former Soupesoup by the Jean-Talon Market — however, those plans are still ambiguous, and Maurice has effectively put the business on hiatus for now, while leaving the door open for a return.

OLD MONTREAL — The W Hotel seems to be having some issues with restaurants of late, as it has just closed a second restaurant in two years. Nom Nom Cantine opened a little over a year ago, offering French-pan Asian fusion dishes with prominent Washington, D.C. chef Eric Bruner-Yang at the helm. Despite the hideously cloying restaurant name, it drew at least one good review, but apparently, something wasn’t working out, as it’s now gone, and its official site requests visitors “stay tuned [for] the next W Montreal culinary concept”. Prior to Nom Nom, the hotel had another fairly short-lived restaurant, Ê.A.T. (Être Avec Toi), which lasted just two years — it and one of the hotel’s bars were operated by New York hospitality firm BPC, and were closed when the W Hotel and parent company Marriott decided to take back control of food and beverage services at the W Montreal. Eater has reached out to find out what’s in store for the hotel next.

DOWNTOWN — Sherbrooke Street French restaurant Le XVI XVI (the one with the robot bartender) appears to be temporarily closed: a Facebook update states that a burst water pipe means the restaurant required emergency electrical work, forcing it out of business for now. The restaurant plans to reopen, but there’s no clear timeline for that right now.

PLATEAU/DOWNTOWN — McGill-adjacent sushi and poke spot Club Soya has closed its doors after a couple of years in business on Sherbrooke. While the closure was announced on Facebook, no reason was given.

CÔTE-DES-NEIGES — Haitian restaurant Chez Thony is no longer, with its premises on Côte-des-Neiges Road being closed up a few weeks ago.

Seen any bankruptcy notices or papered-over windows in your neighbourhood? Tell us about it.

• W Hotel’s Nom Nom Cantine Is Open for Business [EMTL]
• A ‘Techno-Resto’ Complete With Robot Bartender Has Opened Downtown [EMTL]