By Belinda Cleary For Daily Mail Australia
04:47 13 Jun 2024, updated 04:47 13 Jun 2024
A popular Sydney restaurant has closed its doors for good – with regular customers claiming it is the latest to fall victim to the cost of living crisis.
Yok Thai in Neutral Bay appears to have ‘cleared out’ of its restaurant space in the affluent strip near Military Road leaving diners wondering ‘who’s next’.
Yok Thai is just the latest in a string of popular eateries going bust or shutting up shop including Big Poppa’s in Darlinghurst, Bistrot 916 in Potts Point and Tetsuya’s in Darling Harbour.
The popular up-market eatery was frequented by the likes of Gladys Berejiklian and often required a booking to secure a table.
One woman was shocked by the restaurant’s quiet exit from the bustling strip.
‘I was trying to make a booking and the website said “permanently closed”,’ she wrote in a post on the suburb’s local group.
The sad news promoted other shocked locals to respond and express their disappointment.
‘I am still trying to recover from the news,’ one man said.
Another local said it was ‘the best’ Thai in the city and always left him ‘super full’.
However the news, which spread quickly over social media, didn’t come as a shock to others.
‘Cost of rent and food supplies is killing all restaurants,’ one man claimed.
Click here to resize this module
‘I was surprised to see the site empty when I was there two weeks ago, very sad,’ added another.
‘It is gone, doors closed. Shop empty. Sign on door,’ added a third.
Another diner said staff had told him a rent increase was to blame for the popular eatery closing down.
Thankfully, the restaurant’s Manly branch is staying open for now.
The restaurant had a series of rave reviews – seemingly adding to the shock of its closure.
‘The food, the ambience, the service – it was one of the best restaurants in the city,’ one man said.
The restaurant offered tapas style meals and described the menu as ‘Thai fusion’.
The restaurant had operated in the area since 2013 – and weathered the ‘Covid shut downs’ of 2020 and 2021 before closing.