Wednesday, March 09, 2011

One Thai Place Closes, Another Opens At Same Smith Street Location

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Though their Thai food was really good, I always thought it bizarre that Ghang at 204 Smith Street had a second restaurant literally a block away at 229 Court Street in the space once occupied by Miriam.
Just last week, a reader tipped me off to the fact that the Smith Street location had closed and in its place, another Thai restaurant called HophAp has opened.
It could of course be that the owners of the two Ghang renamed the Smith Street location, but a commenter on Yelp suggested at the end of February that the place was under new management.
Has anyone been there now that it's HophAp? Is it Ghang with a new name or a brand new Thai option on Smith?


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11 comments:

roopa said...

I don't have any concrete info on whether there are new owners or the Ghang folks just renamed, but I have a feeling it is new ownership - last Saturday morning I saw a Buddhist monk performing a blessing on the restaurant, but that's not to say that such a ceremony isn't just for a renaming.

In any event, the food at Ghang on Smith (never went to the one on Court) wasn't good - Nine-D is the place to go, closely followed by Em.

Nicholas K said...

I think it is definitely under new management, with new kitchen staff. My fiancée and I tried their pad thai and it's a completely different recipe from Ghang's pad thai (including way too much sugar in the sauce.) We'll continue to patronize Ghang on Court instead.

Katia said...

Hi Roopa, I like Nine-D as well. Was just there recently with a few neighborhood friends and we had a wonderful time.

John Zarrillo said...

Spicy Ghang Pan-Fry is the best thing ever, definitely on par with Em, Nine-D, Joya, etc.

Unknown said...

While I wish all of the neighborhood restaurants well, I can't help but think "What is it about Thai food that makes the places that serve it so ubiquitous?" I believe that the Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens neighborhoods have more Thai restaurants than any other type. Because almost every Thai dish contains massive amounts of sugar--and I don't eat sugar--my heart sinks at the prospect of Thai eateries on every corner.

Unknown said...

I think there are too many mediocre Thai restaurants in area, although I like Nine D and Faan on Smith. We need some great Indian spots! and Mexican and Greek :)

Will try Em.

Katia said...

Actually, you may want to hold off on WM for a little while. They got a really bad grade from the Health Department. It actually currently has the highest number of violations of any restaurant in the area.

http://a816-restaurantinspection.nyc.gov/RestaurantInspection/SearchDetails.do

I am sure they will clean up their act, if they haven't already, but since I just came across the info, I thought I would share.

Anonymous said...

I agree, way too many Thai places and we prefer Nine-D, compared to everyone else.

What we really need in Brooklyn is a good Korean restaurant. The closest option is the overly priced place in Park Slope. Any restauranteurs listening?

Anonymous said...

the people at EM are not Thai. They appear to be Chinese. But in any event I like them and the food. I prefer Chinatown places or Sunset Park.

Anonymous said...

cafe chili is good. what is WM?? The link doesn;t work,

Chiwitdee said...

HopHap is definitely not affiliated with Ghang Thai at all. It is a completely new business with new owners, Ghang Thai just wanted to focus on their Court Street location (which in my opinion is the much better location). As someone who has lived in the neighborhood for the past 10 years and spends a lot of time in Thailand, I can honestly say that HopHap has something special going on. I agree that Nine-D is probably the most authentic for this neighborhood, but in my opinion, HopHap comes as second best. I was extremely delighted by everything ive tried so far.

FWIW, they also have 6 or 7 100% Vegan menu options as well.