Lao Lao Bar brings refreshing Laotian and Northern Thai cuisine to the Bay Street Corridor

Deepi Harish
7 min readMay 29, 2023
Lao Lao Bar | Image courtesy of Carbelle Djossa

St. Joseph is an unassuming side street in the Bay Street Corridor. It’s a street that knits together historic architecture with shiny modern condos. Five St. Joseph Street is the space that houses Lao Lao Bar, a beautiful heritage building that gives off a gothic feel.

Toronto lacks restaurants that cater to Laotian culture and cuisine. Co-owners, Jason Jiang and Seng Luong, had thought long about opening up a Lao-centric eatery. “This was always the plan. It was time to showcase Lao food, our heritage,” said Seng.

Seng and Jason are partners in business and in life. They were both born and raised in Laos. Although, they have no formal chef training, they know how to cook. This is evident to anyone who has ate at their previous Northern Thai restaurant, Sabai Sabai.

After closing Sabai Sabai, the boys thought it was the perfect time to travel and catch a break. Not too long into their travels, they received an email from their real estate agent notifying them that the space located at 5 St. Joseph Street was available. They were familiar with this address from its previous restaurants and nightlife. “We love this space when it was Wickson Social. It has great bones,” said Jason. When it became vacant, they knew they had to jump on the…

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Deepi Harish

Published Storyteller on Bon Appétit, The Food Network Canada, The Huffington Post, China Daily, Post City Magazines and more. Follow me at instagram.com/d33pi/