Encouraged by the culinary success of family and friends, Vicki and Tut Vicha decided to make their own mark in the restaurant industry 26 years ago with the opening of Thai Spice Restaurant.

The Thai restaurant opened in Austin on Parmer Lane in 1998. When an opportunity for a location closer to home came around, though, Vicki said it just made sense.

“I live in Lakeway, and my kids, they all went to Lake Travis [ISD],” Vicki said. “At that time in Lakeway there was not a lot of choice for restaurants, so I thought why not bring Thai food to Lakeway?”

On the menu

Everything at Thai Spice is made from scratch, Vicki said, from hand-rolled egg rolls to chicken dumplings.


Pad Thai is one of the restaurant’s best-selling dishes, offering rice noodles, egg, bean sprouts, cilantro, green onion and ground peanuts. A coconut soup called Tom Kha Soup is also a fan-favorite, Vicki said. The soup is made with coconut milk, chicken or tofu, galanga root, mushroom, scallion, kaffir leaf, and cilantro.

Although Thai Spice has had multiple sites in the Austin and Westlake areas over the years, the restaurant’s Oaks at Lakeway location is now only accompanied by a similar concept in Four Points known as Green Mango by Thai Spice. In contrast to Thai Spice, Green Mango also offers sushi from 5 p.m. to closing.

What else?

Alongside lunch and dinner menus, Thai Spice serves nonalcoholic beverages such as Thai tea or Blueberry Green Tea plus a variety of alcoholic drinks such as beer, wine and sake.


Indoor and outdoor seating is offered at each location, and Green Mango has the ability to sit up to 50 people, Vicki said. Catering is also available.

Staying local

Listening to their customers and living in the Lakeway community is part of what makes Thai Spice so special, Vicki said.

“I think for me it’s personal because we live here. ... We serve our friends, we serve our neighbors,” Vicki said. “We listen to [our] customers, and we do care. I think that’s why we’ve been in business for so long.”


One more thing

When Winter Storm Uri hit the Austin metro in 2021, Thai Spice was one of few local businesses that still had power. They decided to put their resources to good use, offering free food and delivery for individuals unable to leave their homes.

“I’m so happy that I’m a part of it,” Vicki said. “Customers [have] supported me for the last 26 years, but when they cannot come to us, we bring the food to them.”