Restaurant Overview

I am sure you're thinking to yourself, "Good Sushi in a Thai Restaurant?", at least that was the first thing I thought when Apprentice Becky told me about her favorite Play Time spot. There are two Thai Spice locations, one in Austin and one in Lakeway, but the location in Austin does not serve sushi. Master Swaying Petals and I jumped into my car and took off on our 45min adventure to finding this spot.

Restaurant Atmosphere:

First off, it's in a strip mall, and although we don't take away Dragons for that, if your interior looks like it's been given as much love as the exterior of a strip mall, that's when we begin to wonder. When you walk in you notice some tables to the right, the sushi bar slightly to your left, and an even larger room with more tables to your far left. They tried sitting us in the larger room but Master Swaying Petals and I moved ourselves to the sushi bar so we could talk with the Chef. The sushi bar itself is pretty small and nothing spectacular. It just seemed like a typical strip mall decorating job with feeble attempts at fitting in with the upscale society that lives near by hanging large and vague paintings on the wall.

Service and Hospitality:

One word: Garrett! Thai Spice in Lakeway could have easily been stamped with a 2 Dragon service rating had it not been for Garrett. Garrett isn't just a host, he's more of a Maitre de. Either he'd give Tom Cruise a run for his money in acting, or he really loved his job. Aside from him, the service was bad this night. We happened to run into Apprentice Alexandra, a Thai Spice regular, who asked me not to look poorly on the service tonight because the crew working this evening was known to be a little slower. Check out the pictures on our Facebook Fan page of the dishes that got stacked up next to us while eating.

Nigiri Sushi From The Menu:

Salmon
This salmon was so fresh I ordered 3 orders of it for myself. On the last order, the Chef started getting playful and wrapped my salmon in the shape of a fish pictured to the left.

Mackerel
Although I'm not much of a Mackerel lover, Garrett insisted I try it. Still not a lover, but I can full appreciate the cut proportion. If you like mackerel, this is your place. Not only was the garnishment delicious, but you could barely see the rice under the thick cut of fish.

Toro
When you look at this picture, it congers up images of garlic tuna, but this is what they served as Toro. Frankly, the Hamachi looked more like Toro than the Toro did. Finally, the beauty of Toro is that it needs no partner, it's delicious and flavorful all on it's own. So when I saw masago and eel sauce on it, I thought to myself, "Why?"

Sushi Rolls From The Menu:

Volcano Roll

Thai Spice Lakeway, Texas

Inside: Shrimp Tempura, Tuna, Cream Cheese, Avocado
Top: Tuna, Scallops and Crap Meat
Simmered.
Where do I start for our newly elected Roll of Fame entry? Do I start with presentation? 5 Dragons! Do I start with flavor? 5 Dragons! or should I just let you imagine the flavor combinations mixed together and bursting in your mouth with every piece you engulf. Yup, It's that good!

Chef "J" Roll
Tuna, Salmon, White Fish, APPLE, Thai Pepper, Masago and Soybean Sheet.
Master Swaying Petal ordered this roll so I had no idea what to expect when I took my first bite. In the beginning it tasted great, the apple was a unique fresh twist to the traditional combination of fish and sauces and rice and... However, after taking 3 cuts, by the time that 4th one entered my mouth I started wondering why Apple was there to begin with. It's like when you get something that you think is really cool, only to be disappointed with what it actually turns out to be. This is definitely a SHARE ROLL, because eating too much of it makes you sick of that apple.

Paradise Roll
Salmon, Yellow Tail, Crab Stick, Avocado in Cucumber Wrap without Rice.
Known as a Candy Cane style roll because it has no rice, it's by nature more healthy because it has less carbs. However, with all the sauce they put on it, I think they made up for the difference. Although I'm not a fan of cucumber, it was definitely a better roll than I expected.

Thai Spice All Rolled Up

It's rare that on a first Play Time excursion you find yourself staring at a Roll of Fame roll. If Thai Spice in Lakeway would put some effort into the decor and service was better, this would be an easy 5 Dragon. If anyone knows of a sushi spot in Lakeway that is better than this, let me know, because this is going to be hard to beat. The rolls got a 4.5 and according to Apprentice Becky, I didn't even have some of her favorites. May need to re-review it soon!

• Hours: Mon-Fri 11AM to 2:30pm, Mon-Thurs 5pm to 9:30pm, Fri-Sat 5pm-10pm, Sun 5pm-9:30pm
• Phone Number: 512-263-2221
• All You Can Eat? No
• Reservations Needed? No
• Website: HTTP://WWW.THAISPICEAUSTIN.COM/
• Pricing: average