Thai Lada

New waitstaff is much improved in quality of service; their quiet, lovely, and friendly nature reminds me of the Thai nation itself. It is so good to feel this welcome.

Love their Thai tea. And the Thai Coconut soup is a must. The curry is very good also. As for appetizers I’ve had the fried corn cake things and the Thai Lada Platter I would recommend both. The great thing about this place is that it is good and literally down the street from our house. Stop on by the food is really good.

1) They are severely understaffed so I won’t fault the servers, but they had 1 person seating people, taking orders, serving food, and handling payments for all tables, so service was slow.
2) The masaman curry was lukewarm (should’ve been hot) but the flavor was okay.
3) I had the egg drop soup that’s available for all at lunch, and I think that’s what made me ill. It could’ve been the curry or the egg roll, but I’m pretty sure it was the soup. Right after I got back to the office, I was on the toilet with an upset stomach.
Won’t be coming back!

Thai Lada ended up being a back up place on New Year’s Day that we chose because of its moderate reviews. I’ll say it’s a good back up place, especially since our regular spot closes for Chinese new year soon.
He had the Basil Fried rice and it was good enough. I had the Pineapple Curry which was a surprising flavor and a wonderful new find.
We both had five chili spicy, but I’d say it came out as a two at best. I will definitely start higher next time!
We both had the Thai Tea and it is MELT IN YOUR MOUTH GOOD. I am craving it right now. Stop by just for that if you’re in a hurry.
The inside is very nice and they have a large patio with heaters and plenty of group seating. Located in Galleria like shopping center with apartment I think. Plenty of retail parking though.

Pretty good! Service was good, food was tasty! The best part was the serving size was pretty big. Had the Tom yum soup, Thai tea, Panag curry and a order of noodles (forgot the name but the one pictured on the menu).
Only reason I deducted a star was the Panag was filled with green Beens and tofu. There wasn’t any variety with the vegetables and they kinda tastes frozen not fresh.

Worst service ever. We arrived there and she said sit wherever you want. We sat and waited at a table for 30 min and still no one turned up at least with water or a menu card. I don’t expect to get food before an hour of your arrival but at least I expect water and a menu card! Show some respect for customers! I asked her for a menu card and she said «I’m busy». I am never going there again. There are many Thai restaurants that offer better food and awesome service.

It gets busy during lunch hours and there is only one server who waits on all 10 – 12 tables. I think overall quality of food is great, service is mehh, and there is convenient parking. They do have free soup (tasty) for patrons waiting on their meals, but it is on a first-​come, first-​serve basis so be sure to grab some earlier. I had regular pad thai, which was great especially since I was able to take half home for another meal.
I work just across the street so this place is extremely convenient but I’m not sure I would make the trek from downtown Austin.

Again, I think this is deserving of 3.5 stars, but am limited by the options Unilocal provides. Brian C. and I had been out and about on a cold and rainy evening and decided we were hungry and wanted something to warm us up. I knew that Thai Lada was on our way home and had seen it driving by a few times and always wondered what it was like (I had been to the former Greek establishment so knew the space was small and cozy). This popped to my mind and we did some research using my trusty Unilocal app and decided to roll the dice and stop in for dinner. It was packed on a Friday evening, which we took as a good sign. We got one of the last open tables and took a look at the menu. He opted for a soup and Chicken Pad Thai. I went for the Pad Kee Mao with Chicken. I do like that they offer you a heat rating from 1 to 5. Not quite sure what their definition of spiciness was, I went for the middle of the road 3 and was happy with my choice. The food was served hot and to order (I had asked for the mushrooms to be left off of mine). I was able to finish my serving. Brian took part of his Pad Thai home and said it was as good leftover as it was prepared fresh. It was certainly a welcome warm up on a cold evening and I think the food was good overall.

Delicious food, friendly service, and good prices! Our group tried several menu items — appetizer sampler, golden bags, Tom Kha soup, pineapple fried rice, and several noodle and stir fry dishes. Everyone loves their food. We will definitely be back!

Food was good, service was just ok.
The food, while good, was nothing to get too excited about. The portions were a little small, and the flavor was average. Only one server on staff for a weeknight dinner, so don’t expect a refill.
I will probably not return, Ka Prow is not much further and is so much better for Thai in North Austin.

Thai Lada is a gem on Parmer Lane. We recently moved here and have frequented this restaurant several times. Each time the food is exceptional and consistent!

I’ve been wanting to try this place for awhile, but every time I was in the area, it was right around that time they close in the afternoon.
Today, we were out of dinner options at home, so I broke my no-​take out streak and called in my order. I got the pad kra pao, requesting chicken and shrimp. I also ordered some veggie spring rolls. I’m already being bad; why not?!
I was told 15 minutes, and was pleasantly surprised to find my food ready to go right on time. The employee that checked me out was nice and courteous. Off I go!
Then I get home, and was… surprised. Not only was the portion a little on the skimpy side for $ 12, but the chicken was cut up so small that it honestly didn’t look like chicken. It actually looked like it’d been pre-​chewed and put in my to-​go container. Not very appetizing looking.
I didn’t feel like making another trip to the restaurant to have this addressed, but prayed my observation about the «ABC» chicken wasn’t true. At my old go-​to-​Thai place, I was accustomed to slivers of chicken that still looked like chicken. Even Muangthai had slivers. And the shrimp? I had maybe 3 – 4 shrimps. Why is that worth another $ 1?
I really want to give Thai Lada at least 3 stars. The veggie spring rolls were great (even if the sauce was overly watery for me), and the kra pao wasn’t bad either.
However, I shouldn’t be scared to eat my food. Next time, I’ll request either just shrimp, or ask about their cooking style with the chicken.

The food is awesome, the environment is pleasant, and the server is friendly and attentive… What else can you ask for? Another lady in the restaurant was being very grumpy and making a scene by treating the server terrible, but the server kept her composure and tried her very best to make the lady happy. The lady was one of those angry at life kind of people who clearly was just looking for any reason to be mad and grumpy.
But I really enjoyed the food and the restaurant and will keep cling back!

The most awful meal I have EVER had with the most horrendous service!
The soup was flavorless and the only veggis in there were mushrooms. I’ve had the same soup (Thom Gha) many many times in many different restaurants and it is supposed to be very flavorful…
The steak salad was so spicy it was ridiculous!
The server never offered to take it back and change to another dish, instead offered rice???
Then she took the soup away before we were done with it…
Didn’t want to take anything off the tab even though ²⁄₃ of the salad was sent back and some of our soup was taken away before we were done with it.
I used to own a restaurant for many years and this kind of poor customer service combined with bad policy from the owner is astounding to me!
Don’t bother going there, don’t waste your money, there are so many other really good places in town…

From the outside I suspected this would be a chick cute formal looking restaurant but the inside truly has a café kind of vibe. I liked the string lights on their patio though and the vibe on the patio was nicer. The food wasn’t bad, the gyoza was normal, and the parang curry was nothing to write home about but the pad kee Mao was pretty good! Good spice and flavor. The wait staff was nice but he was definitely the only person working all the tables so he seemed a bit stretched. The price was fair and one of the only Thai places in that part of town. Decent overall, but not necessarily an experience or anything that blew me away.

I was really hoping for a better experience, since this place is so close to work, but sadly, it looks like I’ll have to find another place. I started off with the Chicken Satay, which was pretty good, if not a tad greasy. The peanut sauce was good, but better in moderation, or it’ll overpower the chicken easily. I had the Pad Thai as my main dish, and opted for tofu since I already had some chicken. Beef was $ 1 extra :(. The dish looked pretty, just like the satay, but didn’t taste as good. It was rather bland. Maybe it was because I got tofu and I’m used to the meat flavoring the rest of the dish. Or not.
Service was okay, but a bit slow. I needed a whole hour for lunch, despite the drive being just 7 minutes and myself being a rather fast eater. The restaurant does look nice and clean though.
Not impressed with this place, but it’ll do in a pinch I suppose.

That was nice to know that there was no MSG in our food. I was a fan of the Thai tea which kept me on a buzz til midnight. Lemongrass soup (basically Tom Yum) was perfect. So we start with 5 stars.
1) Green curry chicken lacked spice, flavor burst, or green tint. Eggplant did not soak up enough juice to soften it to a point where the curry infused the plant. Nor were there enough plant varieties to make it a traditional green curry.
2) Pad Thai required generous servings of sriracha and lime to create the zing and fling of the noodle dish I am used to in Thailand. I am easy to please when it comes to dirtying a dish with Sriacha and lime, but I was disappointed. This was not authentic, and though I can see the trend here with Austin ‘going local’ with ‘local ingredients’, and that it’s as good as Thai food might get here, I still stop the buck here. It’s simply not good enough.
I know they can do better. It’s very difficult to make bad Thai food, but hard to perfect. The meal was decent, but I’m not making the pit stop in this random road to grab a bite any more. Make your way down the 45 to Thai Spoon and give them a shot.

The owner is super friendly, and, full of information about Thai cuisine. She doesn’t use MSG and she grows her Herbs. Hey! That’s what she said and I did see some basil on the cool covered patio. This restaurant focuses on home style cooking which is alright with me. Kinda like going over to a friends house and having their mama cook for you I reckon.
I’ve had several of their dishes and have been impressed each time. The one dish that really deserves (ok they all do) a spotlight is the Thai Omelette that I had one Saturday. It’s a omelette chocked full of pork, peas, mushrooms and carrots. It comes with a brown sauce for dipping. Squeeze a lot of sriracha on it and pig out! You’ll need a fork with this one though. As I recall Thai’s originally used their right hands for eating.
Eventually they graduated to the fork and spoon, then on to the chopsticks. What Asian Country hasn’t China influenced in some way or other in cuisine? Ooops! Got side tracked. Back to the food. Shit here is damn good. Plain and simple. I’ve loved everything. They are very consistent with the quality and freshness and the perfectly cooked veggies. They do them right every time. As for the noodles? Well, sometimes they overcook like Muangthai does.
Another dish I want to give a shout out to is the Pad Kee Mao. This translates to «Drunken Stir Fry (Noodles)» and is a common street vendor dish in Bangkok. Another Chinese influence and it is freaking delicious here. This dish is so flavorful you can’t stop eating it. It’s a little more oily than I’m used to, but, it works.
I get pretty much all of my dishes with soft (fresh) tofu and they get it right every time. Their spice level is a bit Americanized if you ask me. I’ve ordered level five here and it was nice. However, if you’re wanting SPICE, start with a seven.
**NO MSG**

The Good: Shrimp spring rolls were pretty good here. I’ve never had a spring roll with pineapple before. I’m not a huge pineapple fan but this combination worked!
The Okay: We had the Pad Thai and Yellow Curry (what we usually order at Thai restaurants). Both were okay, maybe a little better than okay. The Pad Thai was average but cooked well and the Yellow Curry was a little better than average. It was full with flavor but was lacking on beef. Think I got a total of 4 slices, maybe 5.
Overall it was a great experience, loved the home-​type feel this restaurant gave out. If I’m ever north again and craving Thai I would definitely go back!

We’ve been to Thai Lada a number of times since my review in July, and I wanted to give an update. Their outdoor dining on the patio is fantastic. Even in the summer, there is usually a breeze through there, so we’ve been able to sit outside a number of times. Nellie and Dallas (the servers) let us know their patio is also dog-​friendly, so we’ll be taking the pooch soon!
One evening my husband dined there alone, and said his dish was a little more spicy than anticipated. He commented about it to the server after he’d eaten, and out comes Manna (the owner) with some fried bananas for him to «help cut the spice».
Last Friday we went and Manna came out to visit with us again. She also showed us the basil plant she uses for her dishes. She prides Thai Lada of only having fresh ingredients.