This is my go-to spot for inexpensive, decent Thai food. This place is by no means upscale. The food is more of a 'home-cooked' feel, but always hits the spot. It's counter service and they bring the food out to you after ordering and taking a number. Really haven't had anything here I disliked. My favorites are the papaya salad, and both the fried fish and steamed fish are excellent. There's a small chili/spice bar on the side of the restaurant (if the food is not spicy enough to your liking). But I agree with David N - the lunch special is where it's at for this place; for $5.95 you get rice and three small dishes, and if you dine in, there is self-serve soup from the counter - unbohlievable deal! Thai Spice Express and Chinese Cafe remain my two favorite cheap, quick, and dirty weekday lunch spots in town. Pro tip: there are multiple Thai Spice locations scattered throughout the Houston area, but this one is the cheapest. read more

Excellent food and very friendly, helpful staff! The food tasted amazing, and they actually listened when I said I wanted my food extra spicy. read more

totally oneof my favorite places to go on bellaire. SO cheap with SO much food!! we always end up over ordering but its okay, left overs! they thai tea is just heavenly! baked fish is a popular one. the curry is awesome! yellow, green....green is the really hot one!! served w/ chicken or beef. orange chicken is yummy. the sauce w/ the sate chicken is unique. i always seem the same people working. very nice people. always tip them. its not the typical resturant and waiter service. you order at the cashier, sit down, food/drinks brought to you, they some how remember you. then after you are done, you return to the cashier to pay. try it! you'll love it. i even order to go. menu is online so check it! read more

(3/5) environment: great for big parties but the place is not so new or super duper clean. (4/5) pricing: super cheap for food. (3/5) service: they aren't super nice and friendly, you still have to flag them down for what you want. You pay after you're done eating at the cash register. (4/5) pad see ew: good flavor, soft noodles, good amount of food and chicken and vegetables. (3/5) pad kee mao: usually this dish has lots of basil flavor but it was kind of bland (4/5) baked mussel: this time it was small but they gave a lot of mussels and the sauce is really good (4/5) pad ka praw: ground pork with good flavor and spicy. (3/5) papaya salad: nothing wow about it, decent papaya salad. read more

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As a fan of curries, I always love the lunch buffet that has a least three kinds of curry. They always also have at least one fish dish and a vegetarian dish. With tea and soup it is one of the best Thai bargains in town for $8.00. read more

I've ordered twice from this spot. The green curry was AMAZING the first time, like I wanted to bathe in the sauce it was so good. The second time the sauce was good but way to greasy, as in you could see the oil floating on top. The hubs got the pad Thai and he was not a fan. But this place is def worth the trip for the green curry! read more

My friends spoke very highly of this place so when I finally came here, I was highly disappointed. First, it's similar setting to a fast food place, you go up to the front and order first, they bring you your food, and you pay after, which doesn't make sense to me. Second, the food was extremely mediocre...It definitely is spicy but there's no flavor or taste really to it. The fried chicken was really tough that it was impossible to cut with a butter knife they give you. The beef and vegetable thing (not sure what it's called because my friends ordered this) had no taste to it. The only semi-good thing is the fish thing (not sure what this is called either) and I don't even like fish. Overall, food is just meh, I would rather go to Thai Gourmet or Nidda Thai Cuisine. Price is decent, but not enough to make me want to go back. What I ordered: - Sticky rice with fried chicken - Papaya salad - Some beef thing with vegetable - Some fish thing Pros: - Cheap Cons: - Food is meh read more

Thai Spice Express - Fish thing - Thai Near Me - Houston, Texas

Came here to pick up some food for a Halloween party. Food here is so good. One of the best Thai food in sw Houston. We had called ahead and placed an order. Pick up was smooth. read more

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My favorite Thai restaurant for fried tilapia! Plenty of side options! Impressed with the eggplant dish and I love the squid salad. read more

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The food here used to be good. Ate there today, no other customers were there. I should have figured something was wrong. Ordered a bowl of seafood and noodle soup.Ate about 1/6 bowl and left the rest. I won't be back and I suggest others look elsewhere for decent Thai food. A shadow of its former self. read more

Visiting from Cali, I wanted some delicious Thai food. We order fried rice, orange chicken, pad see ew and spicy soup!! Everything was outstanding! Service was excellent, thank you so much for the great experience:) read more

Thai Spice Express - Spicy soup - Thai Near Me - Houston, Texas

If you're in the mood for good Thai food, this is the place to visit. The staff of very friendly and will gladly recommend dishes if you need help choosing a dish. They will cater and bring everything to you, from a glass of water to bringing the food right to your table. The tables and clean and plenty to seating space. They also have daily lunch specials that you really need to try. read more

Thai Spice Express - Thai Near Me - Houston, Texas

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I ordered a whole steamed tilapia which according to their website was $14.99. Came to pick it up and was charged $19.99 for an 8 inch tilapia ( I measured). Very small, the size that you can get for $1.29/ a pound retail at My Hoa. It was very disappointing to say the least. read more

Thai Spice Express - Whole steamed fish - Thai Near Me - Houston, Texas

I love this place! Their curry is very tasty, a little on the spicy side but still delicious. Every time I go multiple people order the whole fish which also looks delicious. read more

One of my favorite Thai food places. Been coming here when I can for over 20 years! The original Thai Spice location. And I love when they have the mango sticky rice, but unfortunately today we didn't have any. I'm stuffed now with the 4 dishes we had and washed it down with Thai tea. Kids love it too! read more

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You can't beat their lunch special cafeteria style plates. For less than 6 bucks it comes with white rice, and your choice of 3 ENTREES!!! and a bowl of soup. The entree options vary daily, but usually they have at least 2 curries, a few veggie dishes, random meat dishes, and possibly a noodle dish. I have become fond of their default chicken curry and the fried fish. The third option varies, if I'm feeling it I can double up on curries, but nothing has been bad to me. I always clean my plate! The soup is available against the wall and usually it's a basic cabbage and pork soup. But just to add that to the combo is a great deal. If coming from the city, this strip center is basically the start of all the traffic hell that is on bellaire so you only have to barely get into it and you can get the heck out without dealing with all the headaches. There is a lot of parking so that is never a problem, and it's cafeteria style so no real service involved. read more

I love love love their tom yum and spicy beef salad. I can't rave about it enough. Not sure why I've never written a review here. These two are the perfect duo on a cold Saturday night. The first meal I'm having today after a long day of work and completely worth the drive!! The spicy beef salad comes with this lime and chili vinaigrette which is undeniable. The tom yum is always cooked to perfection! read more

Thai Spice Express - Perfect duo. Tom yum with chicken and spicy beef salad - Thai Near Me - Houston, Texas

Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I hate this place!!!!! I only ate here once and the food is disgusting. The worst Thai food I ever had! read more

This place never fails when I'm craving Thai fast food. Best time to hit up Thai spice is Lunch time! Very affordable. Worth each buckaroo. I think it's the best deal for $5.99 - three meats (dishes sometimes vary but usually it's a choice of 2 curries) rice, and complimentary soup. Recommendations: 1. Fried fish with spicy sauce 2. Crispy fried fish 3. Pad thai New discovery: Steamed fish - it comes out in a fish shaped hot pot. warning - don't burn your tongue, the soup starts boiling after a few from the hot pot. I really like this location. Every time I come back there are improvements. They are obviously successful so now they are expanding and opening new locations around town... but the Bellaire location is #1 for me. I've been going here for years. The food still excellentt! read more

Thai Spice Express - Steamed fish soup - Thai Near Me - Houston, Texas

This is one of my favorite restaurants in Houston. every time I go home I have to make a stop here! Their mussels are amazing and the spicy sauce they serve it with is sooo hot, but sooo good. I could probably eat one whole order of the mussels by myself and call it dinner and be happy. Other favorites here include their crispy fried fish and their Chinese broccoli. I also love their sticky rice, although they don't always have it with the mango :-/ Some people have said quality here is declining, but I haven't noticed it. Although, in the past 10 years that we've been coming here we have had "hit or miss" experiences. Overall, nothing bad enough to keep us away bc most of the time the food is excellent! read more

I used to love this place a lot more. It used to be a better deal back then before they spiffified themselves, putting up a fancy new sign and jacking up the prices by a buck or two to make it less value for money. It's an interesting cross between a self-service and full-service place: you find yourself a table, then you get in line at the front to place your order. You sit down at your table and the waiter comes by to put out the dishes, chopsticks, etc., and when the food's ready, the waiter brings that by, too. Most dishes are around 6.95-7.95, and it comes to the table hot and super spicy - just the way I like it. Sometimes, depending on the dish, my tummy feels like it's on fire and being eaten from the inside out. Aaaahhhh... spicy. :-) They also have this deal where you can have rice, choose three of the pre-prepared dishes they have in a corner, and take it away cafeteria-style for $4.95 per tray. This used to be $2.95 a tray back in the day, which was much, much better value, of course. Ah, the good ol' days... I love the food here though, and I haven't had a bad dish yet. I'm a big fan of their mussels and garlic sauce, their squid salad, and their beef salad, among other things. Yum! read more

It's been 3 years since the last time I came here to eat ( not that the food is not good; I just moved to another place ) I was with my gf, ordered Chicken+Seafood Hot Pot and nothing else. To begin with, the portion is huge with plenti of meat, seafood, and veggie. We actually had to bring half of it togo and it was already enough to be our dinner. The hotpot will come with either tomyum broth or regular broth. You can choose half-half if you want to try both but I suggest you to choose the tomyum flavor. Veggie was fresh, so was the seafood (shrimp, fish ball, fish, squid). The broth was flavorful, it was not much spicy so if you want you can ask them for more saté to add in. The place was clean, quiet. We are happy, satisfied and will absolutely come back. Knock off one star because the table we sat at was in the corner and the light was too dark. read more

Thai Spice Express - Chicken and Seafood Hot Pot! - Thai Near Me - Houston, Texas

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My mom loves to come here for 2 things. Their fried whole fish and their steamed? Boiled? fish. Fried whole fish: (5/5) always crispy and well cooked. The sauce is what makes this dish. I could use that sauce on everything, it's that good! Steamed/boiled fish: (4/5) the fish has a little broth that it sits in. It has your typical Thai, spicy snd sour flavor to it. The fish itself is pretty bland. I would prefer to dip the fish in the other sauce Stir fried Spicy seafood: (2/5) I think it was this item. I wanted more food so picked something else and was just disappointed. It was just pretty much green beans and few pieces of shrimp here and there. Would I come back? Only for the first two items. read more

Thai Spice Express - Fried whole fish - Thai Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Been coming here for more than 20 years. Big fan of their steamed fish, but they jacked up the price from 13 bucks to $20 earlier this year. That's pretty steep for a frozen tilapia. If that's a live tilapia, I can understand. They had a sign that said the increase is just "temporary"... Yeah right. read more

I could've swore I wrote a review about this Thai Spice a while back but apparently I didn't. This is the original Thai Spice have been going to for years and it's actually my Thai food standard. And I mean, every other place pales in comparison. I could name other restaurants but I'll keep that to myself. Waking in, you seat yourself and they offer counter service. Order, the food comes to your table and bam! The food arrives in no time. They have a sauce and spice booth. Let's start with the stars of the show! Thai Tea: The best. Hands down. Period. 5/5 Pad Thai: It's so moist and flavorful, with different levels of texture thanks to the bean sprouts and peanuts. I repeat! It's moist and flavorful, unlike most of the dry and bland alternatives. 4/5 Fish patties: Fried, moist and flavorful. Their dipping sauce adds a sweetness that can only be compared to angel tears. 5/5 Fried tilapia: Crispy fried tilapia with a sauce to die for. Their sauce pairing is second to none. Often imitated but never duplicated. 5/5 Fried tofu: Lightly battered tofu that's flaky and yet crispy. Bite into for a texture comparison with the softness of the tofu of itself. 4/5 Basil beef: Perfectly sautéed beef with basil and green onions. This is actually my favorite dish. 5/5 Basil chicken: Another flavorful protein combo. 3/5 Chicken satay: I don't know how they keep it moist but man! All of their dipping sauces are legit! Tom yum: Good flavor. Spiciness with hint of tartness. 3/5 I can go on an on but that's majority of what I usually order and eat every time! I've tried other restaurants and have always been disappointed. Thai spice is my Thai standard and their prices are so cheap! Feed a whole family for under $100 bucks! You will not be disappointed!!! read more

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Got our usual here, beef pad kee mao mild, beef pad ka praw mild, chicken cake salad. Had so many beef pad kee maos around town, this one has the best flavor by far, its not even close. read more

Got here on Monday around 12:30. Not packed, but in and outers. Got their lunch special which includes 3 sides, generous scoop of rice, and soup for $5.59 (+tax). They have about 8 options to choose from, including what appeared to be vegetarian and possibly vegan items, although you'd have to make sure there were no animal-based broths or sauces used. It's not Jasmine rice that's given, just plain white, which is okay I guess. For the sides, I got: Spicy chicken curry (yellow/red) - this was pretty standard and was good, nothing special but not spicy. Egg and tofu - not sure what this was, it had some odd seasonings and was sweet. Wasn't bad, but I wasn't too into the tofu that soaked up all the really sweet sauce. Veggie/tofu stir fry - pretty standard, not frozen veggies so that's a plus. Soup - you get your own soup over on the side. It's just plain cabbage and ground pork. There was a generous amount of cabbage and not just plain liquid, so if you're looking to load up on your veggies, check what soup they have before you choose your sides. All in all, I would come back for a quick and cheap lunch with variety. Or for takeout if I'm in the area. Portion is big. It's comfort type food for a rainy Friday night. read more

Thai Spice Express - Lunch plate , under $6. Pick 3 of about 8 choices, served with rice and soup. Free hot tea. - Thai Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Food is decently good and cheap lunch $7.50, but everything in line was kind of cold. read more

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What better time to come to my favorite CASUAL Thai restaurant in Houston than during their customer appreciation months (now until May 31, 2015), where: Baked fresh mussels - 4.95 Papaya Salad - 5.95 Crispy whole fish - 5.95 My must orders are the: Ground beef pad kra praw - you can also get 1/2 order of this dish with rice and soup for a few dollars less. Crispy whole fish - I don't normally like tilapia, but this tastes so yummy with the tamarind dipping sauce read more

I've been able to visit this location with my cousin and a good friend friend for lunch on separate days. On each occasion, I tried their fish dishes -- steamed fish and their fried fish. They are both great dishes! I'm sure their noodle dishes are good here too, but I haven't had a chance to try any. I liked their green papaya salad and their thai tea too. =) I have yet to try their Tom Yum soup. read more

The steamed fish and the yellow curry was delicious. The food came out quick and hot. I would come back here again to try out other dishes. read more

Thai Spice Express - Thai Near Me - Houston, Texas

I've been coming to this place for years and as sad as I am to say this, their quality has declined but the prices have gone up (for inflation, I guess). This used to be the only Thai restaurant that I would go to but now there are other places that I go to like Tony Thai, Thai Cottage, Thai Style Fast Food, etc. My favorite thing to get here is the pad see eaw (fried flat rice noodle) and I usually order to go. They give you plenty of noodles and meat for what you order but I have a big appetite and I can usually chow down some more. However, my sisters can only finish half of theirs. Other than the pad see eaw, I some times get the pad thai, but I think it's just okay in comparison with the other Thai restaurants. When we come here to eat in, we usually also order the Pad Ka Prao (ground beef), dumplings and the fried Tilapia. They're all pretty good, but not exceptionally good. Even though I still love coming here, this place is now mostly a to go only place for me. For dine in, I usually go to either Tony Thai or Thai Cottage. I really wish their price hasn't gone up as much as they have these past few years because one of the best appeals of this place for me was their prices. Now their prices are almost on par with the other fancier restaurants. Too bad. read more

Great food. I hadn't been there in years. I was given the shrimp Pad Thai instead of the Tofu one which I ordered but nevertheless, it was delicious. The Thai iced tea is too sweet. Now accommodating more folks and brighter, this is a great place. They have cafeteria style lunch specials for $5.50. They didn't look too appealing to me but that's because I don't like spicy food. They have free hot tea. I will definitely go back sooner and not wait so long. read more

Thai Spice Express - The Pad Thai is absolutely delicious. - Thai Near Me - Houston, Texas

The baked fish with lemongrass and sour broth was tasty. Great price for an tasty dish.. Would be great in cold weather when you got the cold.. The spiced made my nose runny.. Spicy but has a kick! read more

Thai Spice Express - Thai Near Me - Houston, Texas

Ordered food through Postmates last night. Really unimpressed with the quality. I selected 'mild' and 'non-spicy' for all dishes and everything was super spicy. My kids wouldn't eat the pad Thai or any of the other dishes. Lard Nar is supposed to be with meat and veg. We just got a small serving of plain rice noodles. Chicken sate was really flavorless and disappointing. The eggplant dish was supposed to be with meat and basil. What I got was 3 pieces of overcooked greasy eggplant, swimming in a ton of onions and jalapeños. Zero flavor apart from VERY spicy. I threw the lot out.. very very unimpressed! read more

I enjoyed Thai Spice when I was a kid, when I would go there with my family. But then I discovered the term "lunch special" as a college student !!!!! You get to choose 3 sides w/rich and soup for a total of $5.95 ... It doesn't get better than that. My favorite lunch special sides are typically (honey chicken, fried catfish, honey eggs, or the typical vegetable sides) My favorites are the fish patties, fried fish, orange chicken, tiger cried, pad thai, and their fried rice is delicious ... I'm sure I'm missing some but those are popular dishes anyway. The only one thing I don't like about this Thai restaurant would have to be their curry. I just prefer the red curry (only one I've tried) at other restaurants, most likely due to their sweet taste. read more

When I want fried fish, where do I think of going to get some? Thai Spice of course! I've been a fan of this place for years now. It normally does the job to satisfy my Thai food craving. Some of the items that we order every time are the fried tilapia, tom yum soup, fried calamari, and pad thai. Crispy fried tilapia with a sweet Thai chili sauce is scrumptious. The Tom Yum soup is good as well. They give you a generous number of shrimp in the soup. Service is great. The people working here are very nice. You order your food at the counter and then your food is brought out to you. You later pay for your meal back at the counter. Thai Spice offers good Thai food at a fraction of the cost. Love IT! read more

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I don't always eat Thai food, but when I do, I go to Thai Spice Express. Best spot for mussels, Tom yum soup, and tiger cry. This is my go to spot for cheap authentic Thai food. Their dips are absolutely devine! If you can handle the heat, try their sauce for the mussels. I always like to get extra mussel sauce and eat it with their steamed fish. You can't get the mussel sauce and not try the sauce for the tiger cry! It's the best! I'm a sauce kind of person so when the sauce is great, everything tastes amazing. The tiger cry looks like a flank steak that they grilled and cut it into about 8-10 strips. Sure it's bland, but the dip makes it oh so yummy. Definitely try it out. Tom yum soup... YUM! Im a firm believer in always trying out the tom yum soup when testing out a Thai restaurant. I love the aromatics that the lemon grass and galangal gives. It's that extra OOMPH in the soup that makes it stand out so much more than other Thai joints. Oh! Oh! Oh! Their Thai tea is BombDotCom. No joke. read more

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I'm really disappointed at the service of this place. I wanted to place a Togo order for pad Thai. I was going to order 3 to take to a party. The online prices shows $7.95, but they wanted to charge me $8.95. I asked them if they would honor it but instead they gaslighting me and said I was looking at wrong location. Then he went on to say that menu is old over a year. They do enough business to compensate for the $1 difference but instead they rather be stingy and rude about to me. They can keep their food. read more

Thai Spice Express - Thai Near Me - Houston, Texas

Love the Pad Thai, my favorite Thai place to come to, in addition with the Sticky Rice and Thai tea 10/10.