if i had a tail
Successful Thai restaurateur picks Montrose for new fast casual concept
Lukkaew Srasrisuwan is bringing Thai Tail to Montrose.
The restaurateur behind three successful Thai restaurants has set her sights on Montrose. Lukkaew Srasrisuwan has claimed the former La Fendee space for Thai Tail, a fast casual restaurant that’s set to open in May.
Thai Tail will combine the dishes from two of Srasrisuwan’s concepts — M Express Thai Kitchen, a ghost kitchen devoted to Thai-inspired takes on American street food that closed recently, and Kin Dee, a popular restaurant in the Heights known for dishes such as Thai Flower Dumplings and “Money Bags,” deep-fried chicken and shrimp dumplings. The restaurant will also serve Thai-inspired cocktails to-go.
MaKiin Concepts, Srasrisuwan’s hospitality group, has been growing steadily since 2020, when she opened Kin Dee. M Express Thai Kitchen followed with its menu of Thai-inspired takes on dishes such as burgers, hot dogs, and wings. Although the ghost kitchen closed, Srasrisuwan still uses the M Express brand for catering and will be bringing versions of some its dishes to Thai Tail, according to a representative.
Last fall, Srasrisuwan opened MaKiin, her most ambitious project to date. Located in the Hanover River Oaks luxury high-rise, the restaurant serves Thai-inspired dishes made with luxurious ingredients such as wagyu beef and lobster. It also offers a luxurious environment, a high level of service with tableside presentations, and live music.
To create the menus for her restaurants, Srasrisuwan employs to accomplished Thai chefs, Aphassorn (Bell) Predawan and Eakkapan (O) Ngammuang. Formerly of Yao restaurant in Atlanta, each brings an extensive resume to their work for MaKiin Concepts.
La Fendee, a Mediterranean restaurant, operated in the space at 1402 Westheimer Rd for more than 15 years. As CultureMap reported back in 2014, Saina Esfandiari divided her time between operating an optometry practice and owning La Fendee, which appears to have closed at the end of 2023 or early 2024. The restaurant’s affordable prices, late night hours, and hookah service made it a neighborhood favorite.
