Named after The Drunken Clam, the bar frequented by the main characters of the animated TV show “Family Guy”, Drunken Oyster on Louetta Road serves seafood in a family atmosphere, owner Lucky Nguyen said.

“To grow, [we ate] crayfish and crab [at a big table] at family gatherings,” Nguyen said. “Seafood is more of a kind of social food.”

True to its name, the restaurant serves beer and daiquiris as well as oysters, fried catfish, snow crab and a variety of other seafood. Menu items are based on the company’s own recipes. Nguyen and draws inspiration from his Vietnamese heritage as well as where he grew up near Louisiana in Port Arthur, Texas.

“My family worked on a shrimp boat [they owned]— so I always grew up around seafood,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen said Cajun and Vietnamese flavors are similar because Cajun flavors have French origins and Vietnam was a French colony in the late 1800s to mid-1900s. Some of Drunken Oyster’s menu items, such as crawfish or shrimp, can be made with a Louisiana-inspired spice blend or a garlic butter sauce with Asian seasonings.

Nguyen has added several dishes to the menu since it opened in 2013, including charcoal-grilled oysters topped with cheese, butter and seasoning as well as Creole rice, which resembles a stew like etoufée or bisque, did he declare. Nguyen said he plans to add more grilled options as a healthier alternative to fried entrees.

Nguyen was a mechanic before opening Drunken Oyster, but he said he dreamed of opening his own restaurant. It took years of saving before he said he could afford to own a small business.

“You want to do certain things in life and follow your ambition and your goals, and if you keep saying it and don’t do it, you never know if you can get there or not,” Nguyen said. “So I took a chance and played and believed in myself, and we’re still here after five years.”

drunk oyster
7110 Louetta Road, Spring
832-843-6196
Hours: Mon.-Sat. 11am-10pm, Sun 12pm-9pm