Whether you call it “Asian Cajun” or “Viet Cajun,” it’s no surprise that a mashup of Vietnamese and Cajun cuisines collided in and around New Orleans. It all goes back to 1975 when the Vietnam War—or, as it’s called in this Southeast Asian nation, the “American War”—came to an end. Tens of thousands of south Vietnamese fled and many of them ended up immigrating to the United States.
Many Vietnamese immigrants wound up in places like San Jose and Orange County, California, Orlando, Florida, and Houston, Texas. But they also settled in New Orleans. There are a lot of intriguing similarities between the Big Easy and southern Vietnam: they’re both former French colonies, they both have a delta nearby, they’re both rice-growing cultures, they both have a humid climate, and they both have rich culinary cultures.
So, it makes sense that the cuisines of these two cultures would eventually marry. And that they did. Sprinkled around New Orleans are a plethora of Cajun shrimp boil restaurants that are run by Vietnamese. The difference between these and, say, the most traditional Cajun boil spots is in the seasoning: instead of the bold Cajun spices whacking your palate, the Vietnamese shrimp boils are more balanced, as is the proclivity of Vietnamese cuisine: equal parts bitter, sweet, sour, spicy, and salty.
Whether you live in NOLA or are visiting, it’s worth diving into the Vietnamese-Cajun scene. Here are some of the best spots to do just that.
Big EZ Seafood
Located across the Mississippi in Gretna, Big EZ Seafood opened in 2015. And the name doesn’t lie: it’s big. So is the menu. In addition to the buttery crawfish and shrimp boils, you can also munch on seafood-stuffed egg rolls, whole Dungeness crab, soft shell crab, and fried oysters.
Bywater Brew Pub
You wouldn’t know it by the name but Bywater Brew Pub masterfully marries beer and Viet-Cajun cuisine. And to delicious results. Choose one of 12 locally made beers on tap and then feast on a menu items cooked up by chef Anh Luu. The menu often strays from traditional boil restaurants by offering some fairly inventive fare. Shrimp etouffee nachos are one example, as is the “phorito,” which uses all the ingredients of the Vietnamese noodle soup but wrapped in a tortilla.
Cajun Seafood
This family-owned Viet-Cajun eatery has four different locations around town. The original is on South Broad Street in Uptown and opened in 1995 by Viet and Nge Le Nguyen—making it possibly the first Vietnamese-Cajun restaurants on earth. Cajun Seafood has a long menu of po’ boys, even fried rice. But the main reason to come here is for the seafood boils; shrimp and crawfish are the most popular, but if you’re feeling adventurous you could go with the pig feet.
Hieux Boil Seafood House
From the owner of the excellent (and no longer extant) Namese comes Hieux Boil Seafood House, which opened in early 2021. Pick your catch and be prepared to pay for it by the pound, as is the custom, and then sit back and await your feast. If you want to splurge, the lobster here is excellent. There are also seafood buckets and platters of grilled seafood goodness, among other delights at this Mid-City spot.
Mukbang Seafood & Bar
Opened in 2021 by the owner of lauded Vietnamese spot Magasin, Mukbang Seafood & Bar was an instant hit the second they fired up their seafood boil burners. The restaurant has the usual seafood doused in a garlicky butter sauce, but also a couple novelties such as crab rangoon, bulgogi fries, and garlic noodles, a dish that was first created at Thanh Long in San Francisco.
NOLA Crawfish King
Located in Gentilly, NOLA Crawfish King is a fun, salt-of-the-earth spot to get your hands dirty with some buttery, spicy Viet-Cajun seafood. Like a lot of these Vietnamese-Cajun mash-ups, the menu here is big. There is everything from barbecue to overstuffed sandwiches to things like mac ‘n’ cheese. But, as the name suggests, it’s all about the crawfish at NOLA Crawfish King.
TD Seafood & Pho
Across the river in Harvey, TD is worth making the jump over the Mississippi for. TD Seafood & Pho has a hybrid menu of southern Vietnamese classics—think over-sized bowls of pho (with lobster tails in it), shaken beef, and banh mi sandwiches—as well as heaping portions of crawfish, blue crab, shrimp, and crawfish.
