1801 N. Shepherd (The Heights) Houston , TX 77008 713.955.4765 laluchatx.com (Temporarily closed)
Channeling the owner’s memories as a child of the venerable San Jacinto Inn, long since closed, La Lucha’s menu has revived the spirit of the old Inn’s menu. As a young boy, I remember a vast dining room overlooking the Ship Channel and Battleship Texas, and white-jacketed waiters everywhere. There was no printed menu; once seated, the food simply started coming. Raw oysters in season; fried chicken; hot biscuits, butter, and honey; cold boiled peel and eat shrimp; fried Gulf trout. All you could eat. At La Lucha the format is more like that of today’s normal restaurant, but menu offerings invoke memories from the distant past. Clever cocktails with intriguing names: Gentlemen’s bet * Third date * First things first * Eleventh hour * All night * You’re Welcome Sea food: Peel & eat shrimp, cocktail & remoulade * Wood roasted oysters, smoked jalapeno or parmesan garlic * Shrimp & pork belly dumplings * Ceviche * Pollo especiale, fried chicken, whole or half bird, biscuits, pickles, and choice of dipping sauces Etcetera: Deviled eggs w popcorn shrimp * Chowder fries, bacon, blue crab chowder * Shrimp remoulade, shaved iceberg lettuce * Fried oyster loaf, Duke’s mayo, dill pickles * Blackened catfish * Crawfish bread (po boy) * Redfish on the half shell, red posole, radish, cabbage, lime * Crispy shrimp tacos, American cheese, spicy arbol chile * Crispy crab fingers Sides: Yeast rolls, honey butter * Fries, smoked oyster mayo * Collard greens w kimchi * Corn fritters, jalapeno ranch * Green salad
