Hao Lien has spent most of his life in restaurants. The Lien family owned and operated a range of restaurants serving Asian dishes for about 50 years, including Sea Dragon in Austin. After construction near Sea Dragon caused owners to terminate the lease, Lien took it as an opportunity to try something new: American seafood and steaks.

After growing up in the South and traveling to different states, Lien found that he wanted to focus on American coastal cuisine.

“I just found an opportunity to do what I like,” Lien said. “And we went with it.”

Diving in deeper

C.R. Surf and Turf officially opened in The Railyard on Oct. 23, 2007 serving fresh seafood, steaks cut in-house and house-made sides. The restaurant brings in shrimp from the gulf, and cod, snowcrab, lobsters and clams are flown in from Maine.


“What we like to do is fresh seafood,” Lien said. “We have live lobsters, we have fresh clams. We pick up seafood every other day from the airport. These are straight from the source.”

On the menu

Menu items include fresh oysters, homestyle seafood and sausage gumbo, fried catfish, poboys and the bestselling lobster rolls.

During a field trip to Maine, Lien discovered that many restaurants serve lobster rolls made with frozen lobster. Once he tried a roll made with fresh seafood, he knew that C.R. Surf and Turf was going to sell it fresh. One box of fresh lobster contains about 30 crustaceans and depending on the season, C.R. Surf and Turf uses between four and eight cases each week.


“We serve our lobster roll one full lobster per roll,” Lien said. “So, in order for us to prove that to you, each lobster has a tail and two claws so we present that in every lobster roll that we serve.”

Put it in perspective

C.R. Surf and Turf is currently operating at about 75% of its original capacity after the pandemic, Lien said. During the COVID-19 shutdowns, the restaurant stayed open for to-go orders at the request of customers. Lien said he used personal savings to keep the business running and to continue paying employees their full paychecks.

“We almost shut it down during COVID,” Lien said. “But we didn’t, we kept it open for the community.”


Why it matters

Lien’s favorite part about owning a business is seeing people happy when they have a good meal, which inspires him to make menu items in-house. After owning the restaurant for 18 years, Lien also said he looks forward to seeing long-time customers grow up and revisit the business.

“We're just trying to focus on keeping the customers that we have, trying to accumulate more and focus on bringing in fresh product all the time,” Lien said. “And we just keep on going.”