Henry Parsons Project - Pasadena (CA)

5 /5 Alan YDR: Delicious southern inspired food. Friendly service, great portions, well priced and delicious. They offer a seasonal menu and a great selection of desserts and cocktails/ mocktails. Indoor and outdoor seating. Make a reservation in advance as it can get busy.

5 /5 Zan Lee: A delicious, authentic Southern Style restaurant in Pasadena. I absolutely love French cuisine so American Southeast is also something I’m a fan of and this restaurant not only did not disappoint but it went above my expectations. Parking is plentiful as they have a large lot on site but also street parking is easy to find. The staff was extremely polite, everyone from the hostess to our waiter was very welcoming and accommodating. Dishes here are share size portions, aside from the entrees at the bottom of the menu, so we chose some of our favorites and just shared. We started with the Crispy Potatoes which were delicious and as expected. Next came the Biscuit with butter which may have been my favorite part of the meal. It was large and fluffy and went quickly. Followed up with the fried oysters (some of the best bread coating I have had in a long time it was perfectly fried) and mixed it with the Baby Lettuces salad. Mixing the crispy oyster with the buttery smooth salad was heavenly. Finally I finished up with the Crawfish Étouffée as I don’t see that as menu option often in California and it tied as my favorite dish. The roux was deep in flavor which tells me it had been stewing for awhile which is by far the best way to do it. Topped off the meal with the Banana Pudding and it too did not disappoint. Overall a delicious meal with a friendly staff and fair pricing. I would recommend to anyone. Also we sat outside next to the sidewalk so we were able to people watch all night. I will be back again soon.

3 /5 Sam Hosein: Nice restaurant with plenty of free self parking. We went there for a birthday party with a few friends. Theres indoor seating and an outdoor patio. Service is top notch. The decoration is interesting. Inside there are a few tables but the acoustics are horrible. Very difficult to hear or speak to a person sitting right next to you. Maybe the patio is better but there might be a bit of traffic noise. The food is ok at best. I suppose its NOLA but some of the dishes seemed out of place. The fried oysters were a bit in the salty side. The dipping sauce was good. The peach salad was good but nothing special. The tomato and cucumber salad was also good but also nothing special. The gumbo and pork chop, which I didnt try but my friends did, they said were good but didnt rave about it. The biscuit was good but also nothing special. The fried chicken was ok but nothing special. The shrimp dish was good but nothing special. The halibut was flavorless and dry. The steak was cooked perfectly. It was juicy and tender. It came with fries that were nothing special. The Chinese noodle was actually very yummy. Perfectly cooked, just the right amount of spiciness. We ordered three desserts since they wouldnt allow us to bring our own cake (this is the first time Ive been to a restaurant that has such policy) Surprisingly, their desserts are decent. Id say better than the rest of the food. The ice cream with peach was ok but nothing special. The strawberry pie was ok but nothing special. The berry cobbler was in my opinion the best thing they served. Im sure you see an overall theme... Good but nothing special. Im not sure what is all the hype about this restaurant. I found it overrated and over priced. Again, thats just my opinion.

5 /5 Diran Afarian: Grade A (94) The Biscuit is a must try. It was a bit doughy inside but the crust more than makes up for it. The Bibb Salad was simple but good. The Shrimp & grits, not my favorite. The Hangar steak was cooked perfectly, seemed it was done Sous vide and then just perfectly grilled for a crust. The dessert, Peach cobbler, was excellent with the vanilla ice cream. Asked if the peach was fresh or canned, the server said "From the farmers market on Saturday" nice. One very interesting thing happened, they forgot to bring the Gumbo and we pointed it out on the receipt, the server took it off the bill but came back and brought the Gumbo in a to go container anyway and said, " The kitchen felt you should enjoy the Gumbo on us anyway..." I thought that was a nice touch (extra 5% tip for that and definitely a bump in the ratings) You should show appreciation for small little touches like that. Overall a hidden gem, name of the restaurant was not even on the building, we took a shot in the dark on this one and it worked. Not very impressed with the name though "Henry Parsons Project"?? Well Im not there for the name.