Henry Parsons Project

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.

Wow! What an experience. It's a definite must. My wife and I did the tasting menu and were blown away. Each course was unique and delicious. The service was fantastic as well. If you're looking for something new and unique, you've got to try Henry Parsons Project!

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 Parson's Project"?? Well I'm not there for the name.

(Sorry in advance if I slaughter drink or dish names 🤣) Everything from the food to the staff was INCREDIBLE. When you first walk in the vibe is very chill, dim lighting & candles, it made me want to lounge around and have a drink. Which we definitely did. My husband had a Pale red ale from Louisiana, and I had the Kumquat cocktail with sherry and soju(sp). We felt right at home. The hostess was the sweetest, she got us settled in and explained the specialty cocktails to us(I forgot to get her name). Our server Jimmy was so kind and helped us navigate the menu and explained our options. Off the bat I noticed I didn’t eat a lot of the things on the menu, but we wanted to venture out and try something different. We blindly went with the Chefs choice 5 course dinner. FOLKS, IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT! *Their menu is subject to change daily since all ingredients are the freshest seasonal ingredients from local farmers markets.* The food: first course was the salad. The grilled persimmon salad was reeeeally nice, I love persimmons and had never thought to add them to a salad let alone grill them, and it was great. The puffed amaranth and pomegranate seeds also added a nice crunch to each bite. Did I mention that the chef himself brought out each course? Chef Kevin was so personable and friendly. He explained every dish in detail before we ate it which made the experience extraordinarily special. The second course was the Striped Bass with grits. Listen.. I don’t eat fish. EVER(too many bad experiences in the past). But I came with an open mind and heart. I basically INHALED this dish, and so did my husband. Every bite was creamy and the skin on the fish was crispy and the fish basically melted in your mouth. When we got it we closed our eyes and dug in. We didn’t even get a chance to take a picture of the dish. I would definitely go back and order this dish as my dinner any day! The third course was the Pork belly “tostada”. Anyone who knows me, knows I don’t eat pork, let alone fatty meats. Well I ate this and SURPRISE! I LOVED IT! It was so flavorful, perfectly spicy, and the sauce.. I wish I had taken notes because the ingredient list was a mouthful. YALL! I was still eating the sauce off the plate after I ate the pork belly crisp. Chef Kevin explained that his slow cooking process renders the fat basically leaving behind just the meat and cartilage. It was sooooo good, I could bottle that flavor and put it on everything! The fourth course was the jalapeño marinated hanger steak cooked medium rare(no exceptions), pommes delphine and verdolaga, with a watercress salad on top. The steak was tender and juicy and each bite was perfect. There was notes of jalapeño flavor but it wasn’t spicy at all which was nice! The potato was confit in duck fat and then fried. It was delicious! The 5th course was dessert! Beignets!!!! Light fluffy and dusted in powdered sugar! With a side of coffee icecream😍 Okay. So.. I loved every bite I ate. We had our toddler with us, he had some buttered noodles… he ate more than he usually does so it’s safe to say he loved them too! Hands down one of the best dining experiences I’ve had in a VERY long time. I’ve traveled the world, and eaten in many countries. And have never had such an incredible overall experience. Thank you for the amazing service, delicious food, and the hospitality. I’d give you 6 stars if I could. 10/10 recommend ❤✨

Great ambiance. If you want to people watch, eat dinner or ,just chill and have drinks this is the spot!!! The food was amazing, I had the fish, it was tasty! You have to try the biscuits. They literally melt in your mouth 😁 The crawfish and bread were a hit. The Gumbo was just right with the spices and rice. I've tried grits, but these grits were a delight with the Shrimp! Try it all you won't be disappointed. 😊

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.

Found this spot purely out of chance. Was looking for a low-key spot to eat, surprise the wife for her bday. This place looked good, Louisiana style fare, chill environment. The name is what caught my attention primarily because it sounded experimental. Wasn't sure what to expect, but knew it couldn't hurt to try something new.

Come to find out, this place has only been open to in person for about a year. They have a huge catering operation that competes with the restaurant hours - so FYI to those that aren't aware and showed up only to find the shop closed.

Got to the restaurant - they prefer reservations which can be done through Open Table. Hostess was super warm and inviting. She sat us at our table and introduced the menu to us and how the restaurant worked, as it was our first time there.

Menu was nice and concise, offering a ton of variety in a reasonable number of menu items; small and large plate offerings. Definitely not a place that makes it hard to choose. The menu is seasonal and they offer a special Tasting Menu that is $75 per person and includes on and off menu items and changes with the season with so much variety.

So, we definitely got this and a number of other items to try and ended up with a 10 course meal. Um... Soooo much food, but everything we ordered was incredible. I mean, I'm not sure I've ever been to a spot where literally everything we ordered was 100% on point.

Fried oysters
Duck liver pate
Gumbo
Crawfish Etoufee
Tasting Menu (includes dessert)
Birthday dessert

Chef Kevin paid us several special dlvisits, curating our tasting and the menu items we ordered and offering interesting tidbits about food history and the menu. It was an incredible dining experience. The staff was attentive and courteous and the atmosphere was super chill and loungey. We probably spent about 2 hours there just eating and enjoying ourselves.

Words literally won't do it justice. This is 100% diamond in the rough. Definitely going back and trying new menu items as the seasons go on.

This was our first time at Henry Parson's Project. We went for a nice anniversary night out. From the moment you walk in the front door, an inspired vibe is set...a little blues, a little southern, a lotta friendly, and a whole lotta tasty. We opted for the Chef's tasting menu, and had a great set of dishes.

At the start, Chef Kevin came out and asked if there was anything in particular we wanted to have. Other than biscuits, we let him know we would go on what ever journey he took us on. We dove into those dishes and finished so quickly, that no pictures were taken (of the food 🙂)

One of my favorites was the gnocchi with pecan and ramp pesto. The gnocchi were pillows with a crispy, pan fried crust. The seasonal pecan and ramp pesto made for a perfect, slightly garlic bite. I could have eaten them all night.

I am not a fan of desserts, but I didn't tell Chef Kevin, and let him bring what he felt should come to our table. The sticky toffee pudding with popcorn ice cream was tremendous. Just sweet enough, slightly salty, buttery, popcorny. It made me happy

Thank you for a memorable 20-something wedding anniversary dinner!

The food was excellent. We shared the gumbo and biscuit as appetizers. The chicken and shrimp and grits were our main courses. Dessert, we shared the hand pie. All dishes were perfectly seasoned with a nod to NOLA.

OMG! This food is incredible!! Seriously. The best asparagus I ever had, hands down. Every bite of everything was heaven (grits, shrimp, corn mash southern thing that comes underneath the BBQ chicken), and as a final treat, we were able to spend time with Kevin and Kari and learn about their love of food and how, above their successful catering which creates bespoke menus for all clients, this Henry Parsons Project menu is all them - the foods they like - and wow, thank you for the treat. I'll be back!

Wow! Amazing food. We had their shrimp and grits which was as good as it could be. I have raved about them to several friends. We will quickly become regulars.

The best food I have ever tried in all of Pasadena

This food is so delicious! The people are delightful! They really have their craft down. Go get some and I highly doubt you'll be disappointed. Everything we ordered from the menu was fantastic.

Delicious eats, unpretentious, and the friendliest service you’ll find anywhere. Highly recommend! Extra bonus for WSP fans

This is a must! if you are looking for a great Dinning experience in the Pasadena area or greater LA.

As we aren't traveling these days, I decided to introduce my boyfriend to a taste of New Orleans. The bbq shrimp has him sold! Thank you for a stellar job

I had a nice dining experience here. The dishes were well presented and tasty.

Great food , great people ! I love the crawfish and the gumbo !

Delicious 😋. Gordon Ramsay could never!

Hidden gem in Pasadena