Parkwood American Grille is now open in Friendswood, Texas
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Parkwood American Grille was designed by Dallas-based Coeval Studio.P3 Photography
Parkwood American Grille is a new restaurant from Raz Halili and executive chef Joe Cervantez. It opened Sept.1 in Friendswood, Texas, about halfway between Houston and the Gulf coast.
Halili and Cervantez are the duo behind a few other restaurants in the area, including the James Beard Award semifinalist Pier 6 Seafood & Oyster House in San Leon, Fish Company Taco in Galveston, and Noah’s Ark in Bacliff.
Parkwood is a neighborhood restaurant that combines modern American dishes with premium steaks, Gulf seafood, and pastas, plus a thoughtful cocktail and wine program.
“It’s a really great community, but there aren’t a lot of dining options outside of chain restaurants,” said Halili, who grew up nearby working for his family’s oyster business. “We wanted to provide the area with a chef-driven, Houston-caliber experience at a great value and without the drive into Houston.”
The menu features a few fun touches, like mini lobster rolls topped with caviar. | Hungry AF Media
Halili added that, since opening, he and Cervantez keep hearing how much this neighborhood wanted something like Parkwood — somewhere people could eat a good meal with their family on a weekday, meet friends after work for drinks, or get dressed up and come in for date night.
Parkwood is 4,800 square feet inside and has another 1,600 square feet outside. It was designed by Dallas-based Coeval Studio, which also worked with the team on Pier 6. There’s a
curved Cambria quartz bar wrapped in custom millwork, and the dining room layers a coffered wood ceiling with deep sea-green porcelain tiles, brass accents, and caramel leather banquettes. Outside, the stone-and-turf patio has 30 seats and a fountain.
Just like at all of Halili’s other restaurants, oysters are a big part of Parkwood’s menu. There’s also shrimp cocktail, crudos, and sushi, with select fish sourced from Tokyo’s Toyosu Market.
Starters include mini lobster rolls topped with caviar, tomato soup with a dunkable grilled cheese sandwich, and chicken nuggets served with crème fraîche and caviar, which the team offers with a glass of Champagne as a grown-up Happy Meal combo.
There are a few bistro-inspired selections, like French onion soup and filet au poivre, plus a burger and a crispy chicken sandwich. The steak program features Snake River Farms beef and dry-aged cuts from Flannery Beef, including a wagyu New York strip, prime dry-aged rib eye, and a 24-ounce prime porterhouse.
The menu includes steaks, local and imported seafood, and pasta as well as a thoughtful cocktail and wine program. | Hungry AF Media
Cervantez, who formerly led the kitchens at Killen’s Steakhouse and Brennan’s of Houston, noted that creating the Parkwood menu was a lot different from creating the Pier 6 menu, which was guided by its coastal setting. For this restaurant, he wanted a broader menu that would appeal to a big range of guests, balancing fun and creative dishes with some more familiar items.
Parkwood’s cocktail menu was developed with Ladies of Libation, a local drinks consulting company, and puts Martinis front and center. Other signatures include riffs on classics, such as the mezcal-based Buenas Tardes with a kick of Sichuan pepper, the reposado tequila-spiked Chai New Fashioned, and the Mojito-inspired Last Mango in Paris. The menu also includes five spirit-free cocktails.
The wine list spans Old World and New World producers, with by-the-glass options, higher-end bottles, and several Texas wines. Parkwood is also offering guests private wine locker memberships with dedicated storage, cellar service, and access to exclusive experiences.
As for what’s next, Halili noted that he and Cervantez always have ideas in the works, but for now they’re busy running their current restaurant portfolio.
“We’ve been busy giving new life to Noah’s Ark in Bacliff since we took it over,” he said. “Fish Company Taco is going strong down in Galveston, and I could see that concept doing really well in Houston. With my family background, I’d love to one day open an authentic Albanian restaurant and showcase all the traditional dishes.”
Back at Parkwood, Halili said that the team will soon introduce lunch service and a happy hour, and now that the weather is cooling off, they will begin opening their patio.
“Chef Joe is working on a killer seafood tower, and soon we’ll level up our Martini service with a rolling Martini cart,” he added. “We’re having fun.”
