houston's

fans for twenty years!. decor / establishment: the pasadena houston’s enhances it’s already-popular atmosphere with asian decor inside and out. the water feature with the flowing fountains and friendly koi is a lovely welcome, while the intimate setting of the restaurant is very inviting.


food / drink: we’ve never had a bad or distasteful meal in the twenty years we’ve been patrons at houston’s restaurants. the pasadena location is no different. excellent presentation of both beverages and meals, colorful displays accompanying each dish, water glasses continuously refilled without asking, and world-class flavor, flavor, flavor!


location: 320 south arroyo parkway, pasadena ca 91105. the restaurant parallels a busy thoroughfare in the heart of pasadena, however the relaxing ambiance of both the inside and outdoor areas and lounge patio with double-faced fireplace create a refuge from busy city boisterousness.


service / staff : continual coverage of our needs, refilled water glasses without asking,greatattitudes and unparalleled consistent customer service throughout our meal was greatly appreciated. our server, beverly, was knowledgeable, courteous, happily answered questions and addressed our comments, and was an exceptional staff member. we’ll request to be seated in her section on our next visit!


price / value: houston’s service, attention to detail, flavorsome dishes, consistent quality and intimate unique environment all add up to one thing...great value for what you’re paying! you can enjoy the food and sips from 11am – 10pm monday through sunday.


corkage fee: no corkage fee!


contact info: phone: (626) 577-6001, website: www.hillstone.com


parking: free parking is available in the attached lot adjacent to the restaurant.


total bill: $46.75 for a bottle of wine with no corkage charge, the pan fried fish and the grilled chicken salad. coming in a a penny more on another visit, the total bill was $46.76 for a bottle of wine with no corkage fee, a coca-cola, the grilled chicken salad and the rotisserie chicken. one could easily bring in a bottle of wine and have several appetizers for $50 (including tax) or under here as well either at the bar or in the restaurant itself. we’ll do that next time and write up a “follow-up” blog just on appetizers at the bar when we visit again!


photos: see our photos in the urbanspoon "photos" area posted by savorhour.com

staff influences enjoyment. houston's continues to providegreatfood. i love it for that reason. however--and this is a big however, the wait staff leaves something to be desired. now, this would not have been true several years ago. service, at houston's, was second to none. currently, the service seems forced. the servers seem new, raw and unprofessional. that, when at the same time, houston's prices (and food) suggest an establishment that should be capable of first class service.


this concern, by the way, has been brought to the attention of management. , , ,and yes, the situation improved--temporarily. (emphasis)

i, for one, will be delighted when management decides to go back to its previous policies. good service makes for good business.

the service wasgreatconnor my server was wonderful, i had the redfish which wasgreatand the grilled corn was so flavorful.

possibly the best burger in la.greatquality of food across the menu only down side is some of the staff can be a bit snooty.

loved this atmosphere, very clean and professional. food great, service wasgreatand friendly. we went for lunch, it is kid friendly, reasonably priced. recommend the ribeye and ribs.

houston's deserves every bit of this 5.0 rating. after all the years and all the price increases, they continue to remain fresh, relevant and deliver value and earn the high price to dine there.
thankfully they will now take a reservation, so long as you plan ahead and your party is not larger than 4. they are usually spot on with their wait time estimate and i appreciate that.
i don't believe i've ever had a bad meal here. i have to start with the house salad and prefer my combination dressing on the side. if you are splurging, go ahead and order an appetizer of the cheese toast because that one piece you get with the salad will leave you wanting more and it's simply not enough to share with whomever will be eyeing your plate with envy begging for a share.
the baby back ribs always are fabulous with a loaded baked potato and definitely enough for another meal in a doggie bag.
the combination salad with checking tenders makes agreatlighter meal. i did not love the asian chicken salad and found it to be too spicy, which is a rare problem for me.
last night i tried the special which was redfish topped with fried rock shrimp and a white wine cream sauce that was delicious.
the burger is alwaysgreatand so overloaded with cheddar cheese which makes it very inviting. my husband misses the canadian bacon which they've decided to replace with 2 strips of bacon, which doesn't fit the bun as well and makes it harder to eat.
the atmosphere is 100% cozy and we've been lucky to have whitney as our server on our last 3 visits, but honestly the service is impeccable regardless of whose table you get.
love for houston's.

i had a wonderful experience here with my best friend. we went on a "girl date" and wound up with quite a pricey tab (that was our fault). the redfish i had was cooked to absolute perfection. our waiter was incredible and prompt with service. this is agreatplace for anything from a business meeting to a romantic night out with your so

i have loved this restaurant since i was a child. it has been and always will be my favorite. i have so many memories here. my fiancé and i eat here for birthdays, special occasions, and certain holidays. we have always gottengreatservice and the food is outstanding. we're a chef, baker, pastry chef and decorator. so we know and love food. you have to try the spinach and artichoke dip with those perfect tortilla chips and the hawaiian rib-eye is out of this world. the best.

this is my go to place for agreatdrink. grapefruit juice is squeezed to order, you'll never have a better greyhound! the martinis are also spot on. unfortunately, the food isn't consistent and you'll have to wipe your own plates. i miss metairie, but at least they still have the smoked salmen....this is a must have!

fab.greatservice.greatfood ( soup, app, burger, salads).greatatmosphere. completely enjoyed.

have been here muliple times but this is the last time. .. .. i have come here regularly and yes the food isgreatand the ambiancegreathowever this time is the last time as this was a "special occasion" and houston's dropped the ball twice.

i flew in from out of town (live in michigan) although i grew up in pasadena area as my grandmother was dying (she died the day we went to houston's) and i called to make a reservation for about 7 people and the hostess gave me this canned answer we cant take that big of a party and we cant guarantee you will be together and then i told the hostess i was taking my family out as my grandmother (who was a mother to me just died) and the hostess (1) didnt even offer her condolences and (2) stated they couldnt guarantee we could be put together . . i mean come on this is truly a special occasion and they didnt accommodate us and yet we still went to houston's (this is my mistake).

we had wonderful dinner and gave the waiter agreattip and after i paid he disappeared (even though we wanted water and a club soda) and then when we flagged a runner we asked for the club soda and then they brought it to us and then when we left they hunted us down and stated "oh sir you need to pay for this club soda" and when i stated that the service at the end left a lot to be desired she stated "was there a problem as i can get a manager" and then i stated that the service at the end left a lot to be desired as the waiter (lance) just disappeared and i also stated that my grandmother had passed away today and once again no "my condolences" ....so in the end this is the last time i will ever come here and i recommend being in la with the plethora ofgreatrestaurants why go to a place that kicks you when you are down.

family favorite -greatatmosphere & food. year after year houston's is top favorite for my wife and me. the decor uses heavy woods with deep burgundy seats and accents. it's all tied together with brick and beautiful artwork. the servers are always prim and proper. their small waist apron and white starched shirts create a crisp look. server styles and interactions do fluctuate from one another, but all of them know their menu and are attentive.

the food is outstanding every time. the chef continually creates dishes that marry the full flavor tastes no matter what you order. try the traditional salad. they use rich buttermilk in the ranch. real bacon is broken down and sprinkled throughout the salad. the french dip is the best anywhere and is our benchmark for other places. they use prime rib served med rare. it's so tender. the shoestring fries are cooked and seasoned just right. the list ofgreatitems is endless. try the ding chicken or off menu club sandwich. the filet melts with just a fork, no knife needed. you will not leave any of the artichoke dip in the bowl.

houston’s is outstanding, and it has the wait times that go along with it. an hour+ in peak times is normal. they will not seat you unless your whole party is present. keep that in mind.

absolutely delicious!. fantastic meal again at houston's! our waiter jennifer was very nice, attentive, and helpful. tonight there was live music playing. the music starts at 6:45 pm on saturdays. the ambiance was wonderful as it always is. for an appetizer, we ordered the wood grilled artichokes. they were delicious, and they and a wonderful grilled flavor! these are a must-get at houston's as they come with a very flavorful dipping sauce on the side. for our main course, we ordered the thai steak and noodle salad, baby back ribs, and the veggie burger. the thai steak salad was wonderful and had marinated steak in an asian sauce. the dish had a nice blend of asian flavors such as sesame. the ribs were amazing, tender, juicy, and mouth watering! some of the best ribs we have had yet! the veggie burger was great. it melted in your mouth even though it fell apart a bit. the veggie burger was still really delicious though. the coleslaw had agreatcrunch to it. everything came out on time and delicious. overall, we had a wonderful experience and will definitely come again!

unimpressive...except for the bill.. we went here to celebrate a birthday. to avoid crowds and noise we went around 4pm on a sunday, but even then they were about half full. the atmosphere seems fairly classy when you walk in, with red booths and lots of dark wood, but then i noticed that it's a little over the top in a tacky las vegas way. silly flickering gas lamps by the bar and and lots of barrel cactuses in pots, which might be real, but i doubt it because the restaurant is so dark that cave lizard couldn't survive. on to the food: the birthday girl had the prime rib, and it looked like a very nice thick cut that was perfectly medium-rare. she requested a glass of red wine from the menu, but was informed that only two of the wines were available by the glass. the other diner had the cajun chicken sandwich, it was fairly large and he seemed to enjoy it except that it left his hands so greasy he excused himself to wash them. he ordered a coke and was brought an 8oz glass bottle. he commented on it, asking if there was no fountain, and the waitress acted indignant. i am not a soda drinker at all, but this is unacceptable. houston's is not some small italian bistro on the med. i ordered the hickory burger. it was just ok. it was greasy and salty, and came with a huge mound of cold shredded cheese on top. the cheese seemed fine in quality, just refrigerator cold. the iced tea was plain unsweetened liptons. the final bill with tip was over $100 for the three of us. go somewhere else, there are manygreatoptions close by.

love the atmosphere..greatfood, service and nice selection of food. always been a good place.