Parish Public House

I met a fellow who had recently moved to Albany from New Orleans. Let’s call him JC. Somehow, as we were talking, the conversation swung around to food. One thing leads to another, and soon he’s telling me his secret.
JC had discovered that Parish Public House was importing its po boy rolls from Louisiana.
He said to skip everything else except the shrimp po boy. And that, he insisted, I would need to order with double shrimp. This is the kind of precise recommendation one needs to navigate the landmines of large menus pervasive in the Capital Region. The menus are too damn long. But that’s a rant for another day.
So as soon as I’m able, I head down to Parish Public House for a half shrimp po boy with extra shrimp. And you know what? It was a fine sandwich.
Truth be told, I’m not a po boy expert. The last one I had was over a decade ago, and that was in California. It’s been over 20 years since I’ve been in New Orleans. And I don’t think the po boy is supposed to really be a show stopper of a sandwich. It’s cheap fried seafood, shoved in a cheap roll. They were truly once the food of the poor.
It was certainly unimpeachable. And with double shrimp, the shrimp were literally overflowing.
The place was certainly good enough to return, although on my second visit, I was on some stupid diet. No fried foods for me. So I went with the blackened catfish sandwich with cajun slaw instead of chips, and the mayo for the sandwich on the side.
And again, while the food didn’t send me into ecstatic fits, it was perfectly fine. Maybe the spice rub was a bit salty, but I love salt, so I didn’t mind.
I’m an old man, so everything is starting to feel expensive. But for a sit down restaurant meal in downtown Albany, lunch was perfectly reasonable.
There is a very real possibility that the double-​shrimp po boy is a 4* or even 5* version of the form. If you’re a po boy expert like my friend JC, I’m really curious to see what you think. And I’ll look forward to getting back down there for another one, maybe in the company of JC himself when the diet is over.
In the meantime, should someone suggest lunch at PPH, I’d be fine with that. I’d totally get that blackened catfish sandwich again, and it would give me an excuse to try some more of their sides.

I was turned off when we walked in at 7:15 and were told there was a $ 10 cover charge per person, but if we ate and left we didn’t have to pay it. Not the best business policy in my opinion as we might’ve stayed a bit to hear the band, but that wasn’t why we were there so we left.
We ate at PPH as a group of 4 and enjoyed our meal. I tried the alligator bites and I strongly recommend them if you, like me, hadn’t had them before. They were similar to fried shrimp but more chewy like calamari. We all enjoyed trying them and thought they were good. We also shared the veggie and hummus platter which was okay.
For entrees, I split both the jambalaya and catfish. The jambalaya was decent but could’ve been more moist. The blackened catfish with rice and asparagus was DELICIOUS. I really enjoy catfish and thought this was great. I didn’t try the other entrees ordered (veggie burger, no bun and large portion of the gumbo) but everyone seemed to enjoy their meal.
We will probably visit again but there are plenty of other places I’d like to try before going back to PPH.

Very disappointing. The food at Parish Public House is to New Orleans cuisine what the Olive Garden is to Italian food.
My gumbo was bland, devoid of meat, and covered in a thick layer of oil. The jambalaya was jambalaya in name only, as it consisted of a plate of flavorless rice and nothing else; there was not a morsel of okra, tomato, or meat to be found. A plate of Ricearoni would have outshone this miserable dish.
I’m truly in awe that a professional chef would let this abomination leave their kitchen!
Thankfully, the waitress removed the entire culinary fiasco from the bill.

It was ok… came for lunch. The crawfish cake was surprisingly tasty & fresh tasting. My catfish po’ boy left something to be desired. I thought it would be a fried filet of catfish but it was 2 strips of catfish instead. Catfish is cheap, its not an expensive fish, so not sure wat happened there. I wonder how many shrimp/​crawfish pieces those po’boys have.
Crawfish etoufee was tasty also but a bit on the spicy side which they dont warn you about.
The beer was served quite cold which was refreshing.
Locale was large & lofty, lots of bright light in the day. Music was cool. Service was good.
I would return if in the area and other options are not convenient.

Bland and boring. Stopped in after work for a few drinks and apps and was disappointed. We ordered the Boudin balls which I thought sounded delicious but were totally not what I expected. They were soft, mushy balls of dry meat and they were not crispy/​crusty at all. They were so bad that on an order of 6, I only ate 1 trying to pawn them off to anyone at my table who looked hungry. Also ordered the cajun fries which weren’t anything special. bombers has better cajun fries. The atmosphere is dark and lifeless and the bartenders are more interested in waiting on regulars than anyone else. Tacky mardi gras themed décor… didn’t have any Louisiana feel to it. Some other items on the menu sound good, but they tanked so bad on my first visit that I don’t know if I’d be willing to try it again.

Really love this place. I found it when we opened up an office next-​door on Broadway. Made sense to try it for lunches and immediately became a returning customer. Recently visited over Valentine’s Day weekend and dinner did not disappoint. The catfish and jambalaya were terrific. Service is always wonderful and very attentive and friendly. I was not able to give it that last star however because something was going on with the heat and we were really cold the entire time we were there. Almost to the point of it being distracting to our meal. Otherwise I recommend it highly and if you’re looking for Cajun food do not miss this place!

Empty, dark, and without life. Bartender was more interested in going home early then providing any type of actual service. Go elsewhere.

Excellent spot in Albany to watch talented musicians. The bar is very large and far enough from the stage that you can enjoy the music but can still have a conversation. Nice staff and good food. You can not beat the atmosphere and décor!

This bar is right across our home so we land there often for a quick rounds of drinks! Good outside seating for summer and the service has always been exceptional. It gets really crowded on Friday nights when they have live music.

Nice atmosphere, good draught selection. Live music seems legit.
I’ll give you a heads up on the alligator though… I’ve had plenty of it elsewhere, and what they serve here is mostly tough, chewy dark meat. Not worth the (at the moment) $ 24 market price for the platter — and yes, I’m aware Albany isn’t exactly in prime alligator territory. Hand-​cut fries are damn good though, Cajun style even better with a sneaky bit of just the right heat.

Though we arrived quite excited to try Parish out, the group I was with left unanimous in our assessment: the food came out offensively bland. We ordered andouille with beans, crawfish etoufee, and cajun fries. The fries were pretty good; the rest we had to pour salt and tabasco on, and, well… it tasted like bland food with a pile of tabasco and salt on top.
The service was good, and the beer was great. I would love to give Parish another try and get better food. Until then, I cannot recommend eating here. To be continued…

The service was good but I was very underwhelmed by the food. The flavor and authenticity just weren’t there. Having grown up eating authentic Louisiana style food, I wasn’t impressed.

For a central New York spot that specializes in Cajun food it’s okay. I travel quite a bit and have lived in the South, visited New Orleans and the food isn’t similar to what you would get there. The seasoning is eh, however, they have some good choices. I def recommend the catfish, it’s tasty. I’ve had the gumbo at this place before but I would not recommend it, honestly mine was kind of gross. While there the bartender was polite enough, but eh… he didn’t make me feel welcome. I had a glass of water but it didn’t taste right, I thought about getting a drink but for the place being pretty empty I didn’t get any more attention so I decided not to spend my money. Overall the place was so-​so. Not good or bad, just eh.

Reservations were for 7:30 for 4. We were greeted by a surly bald guy who sat at the bar looking at us for 2 – 3 minutes before he approached and waved us at a table with 3 chairs with backs and one wooden bar stool. Before sitting we asked if we could have a 4^th matching chair so the 4^th in our party wasn’t sitting on this low bar stool without a back. Surly guy said… nope. Looking at the bar which had quite a few of the chairs that were the mates to the 3 chairs at our table irritated me enough to want to walk, but the rest of my party were more forgiving, until the food came.
The 25 minute lead time needed to order the «fried» chicken wasn’t worth the wait for the soggy skinned, bland, tough chicken and it was 25 minutes longer my friend had to sit on the uncomfortable low bar stool. The fried pickles were pickles, enough said. The worst though and it was hard to decide which was the worst, was the Boudin Balls. Described as sausage and spicy pork coated in cracker crumbs was absolute fiction. It was like cracker crumbs mixed with water sauteed in a pan, there was no identifiable trace of pork anything. or texture for that matter. The sausage and pepper was an extremely garlicky sausage they tried to pass off as andouille on a stale roll without a pepper in sight and a seafood étouffée sauce that was brown, the brown being the only thing that stood out. The beer selection would have been impressive if they hadn’t been out of our first two choices.
My advice, just about any place else would be a better choice. But if you are dying to eat here, you may want to do it soon. I seriously doubt it will be open much longer if this was any indication of the food quality and their customer service philosophy. Truly wish there was a way to rate this less than 1 star.

Stopped in for lunch recently and sort of wish I’d headed the other way, like up to City Beer Hall.
My shrimp po’boy was incredibly bland; something that should be bursting with flavor was oddly tasteless. Maybe had it been better, I wouldn’t of minded the $ 12 price tag. The beer I ordered with lunch was a disappointment due to a musty aftertaste that only comes with dirty tap lines.
I was here once before for a late dinner and had a perfectly good burger and fries; next time I’ll stay on that side of the menu. At $ 40+ for two people, it was an expensive lunch considering what we got.
This is too bad, because it’s a great space with a really cool bar and a nice staff — but that po’boy? Somebody’s not trying.
Oh, and try the $ 9 soup! I didn’t sample it, but for $ 9 it must be awesome.

I was staying at a hotel around the corner for a business trip, and one of the staff members recommended The Parish and said a lot of guests liked it.
I came in for lunch, and the restaurant wasn’t busy at the time. The menu wasn’t too extensive offering your typical Cajun/​NOLA fare (étouffée, gumbo, poboys). I decided on the shrimp poboy with fries, and it totally hit the spot! My waitress was attentive and friendly as well. Thumbs up especially if you are staying nearby… didn’t find a whole lot of options in the area.

Was there last night for dinner w the hubby. We started w the gator bites which was so bland, no flavor at all. I had the Cajun burger asked for it to be medium. Came out med well & was lacking the Cajun flavor I was looking for. Again the burger was bland as were the fries. My husband had the catfish po boy… You guessed it. Bland! Its as if the cook lost the seasoning in the kitchen. There was no seasoning on anything. We were both disappointed.
The restaurant itself was nice. People were very friendly and it had a nice vibe to it.

Fried chicken sandwich is off the hook. I love this place it’s a welcomed change from the pizza and overpriced overcooked burgers.
This place was good as red square but is great as the Parish Public house.

Closer to 3.5 stars. A nice addition to the downtown dining scene and deserving of your attention. The former Red Square has been converted into Cajun restuarant. The environs remain relatively unchanged, but the front bar area seems to have received a mild freshening up in some areas, but maintains the comfortable feel and lighting of Red Square. High top seating on nice, rustic wood tables in the front or at the bar.
I went with a cup of the chicken and sausage gumbo and a shrimp po boy. The gumbo was satisfying and not overly think or heavy. Although I wouldn’t mind it if it packed a touch more spice or heat and I like my meat pieces cut a bit thicker, it was a nice starter.
The Po Boy was well executed and there are some signs of a deft hand in the kitchen with the fryer. Not greasy, fried just right and without too much coating. The french roll it was served on was a nice compliment and it was simply garninshed with lettuce and tomato. Sandwich was served with nice homemade potato chips; fried just right and not oily. Served right out of the fryer, it was a nice companion. Frying execution like that encourages a return trip to try the fried chicken, which is presented as a particular specialty.
Full bar available and the draft list covers a lot of territory, with several Louisiana offerings (Abita and Bayou Teche take up 5 taps) several New York offerings (Browns, Ommegang, Upstate, Beer Diviner, Chatham, Southampton, Rushing Duck) and other craft offerings (Long Trail, Smuttynose, Victory), with a few macros (Blue Moon, Yuengling, Guinness).
I will be back.

I stopped into this new place for lunch. The menu was simple with some signature Louisiana dishes (Gumbo, Jambalaya, Red Beans and Rice, Étouffée). The place has a rustic feel with some cool Louisiana/​Acadiana flags hanging and was jamming with some great jazzy/​blues tunes.
I ordered the gumbo bowl which was a solid portion for lunch, very flavorful. I would have ordered the fried chicken, which the menu says is cooked to order so it takes 25 minutes. I was very tempted but had to pass due to time constraints… I bet it is damn good.
My friend, a Louisiana native, tried the gumbo and gave his approval, but wasn’t feeling the «Cajun» in the Cajun burger.
As we left people were strolling in for lunch. I hope people patronize this place because it has great potential, and also had a solid draft selection (I wanted the Abita pecan harvest… sounds awesome)
The place is a great addition to a downtown area that is going through revival. Check it out!