A new steak-and-seafood restaurant from the team behind Pier 6 Seafood & Oyster House, a James Beard Award semifinalist, has opened in Friendswood.

Parkwood American Grille began serving Sept. 1 at 2131 W. Parkwood Ave., in the former Rancho Mexican Restaurant space. Owner Raz Halili and executive chef Joe Cervantez built the menu around steaks, Gulf seafood, pasta and specialty dishes like mini Maine-style lobster rolls with caviar and a wagyu beef burger.

Halili is also vice president of his family's Prestige Oysters, the first fishery in the Americas certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, according to the restaurant's website. He grew up in Dickinson and told CultureMap Houston he wanted to bring an upscale dining experience, like those found inside Houston's Loop 610, to Bay Area residents.

"What I keep hearing from guests is, 'This is what Friendswood needed,'" Halili said in a news release reported by Community Impact Newspaper. "That response means a lot because we created Parkwood specifically to become part of this community."

Cervantez previously served as executive chef at both Killen's Steakhouse in Pearland and Brennan's of Houston. He and Halili earned a James Beard Award semifinalist nomination for Pier 6, their seafood restaurant in San Leon.

Steaks are sourced from California's Flannery Beef and Snake River Farms, an American wagyu supplier. Options include a 20-ounce bone-in Prime ribeye, a 14-ounce wagyu New York strip, a 16-ounce Prime dry-aged ribeye and a 24-ounce Prime porterhouse.

The menu also features raw oysters from the Halili family's Prestige Oysters and East Coast sources, along with Pier 6's grilled "Hot Blooded" oysters. Other dishes include French onion soup, hamachi crudo, chicken parmesan and rigatoni with lamb sausage in a spicy arrabbiata sauce.

Cocktail consultants Kris Sowell and Laurie Harvey, known as the Ladies of Libation, designed the beverage program. Signature drinks include the Parkwood Star with passion fruit and vanilla and the Last Mango in Paris, a mojito-style cocktail topped with salted mango foam. Wine is also available.

Dallas-based Coeval Studio designed the interior. The space features a curved bar with a Cambria quartz top, wood ceilings, brass accents and leather banquettes. Halili worked with Kathy Rea of Majestic Linens & Decor to fill the restaurant with antiques and oyster-related artifacts that reflect his family's roots in Kosovo.

Parkwood enforces a smart casual dress code and can be reached at (409) 916-7781. Athletic wear, sleeveless shirts for men and flip-flops are not permitted in the dining room.