Café Rabelais

Reviews 6

J.

J. Ashar

If youre looking for the best fries in Houston, come to Café Rabelais, a little French café in the heart of Rice Village. When you enter, youll notice a completely different atmosphere than youll see anywhere else. They dont take reservations, so you will need to see with the hostess if they have any seating available. If youre lucky, theyll seat you right away. When seated, you will be given a wine menu, but no food menu. This is because the main food items change twice daily and its written on a chalkboard to the side of the restaurant. They encourage you to get up and walk to the board, as its part of the atmosphere. The lighting on the board does have too much glare, and its hard to see. The café is also quite small, so you will need to break out of your comfort zone and stand very close to dining patrons to get a good look at the menu. Luckily, they have two other menus for sandwiches and salads which do not change, so you can look this up online if youre trying to eat light and not get up to look at the menu! If you order a sandwich, all of them are served with fries. I ordered the Rémoulade de Thon which was a tuna salad sandwich with lettuce and tomato on a country French bread) for $8.95. It was pretty good, especially for the price, and wow, the fries were the best I ever had in Houston. They are thinly cut, slightly crispy, and served with ketchup and aioli. I noticed there were onions and pepper in the mix which added a lot of flavor to the fries. Overall, this place genuinely deserves a 5-star. They have a unique atmosphere; they keep it authentically French. They have an amazing wine menu if youre into that, and although its cramped, the food is quite good. Never change, Café Rabelais!

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A

A Private User

SHODDY SERVICE!!! We had a very poor experience at this restaurant and will never be coming back. When we got there the hostess told us there was a 25 minute wait for a table inside. We decided to wait for a table, put our names down and sat outside and ordered a bottle of wine. The wine took about 20 minutes to get to us and though our waiter was knowledgeable, he never came back to check on us. Even worse, the hostess forgot we were waiting outside and we saw 4 other couples get seated who came in after us (they dont take reservations here so that certainly wasnt why). Every time a guest would leave the hostess would escort them out and open the door and my husband would look at her and she avoided making eye contact with us. After seeing the 4th couple get seated, my husband stood up and looked inside the restaurant to see what was taking so long (we had been waiting 50 minutes at this point). That is when the hostess panicked and came outside and told us that she had "accidentally" crossed over us and let one table get seated. Lady, we were seated right by the door, you seated 4 parties before you "realized" we were waiting. She tried to flub through and didnt know anything about service recovery. Finally we spoke to the manager, declined their offer to be seated, and walked across to the excellent Thai restaurant across the street where we werent forgotten and were treated well. We are a fairly Asian young couple and were casually dressed and I personally think the hostess thought she could shaft us while she seated the older, more adult customers. I was really disgusted and will never come back or recommend this place to anyone I know.

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JO

Josh Place

After roaming Rice Village for a couple hours, my beautiful bride and I decided to stop in for some dinner, here at Cafe Rabelais. First impressions: we are way under dressed, and wow this place is incredibly romantic. Much to our surprise, we had an option of table (Ive heard its usually packed) and we were waited upon promptly and efficiently. Unfortunately for us, we were not told that the menu is displayed on massive chalk boards upon the walls. Fortunately for us, we munched on delectably fresh bread while we happily waited for the nonexistent menus. After a loaf or two,of bread, Ildefonzo, our awesome waiter, gave us exactly what we were craving and in a very timely fashion. Our food was fresh, with a great mix of flavors. We both had salad, water and free bread (dont you judge us!). The bill was still $26 +tip, but we had a blast and theres no price on the environment and mood this place provides for you. Definitely consider this place for a romantic evening with your date, and be sure to ask for Ildefonzo! (Off the record, we totally used the wrong plates/silverware and laughed way too hard for the quiet environment...oh well, at least we werent drunk while doing it)

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AN

Angel Fultz

One of my favorite French spots on town. Its a charming little restaurant with tables that are a bit too close together (in a good way) and a massive wine list. The food is a bit pricey but I think the quality more than makes that ok. I typically over-indulge with appetizers here because they just do them so well. The escargot just soaks in delicious garlic butter and kicks Brasserie 18s behind. This is the only restaurant in Houston where I will order the foie gras. The flavor is savory, the texture is smooth and creamy, and its served with caramelized onions. Mussels are good at many places in town, but theyre huge here! The broth is hot, steamy and full of garlic - I like to pull the meat from the shells, drop them all in the broth and let it all soak for a bit first. The service is different than what most people are used to. They get busy and its a very slow, relaxed style restaurant. The server stays away and allows you to take your time, until theyre needed. If your plate or glass is empty, theyll be by, but otherwise you probably have to flag them down. There is a parking lot, but beware, it gets packed. You may have to park in the Village Arcade.

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KU

Kurt Watson

First off let me say that our server Andrea was amazing! First, our fork dropped on the floor and she was there within seconds with a replacement before we could even ask. She noticed I had on a New Orleans shirt but did not mention it until she had already started playing Louis Armstrong through the speaker system. Our food came out super fast and it was so tasty and fresh. The Croque Madame was absolutely wonderful from the cheese, to the fried egg, to the creamy hollandaise. The Quiche Provencal with the tomato, onion and goat cheese is a must try. A++ on this place. Will definitely be back.

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A

A Private User

I love French foods. After spending a summer in Paris I began to love French food even more. I was looking for a restaurant in Texas to enjoy the "French Experience" again, it was then when I was introduced to Cafe Rabelais. From my first step in to my last step out I was extremely surprised that a restaurant of this small size could offer such great rapport in its everlasting impression. The staff has great knowledge in wine and the foods they serve. If you are looking for a fabulous restaurant and dining experience, Cafe Rabelais is the place you are lookiing for. 10 out of 10

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