Café Rabelais

We have eaten here about 3 times in the last 3-4 times. The food has been very hit or miss. The last 2 times have been a wine tasting and tonight was A price fixe menu. The food for the wine tasting was just mediocre and the wines chosen were not appropriately paired. Tonight my husband was prepared to have the duck and they weren't able to get it and substituted the pheasant instead. He said it was extremely dry and bad tasting. I had the filet which was good. For dessert there was a Noel log-cake w chocolate something. The cake was very dry, so much so that I wouldn't eat it and my husband dipped his in his coffee to make it palatable. We did mention all of this to our waiter who we've we have known for years but he was disinterested in our feedback. We are certainly going to take a break from this once,One of our favorite restaurants.

Super resto! Un des meilleurs restaurants Français qu'on ait trouvé au Texas depuis nos 4 ans ici. Si vous voulez une expérience et ambiance vraiment quasi-Française, n'hésitez surtout pas à manger ici! Service super! Et alimentation top!

This place is cute! Gives mom and pop vibes. This place was chosen on the whim. We wanted bone barrow and it lead us here. Very flavorful. This is the first place I've seen that sold Escargot by the dozen. We were not disappointed.If you like wine, come here. The wine menu is larger than the food menu. We did not get an entree but shall return to try a plate next time. I gave a four because it took a while for us to be served and this place, although cute, is busy and makes you feel like you're too close to the table next to you. Staff was very friendly.

Houston Restaurant Weeks menuThe star is the escargot. Sat at the bar and received great service. 1. Escargot 2. Stuffed mushrooms with fried oysters 3. Petite filet, green beans, and mashed potatoes 4. Short ribs and gnocchi 5. Chocolate ganache tart6. Apple tartOrder a la cart another escargot and foie gras. Over all, good dinner and I'll come back.

Delicious dinner as we celebrated my SIL's b-day.Quaint space w lively staff. Huge wine list.

Excellent French dining does not have to be stuffy and full of pomp. Some of the best meals I've had in France have been at neighborhood brasseries. An evening at Rabelais transports me back every time. Freshest, highest quality ingredients with technique to lest each one shine. While I've never had a sandwich there, everything else I've had has been great. The cassoulet is a recurring fave of mine, as is the beouf bourguignon. What you can savor in both dishes is the time. Not a typo, not the spice, but the minutes and hours that are needed to prepare each one so well (you can't rush a confit, nor the wizardry of a good demi glace). Don't forget to check out the specials. If they ever have their steak frites with a bavette cut, jump on it. One of the tastiest cuts of beef there is. Love this place!

I think I've been eating at this restaurant for almost 20 years (before the birth of my daughter and she's 15 yrs old now). The original place had a tiny upstairs seating (also in Rice Village), but after a few years, they moved to their current location. While we have moved across town so it's not very convenient for us to dine here as often, it's always a treat when we're able to stop in.Because we had missed this place so much, we decided to make the 30 mile drive just to have lunch while we were off for the holidays. This place is like coming home (in a good way). It has kept its charm, while maintaining their high quality. What both my hubby and I were very happy to see is that the same staff and server for 10-15 yrs are still working there. I have tried many of their dishes in the past (which have all been good), but always, always go back to the Moules Rabelais (steamed mussels in a ridiculously decadent cream sauce). Even my family, who are not fans of mussels, will fight for the crusty bread soaked in the mussel's sauce. Served with a side of thin, crispy fries, it's incredibly delicious when dipped in their aioli. If we're there for lunch, my husband's go-to order is the smoked salmon sandwich. Seems like such a simple sandwich, but it packs so much flavor from the aioli, sliced eggs and arugula.You truly can't go wrong with whatever you order.

Situated inside the Rice Village area, small parking lot but ample garage or street parking. 4-5 tables available on the outdoor patio and intimate dining indoors.Pluses1) great service 2) yummy hot bread with butter and olives 3) wow best trout almondine in town, veggies carrots and green beans are so fresh and it's a whole trout that has been deboned very delicious 4) steak Sammie so good the beef was tender and juicy Areas to improve NoneHighly recommended! 5 star food and service.

Lived n WestU 25 years- I used to love this place and we came often as a family, just for lunch or business dinners. Had not been for a while. Called to reserve a table for a special 60th birthday. Wow- horrible experience. Service was terrible. Had to ask server about specials- she could not describe them. Asked about entries- again just said meat comes with carrot and mixed vegetables. This was not true. Carrots only. My $43 lamb "rack" was 4 extremely small lamb chops, and had to be sent back. Just raw. Came with a covert few green beans a more carrots- that's it. This time the lamb came back- was just tough and over done. It was the same meat I sent back just over cooked this time and it took forever. My daughter and her dad had finished when I received my redone lamb rack. Do not get lamb. 3 people- $225 ( with tip) dollars later ( we 3 people who had one wine each) Too many good places to go here. And no atmosphere- deathly quiet. No quiet music. Roma on Morningside is fabulous and never misses! Went there for my birthday a month ago and they were so attentive.6 great atmosphere and food is outstanding. Much less expensive. Miss the old Rabelais Waitress said chef said - "sorry- about lamb - no offer to prepare something else and they literally served the same meat I had cut into and found it raw. The rack was fatty and not good. No sauce. Bleh. The veal cheek special was good but gnocchi was clearly from a dry package. The beef stew was fine- again so many carrots. Water glasses not filled. Wine not filled, Terrible service and waiter knew nothing of the food entries. She was completely absent. She was outside walking around and eating g at a table!!!!!Such a disappointing experience when we choose this place to celebrate a 60th birthday! They did not care it was a birthday celebration which I said when I called and when we sat down. No excuse bc the place was flat empty. One table beside our party of 3.

I was hoping for a great place but it was not. I made a reservation for 6:00 and they asked if it was for a special event and I told them we were celebrating our anniversary. We arrived at 5:50 and the door was locked. They opened at 6:00 and the door remained locked until then. Ok..I get it but it was an inconvenience, as all 3 couples waiting commented.I gave my name and said we had a reservation. The young girl pointed to a table with a "reserved" sign so I sat down. I was promptly and swiftly removed from that table and told to move. They sat us at the wobbly corner table. We had to push the table against the wall just so it wouldn't wobble.Then we waited. And waited. And waited for someone, anyone to wait on us. The lady with water stopped by. The table next to us got waited on, they placed their order, and got their drinks ordered and delivered. Finally someone stops by and tells us about the specials and we started looking at the overwhelming 50 page 3" thick wine menu. A short while later we placed our drink order and decided to place our food order. Did I mention this waitstaff was different from the first?I ordered bone marrow and my husband ordered escargot. My presentation was impressive but that is where it ends. There were 3 bones and I had a total of 4 bites. 4 very small bites. I'm talking about 1/8 tsp each. Probably ok it was so small since it was relatively tasteless. But for $20 it was outrageous! One bone has zero marrow. But the escargot may be the best in Houston. As we were eating our apps we ordered a salad that we were going to split. The waiter asked if we wanted that as our second course. Well, of course we did. Not long after that our entrees arrived. No salad.I had trout almandine. Pretty plate, grossly under seasoned. Even the bacon didn't offer enough salt to raise the flavor. The carrots and green beans were good.Husband had the special filet and it was spectacular.Still no salad.Ordered the raspberry tart and coffee. Tart shell was like concrete and the pastry cream was too loose and ran all over the plate. Coffee was boiling brown water. A Keurig pod would have been better. Still no salad. But it also wasn't on the bill so at least we didn't have to argue.No Happy Anniversary comment, and certainly no extra for our event. Why ask if you're not going to at least comment?We will never return. This is more of a place for the West U regulars because it was obvious we didn't fit in. To say I was highly disappointed is an understatement.