Rabalais’ Bistro

my favorite is the fried green tomato and bacon salad. Very original menu, everything is yummy. Beignets, chicory coffee, homemade baked goods… nice front shaded terrace. Very dog friendly.

Best catfish ever. Light, flaky and not greasy at all.
My friend had Croque Provincial and raved about it. We were happy to see your vegetarian items on the menu.
Can’t wait to go back and sample the desserts. Bakery looks fantastic.
Staff was very friendly and attentive. We experienced great service.

Just went here today, their donuts are awesome, their mac n cheese was good, their coffee, biscuits, and gumbo were awesome too! & their hot chocolate was awesome. The staff were SUPER friendly and on point! Definitely will be going back, i would love to try their breakfast food: D

Pleasantly surprised at this place. Coffee was amazing, best I’ve had for a while. Food was good and nothing was too hard for the server. Servers were friendly, and it’s well priced. So glad I stumbled on this place!

I love everything on the menu … Come here usually 2 – 3 times a week. The house salad with blackened chicken is my favorite. Their desserts are amazing there’s no words to explain it I love the cheesecake. Definitely my favorite place in Santa Paula.

Just rehashing what most I’m sure have said already. Food was really good. Service was exceptionally slow. We sat down an it was probably 20 – 30 minutes before even acknowledged by someone after telling the hostess that we had not even gotten drinks yet. Even with a bus boy roaming that was not doing anything that could have at least gotten drinks.
In short. Food was great. Service not so much.

Great service and great southern style food. Come I and ask for John he will definitely take care of you.

Only eaten here 1 time and it was delish!!! Will definitely go back…

What a great place. The food and pastries are superb. Drinking an Americano out of a real mug on a couch is something you don’t see much in coffee houses these days. They make their own vanilla syrup and it is great in coffee. The cookies are fresh and gooey. The staff are super friendly and helpful. I have only been here a few times and each time I have been impressed. Definitely worth a visit.

Excellent, excellent, excellent staff!
Great beignets! Large portion entrees. Order the beignets and split an entrée. It’s more than enough food for two people.

We shared the Redneck breakfast and ordered a side of grits. Grits were undercooked but it was my fault for not asking the waiter to switch it out. But nonetheless, flavorful! The Redneck breakfast has two cornmeal battered & fried green tomatoes stacked atop fresh spinach and sautéed potatoes. You have a choice of 2 eggs your way, which we opted for scrambled. On top of that was a mouthwatering hollandaise sauce which I’d take on my grits next time. Ooh that hollandaise, tho… This was enough to share if you’re just hungry and not starving, or watching your macros.
The icing on the cake were the 3 beignets!!! It’s been a while since I’ve had beignets but eating one today reminded me of N’awlins! The 3×3 deep fried squares of heavenly delight melted in my mouth. Not sure if they were too doughy because my husband wasn’t a huge fan. But I loved them! Great with their strong black coffee.
Service was great! Attentive staff, clean, and welcoming… They also have a to-​go coffee area and they make excellent lattes and teas. I was overall impressed with the service but also happy to see Santa Paula come to life with this restaurant. Great décor! Thanks Rabalais, we’ll be baaack!

This review is just for the catfish po boy. The wait time for this is quite long. Tomato slices were cut too thick causing it difficult to bite into. Fish was well fried but just not very flavorful. Chips were good but a bit salty for my taste. And price was $$ for something so mediocre :/
Stick to the seafood chowder, the latte, and the quiche IMO! Still 4 stars for those items!

Awesome food. Love the fried chicken. Great coffee and bread pudding. Great atmosphere and service.

After last night’s debacle with the Irish Mules, I woke up this morning thirsty and in need of fried food. We’re just down the street from downtown so this is where I wanted to go.
It was just before lunch hour rush so it was still sorta empty. We were seated towards the back. Lea was our server.
My friend and I both got the amber to start. Good light beer. We also both got an iced coffee. It is so good. Don’t ruin it by putting milk like my friend did. No milk is the way to go. We started with an order of the fried green tomatoes. So glad we did. It was super tasty. The dip that comes with it is perfection. We asked for some extra.
Our mains were the beets salad and a sandwich topped with an egg. The salad was great. I could however do with less cheese. My friend and I both thought there was too much. It was otherwise good. The ham sandwich was on point. There was so much meat which isn’t a bad thing.
I decided to get an order of beignets to go. I should’ve eaten one when it was ready since they were super warm, but I waited until I got home. It was still very enjoyable, but it would’ve been better warm.
Food was great as was the service. Lea was beyond perfection as was the guy who brought our order up.
This is definitely now my new go to spot.
And they have beer and wine!!!

The 3 stars are almost solely for the amazing waitress. I wish I caught her name. She was incredibly attentive, informative, pleasant and so sweet. The service here is great.
I originally wanted to try the country fried steak but it wasn’t available. I went with the shrimp and grits. Very, very bland. Noticeably lacking in flavor. My husband got the gumbo which was a lot more flavorful, but nothing to write home about. We both had higher expectations. The food was just very average.
My mimosa was great.
Would return for a coffee, would be skeptical on the bland food again. Love the Louisiana concept. The building is very cool. But please up the spice, flavors, and kick to your entrees!
A plus: was brought 3 different hot sauces. One of them was pretty good.

It was a beautiful day so we decided to go sit on the patio of Rabalais and have some brunch. They are pet friendly on the patio which we love so you can take your furry family member to eat.
The beignets were delicious. Hot and fresh and covered with powdered sugar. My husband had bacon and poached eggs which he said was good. Leah our server was warm and friendly.
The service this morning was kind of slow. It took us over 30 minutes to get a simple breakfast and they weren’t that busy.
The parking can be a bit of a challenge since you have to find street parking. We had to walk a few blocks.
The white chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies and are amazing!

Went in for breakfast finally! I got the Redneck breakfast… Soooo freaking good.
First Time I’ve tried fried green tomatoes and they were yummy. But anyways those were on the bottom with bacon on top of that and eggs on top of that with some sort of sauce on top with potatoes on the side. New favorite breakfast. Definitely will be going back for breakfast. Oh and a vanilla blended latte. So so so good.

I stopped in here on a Sunday morning to get something to eat for breakfast. The pastry case was full of amazing looking options and the guy behind the counter was super nice and upbeat even though in casual conversation we both admitted to having stayed up very late the night before (4^th of July!).
Anyway, I ordered a cookie and a caramel bread pudding. I got them to go, but he offered to heat up the bread pudding if I was going to eat it soon. I admitted I was just going back to my car to eat it while I waited on a friend. He gave me extra caramel sauce and everything was delicious. The atmosphere in the restaurant was warm and inviting and I wished I was dining in instead. Next time I will definitely be eating in with their full menu!

I already knew this place had the best vanilla latte around. Homemade vanilla is what makes it taste so delicious. The Beignets are pillowy soft, warm and delicious. Made to order. They have a full service coffee bar and and array of desserts. They also do special order cakes. I had cupcakes from here at a bridal shower and my niece ordered her wedding cake here. Very delicious and beautiful. Now, let’s move on to the food.
On my most recent visit I went with my boyfriend for lunch. We both decided on a shrimp Po Boy. I ordered mine with grilled shrimp and a side salad. The bread is so soft and lightly toasted. I love the spice on the shrimp. Very flavorful and cooked perfectly. My BF also ordered a cup of shrimp and grits. It was delicious and I wanted to keep eating it. The nice mix of the spicy shrimp along with the grits goes so well together.
The customer service here was great. We had several questions for our server and she was happy to answer them all. They also serve breakfast and dinner. Monday and Sunday they close at 2pm.
The place is filled with pictures of the Rabalai family that add a very nice touch to the experience while you’re here.

Cajun food couldn’t taste any better, could it? This is my second visit and I’m such a fan of this place. ‘Mom and Pop’ feel inside this place makes me feel right at home. I love the high ceilings and the piano with the sign that asks you to please play if you can.
I really like the Jambalaya on Linguini, and those with me how’ve tried others have enjoyed their entrees too. Check out the dessert window, to many to choose from will require multiple return trips. Yay!