Located at 104 Republic Ave., Rachael’s Cafe is a family-owned restaurant serving Cajun and Creole cuisine with a menu centered around the flavors of South Louisiana.
From seafood and gumbo, to sandwiches, salads and its Fit Meals, Rachael’s offers a wide selection for customers with different tastes.
Rachael Hebert opened the restaurant on Jan. 4, 2012, with the goal of providing quality Cajun and Creole food with friendly, family-style service. Since then, the restaurant has grown beyond its original space, doubling in size in 2017 and adding catering, frozen specialty seafood products and Fit Meals.
The restaurant also added a second location in Maurice at 8218 Maurice Ave.
The atmosphere of Rachael’s Cafe was casual and comfortable, making it an easy place to sit down and enjoy a meal.
The restaurant had a relaxed feeling that paired well with the familiar Louisiana dishes on the menu.
We were particularly drawn to the outdoor seating since it was a pleasant evening.
My colleague and I had the pleasure of visiting Rachael’s Cafe on Friday, Sept. 25. We began with the fried crab cakes, which made for a savory appetizer before our entrées arrived.
The crab cakes gave us a chance to start with one of the restaurant’s seafood selections before moving on to our meals. They tasted extremely fresh, and the sauce was essential to the experience.
For my entrée, I ordered the hamburger steak with a salad and twice-baked mashed potatoes. The hamburger steak was filling and paired especially well with the mashed potatoes. The creamy potatoes added a comforting texture, while the salad brought something fresh to the plate.
My colleague chose the salmon from the Fit Meals portion of the menu, served with mixed vegetables and a baked sweet potato.
Compared to my entrée, the salmon offered a lighter combination while still making for a complete meal. The vegetables and sweet potato complemented the salmon without overpowering it.
Beyond the dishes we ordered, Rachael’s Cafe has plenty of options that showcase its Cajun and Creole roots.
Some of the restaurant’s featured dishes include crawfish bisque, seafood jambalaya, crabmeat au gratin, crawfish étouffée and Rachael’s Signature Gumbo.
Customers can also find options such as seafood gumbo, crab patties and oyster and shrimp sandwiches. For dessert, the restaurant offers homemade bread pudding.
The restaurant’s family-owned background also adds to its connection with the Lafayette community.
Rachael’s Cafe has continued to expand while keeping its focus on Cajun and Creole cooking and the family-style service it was founded on.
Overall, I enjoyed my experience at Rachael’s Cafe. If you would like to visit, they are open Monday from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. They are closed on Sundays.