Doesn't Recommend

inlovealways

Joined 4 years ago

Unhappily Ever After Using Ral's. After researching and going to many tastings, my husband and I chose Ral's to cater our wedding. What a huge mistake. It is very easy to be distracted by the nice bistro and the opportunities to come to their tastings. The food is good and the presentation is very nice. These are the reasons we chose Ral's for our wedding. I had a really great experience with the staff throughout the entire planning process and I felt very confident that the food and drinks would be one thing I knew would go right. But the day of the wedding, everything changed. I will say that the presentation was very nice and because of this, the guests probably didn't notice some of the things that went wrong. But as the bride, I was unable to enjoy my wedding day because I was having to run around to correct their mistakes. We chose to do a Premium Open Bar, which included a large main bar and a seperate smaller bar on a rolling cart. When Ral's arrived, they set up the smaller bar right next to the chairs that the guests would be sitting in during the ceremony. Who wants booze in their wedding pictures? I asked if it could be moved and the bartender said that the only thing they could do was put the small bar away and work together at the large bar. This was a mess because all of my 300 guests were being served at only 1 bar. The bartenders were very rude to the guests and one of them even told the guest that she would be making way more money at the rodeo. (My wedding was in March in Houston) The bartenders made the drinks SO strong at the beginning of the night. Now don't get me wrong, my family enjoys to celebrate at occasions such as this, but the drinks were almost unbearable. Not only were people waiting at the 1 bar for a drink, but they were also waiting to get something added so the drink wasn't so strong. Because of this, they actually ran out of all liquor and wine. People were having to drink strange combinations of whatever was left. So, we paid for two bars and got 1 VERY nonfunctional one.

When it was time for the champagne toast, they didn't have champange. They said they forgot it and we could just use wine. This was when things were really beginning to be noticed. Also, before the event, I requested a certain type of wine for the wedding party and they didn't bring that either. My father had to go to the liquor store nearby and pay even more money for their mistake.

Also, if you do not like shrimp tails in your pasta, make sure you specify this. I ordered some type of shrimp pasta and the tails were still attached when served. If you choose crawfish instead, they will remove the tails.

The thing that finally did it was when it was time to cut the cake. We went through the whole cake cutting process for the pictures and when it was time to pass out cake to the guests, there were no cake plates. They forgot those also. One of the ladies there tried to fix the problem by going to her car to get some extra plates but they weren't my colors and it was a disaster.

I spent lots of time and money on my wedding. It is a day I planned for and was very confident that it would go well. No matter how much I planned, part of it was still ruined because of Ral's. I highly DO NOT recommend this place to use as a caterer for your wedding!

Doesn't Recommend

alfredwhite

Joined 7 years ago

Great Food Poor Service. My wife and I went on a Sunday afdter church for brunch. We saw a sign thqat said please wait for seating and we waiting for 10 minutes before we flagged down one of the servers who immmediately got the owner to come greet us. There was no greeter and we explained to the owner, this was our first visit. He immediately had an attiude and stated that there was a party going on at the time. There were plently of empty tables and we constantly had to flag down attendants for coffee and tea refils. The food however was excellent. Ral is nigerian which probably has something to do with his attiude of customer service. The place could use a little more sprucing up.

Doesn't Recommend

snorky45

Joined 6 years ago

waited all most 2 hr.mother's day w/res. food very bad service worse owner hard to deal with never again. we had reservation's for 15 sunday mothers day 2pm were seated at 10 till 4 buff. table was nasty very little food left new food that was brought out was cold and seemed to be old like from breakfast tasted same out of 15 of us 7 were able to eat one of the owner's a woman argued about we were only one's complaining when most all in line said same and was few and far beteween on wait staff i my self ate a plate of bacon and a few pieces of cat fish it was good tryed some meat tasted spoiled the other owner comped the meal witch was nice after all we had to go through. to be fair the place looked great very nice local.they do need to work out some problem's with the one woman owner very rude and pushy i wont go there again

Recommends

katydid925

Joined 7 years ago

So glad you can get Ral's food every day. Ral catered my wedding, and my husband and I discovered the cafe just in time to celebrate our 5th anniversary this past November.

The ambiance was really nice--cozy but elegant. And the food was as amazing as I remembered it from the wedding and from the few tastings I had as a potential catering customer back in 2000.

When Ral returned from a catering gig (it was a Friday night), the waiter re-introduced us, and Ral offered us free dessert as an anniversary gift. (an unexpected surprise, though not unlike the service and graciousness we have seen from him before.) I had the chocolate layer cake, which was overwhelmingly moist and delicious. Can't say enough good things about it.

We haven't checked out the Sunday brunch yet, but we hope to do that soon.

Recommends

auramouth

Joined 8 years ago

Quiet & romantic fine dining. I took my dinner club Eight Friends Out to Ral's for 3 nights in a row. Known for their catering, Ral's new Cafe Bistro serves unusual and delicious fare. My favorite was the vegetable raviolis, with a hint of hot red pepper, served in a very light cheese, cream sauce. The desserts were wonderful as well, including a creme brulee as good as any I had while living in France, with the sweet crust toasted by Chef Ral himself with his torch. This place is lovely, hidden, quiet, and perfect for an intimate romantic evening.

Recommends

sultry

Joined 7 years ago

Visit this location with great ambience and food.. I visited this restaurant on several occassions and the food, ambience, service and value all measure an overall rating of spectacular! Upon being greeted in a friendly tone, your mood is set for a terrific dinner and atmosphere. The Sunday brunch is just as good! There is live entertainment during the midday Sunday to afternoon moments played with a jazzy flair. I would highly recommend for a visitors, couples, families or celebrations with a small group.

Recommends

2n1990

Joined 7 years ago

Excellent food and menu choices and good location. I want to thank the owners Ral & Rhonda for the impeacable service on Sunday Brunch and the dining on Thursday January5, 2006. The food was just as you describe it "Bold in Taste" and the presentation was superior. The service was excellent, the waitstaff was well groomed. Overall it was excellent, I will visit again.