Cafe Rue Orleans - Cajun & Seafood

This food was the kind of specialty you only get from a small business. The catfish was so crispy. The gravy sauce was really to die for. I could go on and on. We had the best server too. She was so friendly and attentive. I can't wait to bring my family here. Amazing!

Delicious Cajun Restaurant with a GF menu Cafe Rue Orleans is a quaint restaurant on the second floor of a building. They have an entirely separate GF menu which had a range of options to choose from in all categories. It was nice to see 5 options for GF patrons for a main courses with 2 appetizer options. I had the Cajun Chicken with Jambalaya. The Jambalaya was delicious and perfectly spiced. The rice had a good texture as well. The Cajun chicken is blackened with a buffalo-esque sauce on top. The sauce was spicy and really accentuated the chicken. I thought the spices to coat the chicken were really good too. It was packed with flavor while not being painfully spicy. I definitely want to come back to try the red beans and rice. I would highly recommend this restaurant for Cajun food in the NWA area. I could tell they are the real deal.

The food was very good. The pitcher of mimosas were good. Our group of 7 came for brunch. Would have given a 5 on service but our food came out at different times so a few had to let theirs get cold while waiting on the rest to get their food . Small place and parking is a little tight. Servers were super nice and very helpful.

We just didn’t have a good experience. We were up for the football game and wanted to try it out. We had lunch but I saw other people with food that looked much better than ours. I may try again but just not sure. The food was a little dry and the beans were watery.

We had the most fabulous meal here! I'm from South Louisiana and this is Louisiana home cooking with real flair! That catfish tchoupaloe (I know I spelled it wrong!) is one of the best dishes I've ever had. A meal you dream about and want again. My husband got the seafood platter and absolutely loved it. We had enough leftovers for a whole other meal as well! Give this place a try, you won't regret it! I gave it a 4 on atmosphere just because I prefer booths to tables but the food there really gave me a taste of home!

A wonderful restaurant in Fayetteville. I recommend people from all over Northwest Arkansas to come try it. The space is inviting, with a somewhat nostalgic feel. I ordered the Eggs Ponchartrain for brunch with grits. The flavors were dynamic, and there was a great balance of texture between the English muffin, crispy crab cake, and creamy sauce. I wish I could have tried more. This restaurant uses authentic Cajun ingredients and techniques. Youll find etouffe, Tasso, alligator and more here. I wasn’t a huge fan of the coffee, but it was a great meal overall. The service was attentive and helpful.

Food was amazing — I had to close my eyes on the second bite to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. The crab cake was delicious, catfish cooked just right, and the shrimp had no complaints from me. The macaroni, on the other hand, wasn’t great — not worth bragging about, I actually trashed it. Service was a little slow, but they were very accommodating and even brought me free jambalaya to make up for the wait.

It's kind of a weird spot, but a good one. First off, it's the best cajun food in Fayetteville - granted there's not a lot of competition. It's not like stepping into a Louisiana diner, but I've never had anything I didn't like. If you're craving gumbo or a po' boy in Fayetteville, this is the place you would go. We've had some weirdness with service. One time we were turned away because they were too busy. We weren't asked to wait, rather we were told that we couldn't eat there; honestly it was more weird/funny than anything. I think the quality/price/value/atmosphere balance could be adjusted but overall I would recommend it if you're in the area and like cajun food.

Prepare yourself to be greeted with a warm hug of the best Cajun flavors! I'm so grateful the menu has kept through the years and every time I return to Faytown, Cafe Rue Orleans is a MUST for me. 15 years later and the recipes still taste like my first visit. You MUST get the shrimp pontchartrain and catfish Tchoupitoulas. The apps platter is great to share as well!

The flavors are good. It's a cute spot and the drinks and staff are great. Be careful parking on the hill

The food was amazing. The only reason I am giving this place a 2 is that our lunch here became an all day event. The service took soooooooo long. We had a table of 4 and we were there for 3-4 hours. I have never had an experience like that.

The food here was hands down amazing! I give the food 5 stars, the building/atmosphere isn't quite a five star rating (very casual, vintage). We started with the firecracker shrimp. It was fresh and had a little kick. We spilt the catfish Tchoupitoulas. It was delicious! I was blown away! The breading was crunchy, the crab cake inside was delicious and the crawfish sauce on top was so flavorful! And the potatoes are deceitful! The picture doesn't do them justice! They were cooked perfect and had just the right amount of salt. The vibe of the restaurant is very "small town" feel. Like you walked into your Cajun friend's great grandmothers house and sat down for the best meal ever!

What a wonderful dinner! We enjoyed delicious fried artichokes, Eggplant Napoleon, two different and great catch fish dinners. The four of us walked out satisfied and glad we discovered Cafe Ru Orleans. Perfect spot to celebrate our son's birthday dinner!

In planning our trip to Arkansas we were SUPER excited to try Cafe Rue, love the website, love the menu, love the concept.... And it has won a lot of brunch awards. Our experience today can best be described as average - or slightly below average. The 1.99 mimosa was semi warm, I was excited for a cold crisp refreshing drink and was a little disappointed. I had Carla's big easy. The boutin was delicious and the egg was perfectly poached. My husband had the eggplant napoleon. His entire meal was 2 slices of eggplant and 2 crab cakes.... For $26. You can order crab cakes on the menu for $5 each, who would have guessed we would be served a $16 eggplant It's a great place to watch the world go by, but once was enough for us.

Cafe Rue offer some of the most delicious food in our area. Chef Maudie knows how to take good care of people!

I am just adding a photo of crawfish Orleans because there's not a single one on the Internet. This is one of the best dishes they serve although our waitress highly recommended the shrimp Pontchartrain instead. If you prefer an Alfredo sauce, you should get shrimp Pontchartrain, but if you like something a little spicy, you definitely should order the crawfish Orleans. We have visited this restaurant multiple times when we come to town, and everything we have ordered has been delicious except for their table bread. It's not my favorite.

Came here all the way from Canada and the food was realy good. The atmosphere was friendly. The server sarah was very friendly.

I'll start with the awesome things: Fried Green Tomatoes and Fried Shrimp. The service was good too. Now for the not so good. The inside looks so sketchy. I can not imagine this would remind anyone of New Orleans. The ceiling is gross and there are boxes along the wall making it look unorganized and sketchy. The jambalaya was thick and dry. My friend had the red beans and rice and it was ok. There also is not any handicapped parking and it makes it difficult when you have a disability to navigate the parking lot and stairs. It was our first time here and I don't see coming back anytime soon.

This place is nothing fancy and small. Only about a dozen tables. The food was absolutely delicious. The service was great. The came on a Sunday for brunch. Drinks are cheap but good. Will be back.

First time to visit, have been wanting to for quite some time. The restaurant is located in the center of a shut down, run down 50's Style motel. Not much to look at from the outside. They have done some updating inside and it is clean and comfortable. We came for lunch and was surprised by the small lunch menu but the server said we Could order from the dinner menu as well. So I ordered the crab cakes and catfish tchoupitoulas based on the servers recommendation. The crab cakes were seasoned very well, lots of crab meat and were very good. The catfish was excellent. The sauce prepared was delicious and the shrimp were good as well. This is a large meal and will certainly make dinner for another evening. I really enjoyed the lunch. There seemed to be only one server and one other in the kitchen so they were only allowing about 10-12 people at a time in to eat but service was timely.

Food was delicious! Especially liked the gumbo! It's a small place. The service was good.

Service is a little slow but the atmosphere, personable employees, and food make up for it. :) would dine again.

Ate here July 5th and it was the bomb!!!! I grew up about 4 hrs from New Orleans and the food at Cafe Ru Orleans is the best I've had outside of New Orleans. I had crawfish ettoufe and friend crawfish. Hubby had seafood platter. All the food was beyond delicious. Our server Sarah was so friendly. The only little ding I would give this restaurant is that it needs a good dusting. Cant wait to try the Sunday brunch!!!

Always a memorable experience.Excellent service and presentation.Always fresh seafood . You will not be disappointed!

I really enjoy this place. The food is always amazing and appreciate that they do takeout. Really enjoy their catfish and brunch options. Excited to try many other dishes

Authentic Louisiana cuisine and welcoming Nola vibes. Brunch is awesome with Mimosa pitchers and the Eggs Pontchartrain and Eggs Des Amix are simply delicious. Lunch is pretty simple with Po Boys and Muffulettas, but I sometimes splurge for my favorite Crawfish Étouffée. The only problem for me is that I want to take a nap after lunch. At dinner if one can tear themself away from the Étouffée, I also recommend the Eggplant Napoleon or the Crawfish Orleans. If you have 3-4 folks in your group the Bayou Boat will make you feel like you're back on Canal Street. If you enjoy really good food that is prepared and served with a smile, you will love this Fayetteville gem.

I just want to say WOW! Had the Gator plate with Jambalaya and added Etouffee. The gator was cook perfect. Good portion. The Etouffee was delicious. Jambalaya was heavy on the herbs. Sweet tea was sweet like you like it in the south. Sarah was great. This is my go to for Cajun. Looking forward to more of this. The place was clean and had windows looking down on College Ave. Parking in rear of building.

Maudie & Carla catered our graduation celebration on Saturday It was fantastic, yummy & very tasty. Everyone who attended was amazed at all the delicious dishes. i would highly recommend this restaurant, Maudie knows how to make the best cajun food in Arkansas. We love the food and we all love Maudie.

Went to eat and a waiter spit powered sugar on another. Looked around and the floor as well as whole restaurant was filthy!! During covid I blamed lack of help for this and just now came back. It should NEVER PASS health inspections. It may have good food but I do not want to get sick. 0 stars

Food is good but the place is so dirty! Dust hanging from the fan. Windows and seals filthy. Needs a deep clean. Won't return.

Excellent food and service. I had the Catfish Tchoupitoulas. It was outstanding. Fried catfish with crab cake and seafood sauce. It more than met what I was hoping for. The combination was perfect.

I was in town visiting friends and we decided to try this place for brunch today. I was happy they accept reservations; there were 7 of us. I ordered the french toast with a side of scrambled eggs. My big disappointment is that they don't have bacon. =( Only sausage, which I don't care for. Hence the eggs instead. Everything tasted really good. My friends all enjoyed their meal as well. I can't believe mimosas are $1.99 per glass. I had the peach. It was good, but a little too much champagne for my liking. I asked for extra peach juice to mix with it. I wish I remembered to check in while I was there. I hope to visit again. I just don't know when.

this is not authentic cajun food. if youre looking for a good hole in the wall spot, this is not it. we immediately felt sick after leaving. not only were the flavors completely off, the etouffee was hot in some places and cold in others. they served some plain, room temp. mangled bread. it was incredibly disappointing. the actual location was dirty and the staff was rude.

Service was excellent. The exterior is really rough, but the menu offers a nice variety of Cajun options. Not over spiced or over priced. The crawfish and corn chowder as an appetizer was excellent. Bourbon chicken with mixed vegetables was flavorful and the veggies had artichokes, squash, peppers, onions. Next time I'm in town I will be back.

Best Cajun food in arkansas. Can't beat the Cat Chop and the owners are beyond awesome. Love the food people and service. Go there asap and fall in love. Just be ready for a nap after.

Best Cajun food I've ever had. Staying an extra night just so we can eat there again.

I moved to Fayetteville from Louisiana three years ago and had been in dire of need of some good Cajun food- Cafe Rue did not disappoint! I took my parents here when they came to visit this weekend and we were so happy with everything we got. Our server was amazing and so sweet. I got the Crawfish Orleans and it was exactly what I had been needing. I will definitely be bringing my family here when they come visit again. The restaurant itself reminded me of spots I would eat at back home. Excellent experience all around and we can't wait to go back!

Tucked into the second floor of an unassuming building is some of the best Cajun food in NW Arkansas. The staff is super friendly and knowledgeable of the menu. I had the catfish and got to taste the jambalaya-both were outstanding. If you're looking for good Cajun, it's right here!

I got the Catfish Tchoupitoulas and seriously it was one one the best things I've ever eaten. The service was great food was great I would definitely recommend!

My daughter stopped and got takeout from here and it was extremely delicious. She got a catfish dinner, which had 5 good-sized pieces. For her side sue got macaroni and cheese and it was also good. I'm not ax fan of Tartar sauce but this one has dill in it. And I normally dislike potato salad and I loved this,

The location of this place is a little odd. You park in an old abandoned hotel. The dining area is a little small but the food was great. I had the catfish dinner with red beans and rice. The fish is excellent. Lightly breaded. Portion size was good.

Overall a good place to stop. Much more of a run down hole in the wall place, harder to find than we expected. It is im the parking lot of a motel. Food was good, sever didn't seem too excited about the good "not bad" is a lot of the response to menu items. Misleading when one from our party asked if something was spicey and we were told no. She was disappointed to find out it was much spicier than expected. No brunch except Sundays. We along with other visitors were surprised by that. Shrimp in the po boy was delicious.

Now this place is the place to go if your looking for Cajun cuisine. They have a great lunch menu from fried shrimp to all the poboy sandwiches. To all the great sides. If your craving great Louisiana food you stop here!!!

We were expecting better food :( I ordered the shrimp poboy and I only ate the shrimp. There was not much shrimp. There is a lot of breading going on. The bread is too thick all I can taste was bread pickle and the breading of the shrimp. I saw multiple peoples plates and they all didn't eat the bread. My boyfriend ordered the jambalaya and it was too dry and the rice was hard. We both didn't finish our food so we literally paid for a couple bites. Flavor in food is good though. Waiter was good.

Very annoyed and disappointed to be refused service 30 mins before closing after having driven 40 minutes to have a Father's Day lunch.

Ordered the jambalaya, red beans and rice, and crawfish etouffee but it did not taste like authentic New Orleans food. " fresh bread" at our table was stale and the food tasted old. Got very sick after eating here. Will not be coming back

We have been many times for brunch... I can only speak to brunch... but I mean it is a very important meal to speak of. We have never been disappointed with the food nor the serving size. Prices are what they should be for the whole experience. The service has been a hit or miss each time but ultimately it has been good and nothing worth sharing otherwise. You can't beat the mimosas and I strongly recommend the pitcher if you are a group of 3-4 as it's worth it! One thing to note is be prepared to wait unless you are there upon them first opening. I've said it before and will say it again- FAYETTEVILLE wins for Brunch spots!

Well. This was terribly disappointing, while I have been here before, it wasn't glowing, yet it was delicious. We got the etouffee and the rice was crunchy! The pasta was just meh. No real flavor, almost bland!! And the gumbo was compared to canned gumbo, no kick at all, isn't gumbo supposed to have spices?? Ya'll What happened here this was kinda of an icon in town. Crunchy rice ?? Bland gumbo!? The appetizers were good: fried green tomato's and fried crawfish, good thing I filled up on them cuz dinner was a disappointment all around the table. I May return,?? Only because, as I said, this place has been an old time favorite. What happened!?

Have been looking forward to eating here for a week as I'm here on vacation. Have to say I'm pretty disappointed. Was expecting a lot more from the reviews. Had the shrimp po boy and a cup of gumbo. Also tried the red beans, Mac and cheese, and jambalaya. Po boy was ok. Far too much Mayo in sandwich. Was good when I got a bite of pickle. Gumbo and red beans were very bland even after a large amount of hot sauce. Jambalaya and Mac and cheese get higher marks as at least they had some flavor. Wish they had a larger menu for lunch. Any way this is not the Cajun food I'm accustomed to. I have traveled though that area for years. Real Cajun food is supposed to pack a flavor punch. Nothing here do you get that real Cajun punch from. Trust me I wanted to like it. But I get down here a couple times a year for weeks at a time. I probably won't be back but may try dinner one time. But know what I won't be ordering that's for sure. One last thing is service was not good. Lady was teaching another server and they spent our entire lunch in the server station. Never got a refill. But she did offer us to go cups. Best thing she did.

I am giving it three stars because of the very friendly and nice server. The ambiance and food get two stars. First - there is no visible sign from the road. Very difficult to find. When we did get to the parking lot, it was a mess. Then, the dining room is not great. I had trouble keeping my eyes off of the dirty and stained ceiling over our table. Then, the rest room was not clean at all. Two of us and we ordered an assortment of things to share - crab cake, crawfish etouffee, gumbo, and Bourbon Street chicken. The crab cake had a lot of filling and not much crab. I could not taste the crab in it - not chunks of crab - just a mushy filling that was fried. The gumbo was very bland and not the traditional type with a thick roux that I am used to in Louisiana. It was the sausage and chicken variety. Apparently, the seafood gumbo is only available at night. The chicken breast came plain and dry on a big plate. The seasoning was good on it but it could have used a bit of rice underneath it and some sort of sauce on top or on the side. It was dry. There was no bread with any of the dishes and that would have been a nice addition. The etouffee was the best thing on the table. It was good but, again, would liked to have had some bread with it, considering the price.

Food was amazing and highly recommended!!! Favorite was the Shrimp Orleans, alligator, red beans and rice, and the best catfish tchoupitoulas!!

I love this place!! The customer service, is the best!! But here recently I haven't been able to go out a lot and I was missing the place!! I love the alligator bites!! My favorite so I looked on a new delivery app I had never even heard of called Door dash!!! I saw Cafe Rue Orleans on their!! Let's just say I was Super excited!!! Thank you to those Restaurants and business that have open their services up for delivery especially for busy people like me!!! I love the place and the pictures does do the Fried tomatoes or the Fish justice!!! Thanks to Maude and her team!!!

First time eating here! Family and friends had recommended it highly. We ordered the etoufee and the catfish tchoupitoulas and while the first was good, the catfish was the star of the meal! The space is small but the food was wonderful! Would recommend it to everyone!

This place was absolutely delicious! The Firecracker Shrimp is full of flavor and had that right about of "crunch" !! The only downfall is the parking lot. I did scratch the bottom of my car driving up the steep entrance.

Best cajun food in Northwest Arkansas!! Not much to look at, very little parking, but so worth it for the food!

I love this restaurant. The staff is always welcoming and the food is fresh. This is one of the local restaurants that I frequent often.

Best place in northwest Arkansas. Get eggplant Napoleon or anything with the seafood sauce. Amazing.