R Bistro & Pastry

I got a simple fried chicken sandwich with fries, and somehow this establishment made a normally bland meal into something gourmet. With a price that was worth 10 buck more than I paid, I was happy with every aspect of this place. The servers were just cheery and hospitable which made me love this place even more. When you come to Fairhope, come here.

Over rated and over priced. My crab cakes Benedict were excellent, my wife’s chicken salad was terrible. Never had chicken salad that tasted like pickle and mustard potato salad. Portions were small and service was average at best. Blueberry pie was excellent.

The food is good.
My wife and I shared an appatizer and a dizzert. We had 2 drinks apiece. The bill was $ 100.28 before the tip. I had an Irish coffee and she had house wine. Need I say more? I have never been ripped off like that in my life! If you love being ripped off be their guest.

The salmon burger was very flavorful and just the right size for me. The shrimp and grits are as good as people rave about. We were happy to have stumbled upon such a cute, upscale lunch establishment. Next time, I would like to try the Walnut Pimento Salad…

We used Unilocal to find this wonderful place. The atmosphere is cool and inviting. The Bloody Mary’s for brunch are an absolute requirement. The Bananas Foster French toast was great. The traditional Eggs Benedict was perfect. Essentially, you can’t go wrong for brunch. The staff is very friendly and helpful. R Bistro should be on your list — well worth the drive from Gulf Shores.

Very cute establishment in the heart of a quaint town. Our group got a salmon burger, shrimp poor boy and the chicken salad. The fries were
Good, the sauces with the two sandwiches were good. The chicken salad was just so so.

This place has been on my bucket list for about 2 ½ years. We finally made it in today for Sunday brunch. We may have been a tad bit underdressed with me decked out in my finest Red Sox tshirt, shorts and sandals, and my hubs in a tshirt, shorts and flip flops. We perched up at the bar, rather than intermix with those sporting their Sunday best.
We took a quick glance over the menu and made our selections. My hubs ordered the Crab Cakes Benedict. That’s a crab cake topped with a fried egg, over medium, and smothered in crawfish gravy. I tried a bite and the crab cake was perfect. It came with a side of fruit, which had a hint of cinnamon and honey. Even the fruit was mind blowing. I ordered the shrimp and grits after hearing so much about them on Unilocal and finding a delicious looking picture of them. Let me explain a little further. I love shrimp and grits but I rarely ever order them. A chef in Oxford, Mississippi by the name of John Currence has set the bar so high, I’m almost always disappointed with the bland dish that’s served to me in most restaurants. It’s usually so boring that I can hardly stay awake to finish it. That was absolutely not the case here. These were not quite as good as his, but still delish! I savored every bite and would absolutely order them again. They were probably the second best I’ve had. Seriously, they wowed my taste buds with that semi-​spicy crawfish gravy on top! They were worth the raves they receive. We couldn’t skip dessert after enjoying a meal like that. I narrowed it down to three things — the carrot cake, crème brûlée and key lime tart — and told the waitress to surprise us. She brought out the carrot cake and it was delightful. We took home another piece for my son when he gets off work.
The service was very friendly in spite of the fact that we may have been a little underdressed. Our waitress was Hungarian and we didn’t catch her name. She was fabulous nonetheless. We spoke with another lady who checked up on us and learned that she used to run a bar close to my hometown called The Thicket. Suddenly my fears of anyone being pretentious went right out the door. The service was fantastic.
The prices were average for a place like that. I think we paid around $ 67, including tip. It was well worth it for the quality and quantity of food we were served.
It won’t take us 2 ½ years to get back!

Yum! My friend and I drove over for the day and picked this place for food. We had the same thing, the croque Madame, and it was delicious!

I love the Crawfish gravy. But so far everything from the Fresh Catch to the beef stroganoff it’s always excellent.

I teetered between a 3 and 4. The food is good… don’t get me wrong. It’s just a few things that made our visit a tad underwhelming. First… the scallop appetizer was good but since it was heavily deep fried it could have been anything under that breading. Couldn’t tell that it was a scallop. We both got shrimp & grits which was delicious. For dessert I got the peanut butter pie and it was phenomenal and my better half got the blueberry pecan pie that he raved about. At the end of our meal I saw on our bill that the charged us 18.00 each for the shrimp and grits… well on the menu it said it was $ 16 each. I was going to ask the waitress about this but she grabbed my bill while she walked by and didn’t hear me when I started to talk… she was awesome otherwise though… just very busy. So the 4 dollar discrepancy made me a bit wary. I’m sure it was an honest mistake. I wouldn’t say the shrimp and grits is worth 18 a plate though… just fyi.

Great food and service was outstanding. Pecan pie is the best I’ve ever had.

We’ve been to R Bistro several times in the past few months, that, in itself, says something. The food has always been good, as has the service. Desserts to die for. I wish, though, that they would take things up another notch. It would be super nice if a bread basket was brought to the table without having to make a request. My dinner, last week, was tasty, the fish perfectly cooked, but it was not hot. It was served on a cold plate, cold plate = warm, not hot, food. Please, R Bistro, heat your plates before service. Another wish, please, remove the used flatware between courses and bring fresh. Little, fussy things, I know. Those little things, though, are the difference between a restaurant with good food/​service and a fine dining establishment.

This tiny place has delicious food. This is the second time we have been here. Started out with a cup of crawfish gravy that is beyond delicious. I had the shrimp po boy not your typical sandwich. This was huge shrimp lightly breaded on the softest roll with a large thick tomato slice and lettuce. My husband had the stroganoff on rice. I tasted it and what wonderful flavor it had. The service is on point and our waitress was so friendly. A nice experience and i
Love the atmosphere of the place. It is very tiny and has outdoor seating also, maybe four small tables. We did not have dessert this time which was hard knowing how awesome the bread pudding is. Cant wait to go back.

Ok I just don’t toss out five stars for many places. I have some fairly basic parameters
1. Food must be good
2. Staff must be friendly
3. Place must be clean
4. Place should have some character
This lovely restaurant exceeded all and more !
I know I should have started out with a salad but I didn’t OK ?
I started with a cup of the Crawfish gravy — and it really is more like Moms gravy served over a bit of perfectly cooked rice. I know not hard to make perfectly cooked rice — but believe me I always think of a dumb Jarhead like me can do it the rest of the world should be able to.
The CG would probably be the BOMB over a lightly broiled fish but for me just got the taste buds warmed up.
I looked at the sandwiches and almost went with a Po Boy but Margaret the waitress talked me into the special: lightly grilled Red Snapper over the most delicate Ragu ! Each tender little morsel was packed with so many flavors I couldn’t stop moaning as I put it in my mouth !
About this time the co-​owner (Joe) was walking out and asked «are they treating you right». I replied «Better than Best».
When he came walking back in he was talking to a realtor buddy from the small little village of Fairhope and we all started talking. In a few short minutes he told me if he and his wife’s dream retirement of «doing what we love». Also told me that after five years in business they just bought the place.
So YES the 5-​star rating is legit
And YES do yourself and this great couple a favor and go eat during the day Monday to Thursday and Dinner Friday to Sunday.

I seriously have not stopped talking about how wonderful my meal was. The best part about it was I can’t pin point if it was the service or the meal. Spot on attentive service with a beautiful smile, THANK YOU Loretta for an amazing night. We decided on a filet with frites and haricot verts. I ordered the shrimp and grits and I was not disappointed in either choice. NO KNIFE NEEDED for these plates. This is a must try and I am excited for my next meal.

OMG! So yummy!
I had the chicken salad with a croissant and fresh fruit. The chicken salad came on a bed of very fresh greens. The chicken salad was wonderful, the croissant was warm, flakey and tasted homemade. My husband had the crawfish gravy. I got a little taste before he cleaned out the last of the bowl with the French bread. It was superb — creamy with a hint of heat.
The carrot cake I had for dessert was fabulous. The tender cake was filled with carrots, coconut, raisins, and pineapple bits topped with a sweet, lemony icing.

Went back to R Bistro for lunch on a Friday afternoon. Had the crab claws… holy cow, they were so very good. Cooked to perfection and really big.
I also had the ham and cheese croissant melt. So, so good. Guyere cheese and a home made croissant roll. Decadent.
I am impressed every time I go to this small restaurant.

A quaint little place to grab brunch on Sunday (I haven’t been for breakfast, lunch, or dinner on other days). We got there right at 11 so I’m not sure how crowded this place could get as it is pretty small. The staff is very friendly and explained how everything was made in house and helped provide details on some of those entrees with unrecognizable names (at least for me). Our party ended up ordering the shrimp and grits, crabcake with crawfish gravy, and the croissant ham and cheese sandwich (there is a fancier name that I don’t recall at the moment). All were very good and my only complaint is that the portions are a bit small, at least for me. The baked goods up front looked good and next time I’ll have to make sure to try some of the sugary treats.

Went for lunch with a friend. Service was great. We split the special blackened fish rueben and their specialty of shrimp and grits. The sandwich was excellent: fresh, perfectly cooked and unique. The grits were elevated with smoked Gouda cheese, shrimp were fresh and large and covered in a creamy sauce that was decadent but went well. A great little place with a charming feel, exceptional service, and yummy food.

A place with five stars? Seriously? Can it possibly live up to the expectations? To my amazement, yes.
Tried a bowl of the «crawfish gravey», or as some people would call it, «soup». It was really good. Very creamy with a slight zip to it.
The Dixie shrimp was also delicious as well as the spicy chicken sandwich. Service was very good.
They make their own bread… it’s crazy good.
Small place but that adds to its charm.