Update-2nd visit- eroded about 7pm. The place closes at 8. The place wasn't busy only 3 tables. The hostess dropped the menus amd walked away. Strange. The waitor was nice enough but needed some basic training. They serve a carafe of water , we drank it and he returned to the table several times, never refilled it or evem offered. Had to ask for it a couple of times. Finally brought it when he brought dessert. The turn off was the strong cigarette smoke smell on him between his trips to our table. I had to try the Osso Bucco this time. It was HUGE and tender. The risotto was creamy and flavorful and did noy disappoint. The hot honey shimp was served hot and fresh. Not over cooked. Not the same.sauxe that everyone else has which was refreshing. Will reorder for sure. Crawfish Cognac & Cream was phenomenal!!! Really wasnt thinking about dessert, but when I asked which was homemade - thats what we chose- the chocolate cake. It was horrible and hard. Not light or creamy. He should habe left off the cream b/c it was like it was the last left in the can and was watery. We watched other tables get sat rhe same way, so it was everyone - follow me, drop the menus and walk away, no contact. The place is pretty cool & decorated nicely. Maybe go back, we shall see read more

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My husband had been wanting to try Caffè REL for a while, and honestly, it took a few suggestions (and some of our usual spots being unavailable or too far) for me to finally say yes. I had looked over the menu beforehand and knew there were things I'd enjoy, but from working in the industry, I'll admit I was a little hesitant. I was expecting something more on the stuffy, overly formal side. I couldn't have been more wrong--in the best way. Right away, I loved that the entire front opens up to the sidewalk. It gives the space an airy, relaxed feel that immediately put me at ease. Inside is cozy but spacious, with plenty of seating, and a beautiful long bar. Kaitlin was behind the bar and was so easy to chat with. That alone made a big impression--because if we're being honest, great, welcoming bartenders can be hit or miss in this area. It was refreshing to find a spot where the energy felt genuine and comfortable. Definitely a place we'll be adding to our regular rotation. We stopped in for drinks first (which were great, by the way), and when it came time to eat, it was honestly hard to choose. I went with comfort and ordered the hamburger steak with mashed potatoes and veggies, and my husband got the John Gotti with a Caesar salad. Everything was delicious. Portions were generous--almost a little too much for me--but realistically, that's a good problem for most people to have. I didn't grab any photos this time, but we'll absolutely be back. read more

Been wanting to stop in here for months and today was finally the day! Great food, sat outside on a lovely day with good service by Rai. I chose the John Gotti warm and it was the perfect lunch -- even had half left to take home. Menu was extensive and I'm already anxious to go back. read more

Caffè REL - Menu - French Near Me - Hendersonville, North Carolina

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Caffe Rel is a great addition to downtown Hendersonville. We took a chance on a Friday night and were able to be seated immediately. Our server was Shelby. She provided wonderful service! The food was delicious. We ordered the steak and crawfish cognac & cream pasta dish. Both were very flavorful. We will certainly return. read more

Cute place! Didn't realized they closed so early, so we should probably not have been seated at 7:45, 15 minutes before they closed:/ I ordered the mussels in white wine which were tasty but 4 of them were closed which shouldn't have been served, and our VERY inexperienced waiter said since the kitchen was closing I couldn't have crusty bread... Who wants to lap up that delicious broth with soft bread? Not I! Food was good, service lacking, ambiance cool. I work in hospitality, we shouldn't have been seated. Guess that's on us, could have looked it up but we just walked in off the street because it looked cool. Plus who closes at 8 pm for dinner service on Main St.??? read more

The food and staff were great. Enjoyable date night/ special event experience. Not authentic French, but French inspired for Hendersonville, NC is probably the most accurate description and should be good enough, considering. The Franklin menu seems more authentic to some French dishes. Its an hour drive. Go there. This spot on Main is fine. I'll be back! read more

Stopped in for a late lunch on a whim. Lovely, relaxed atmosphere, attentive staff and generous, delicious food. Following my server's suggestion, I tried the Chicken Marsala. Silky, tender and memorable. I'll be back! read more

I ate here when they first opened and it was pretty good. Went back with friends a few weeks later and it was not good. Food was riddled with salt and hard to eat. Decided to have their Caesar for lunch as it was the only good thing left to eat there! Unfortunately it was terrible First of all it was a side salad portion.. tasteless and cost $13! Don't waste your money here. Plenty of other good restaurants in Hendersonville. read more

Where to start. Ate outside... nice night, very pleasant. Server friendly & attentive. Along with the other foods we ordered "Hot Bacon Spinach Salad" (with shrimp added as the protein). The salad came out WITHOUT shrimp (& nothing was "hot"). Sent it back... When it came back it included a 4" hair, (human we hoped?), in the shrimp ! (At that point we didn't check to see if it was hot.) Called for the manager & showed her the hair... her reaction... "OH, that's not good... I won't charge you for either salad." (You won't charge for either? You mean the one that came out first WITHOUT the shrimp AND the 2nd one WITH THE HAIR! How magnanimously generous!) Three other entrées just OK. Suggest hair nets for staff & a visit by local health inspector. read more

Stopped by for lunch yesterday, was pleasantly surprised. Great location on Main Street and they've done a great job remodeling the restaurant. We walked in and were almost immediately greeted by a hostess/server who asked if we wanted to be seated inside or outside, we opted for the bar. Service was well above average, never had to ask for anything, she was spot on. Limited beer list but a good selection and best of all the brews were COLD! They brought out fresh baked bread with a tomato jam, very good. We ordered the Hot Cuban sandwich and the Hot Italian sandwich, both came with chips. Both were excellent. We plan on returning in the near future! read more

The setting in ambience of this rustic getaway is a perfect setting for a romantic dinner for two or a great venue for groups. Starting with the cocktails and beverages to the appetizers the incredible tasty bread with tomato and olive oil to start. Flawless. read more

Caffè REL - Opal basil shrimp is to die for. - French Near Me - Hendersonville, North Carolina

Sadly, this second establishment hasn't found its footing for lunch, like the one in Franklin, NC which is delicious all day long. Once seated, service was slow even for water. The wine chilled container, was an after thought, after the wine was poured. And it's quite obvious that the kitchen isn't in sync with making sandwiches, where it should look enticing vs something that was thrown together. One if their specialty is a "Cuban Press" (which had the "fleur-de-lis" symbol) - sandwich was not pressed, no grill marks, cheese was solidified, one piece of deli ham, along with a smidge of pulled pork.. not impressed. The special that day was a "catfish sandwich".. bread wasn't toasted, tasteless fish sat haphazardly, with no condiments to assist on the plate. And the calamari that states "lightly dusted"... hmmm.. not quite if it's drenched in heavy cornmeal. Heard dinner was much better... we may give it a whirl one of these days. read more

Four of us had dinner at Caffe REL in Hendersonville Saturday evening. Our experience was wonderful and our dinners were absolutely delicious. I had the evening special pork chop, mash potatoes and fried Brussel sprouts all fixed to perfection. My husband had crawfish with noodles, friends had noodles carbonara and pot roast with mashed potatoes. It was all fixed perfectly and was delicious. Meals served with warm bread and homemade bruschetta. Caffe REL's atmosphere is warm, friendly and upscale. We set in the front window with the big window open-just a perfect night. I look forward to returning to try lunch and their brunch on Sunday's. I rate them five star! read more

First time here, but boy, our server made us feel welcome from the moment we sat down. I have not had a Reuben in a really long time and this one is just delicious. And the season fries are really great even the pickle is good.! read more

The Salmon with dill sauce is superb!!! The service was excellent. My only suggestion is that the seats could be more comfortable:) read more

Excellent service wonderful food!! Beyond Expectations! Excellent staff wonderful staff asked us if we wanted anything. Great ambience. read more

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Dined on a VERY slow Sunday evening. Waited on drinks far too long for how busy they were. Server could not describe the ONE entree special. He said he had "just got here." "Bruschetta" amuse-bouche amounted to untoqsted bread slices and what seemed to be canned tomatoes with some spices and capers. Ordered crab bisque to start and shrimp and grits for entree. Both had so much salt they were practically inedible. Chocolate cake for dessert tasted Sysco. Unforgivable for the prices they charge. First and last visit. read more

The service was severely lacking..did not introduce himself, never offered more drinks, never asked how the food was. The food was mediocre at best. There were 4 of us and none of our plates were hot-just lukewarm food. Sadly they are not living up to their reputation. read more

We ate lunch there today. The snail and tails was VERY salty. You couldn't really taste any other flavors. The crayfish tails were so small why bother. We also had calamari. Calamari was good with a light, tasty batter. Chicken Alfredo was overpriced. The sauce was really good. The chicken was salty. My husband had crab cake sandwiches. Not sure why crab cakes should be in a sandwich. My husband said the crabmeat was too spicy hot. Pretty restaurant. There are some entrees on the dinner menu we want to try. read more

We visited Caffe Rel a couple of weeks ago, and were pleasantly impressed. Originally we had reservations about the restaurant due to comments of poor service, no reservations allowed and limited menu...all normal for most new restaurants. All those concerns were dispelled when my wife called to see if we could make a reservation and was told yes! When we arrived, we were impressed with the decor and ambience. The staff was very accommodating (sat us in one area, but more than willing to relocate us when friends showed up unexpectedly). Service was very good (attentive, but not overly). The food was very good...great variety for Hendersonville. There was only one dish, which I thoroughly enjoyed, I felt could use a little less salt - Snails & Tails...could be a personal preference. Caffe Rel is a Great addition to the Hendersonville food scene. We'll be going back! read more

I gave it a shot twice. Nothing appears French to me. I thought the food was off. Not the right combinations of ingredients. The restaurant smelled unappealing. Wont go back. read more

Service was slow and indifferent. Food did not The price. Fans were on when it was already cold.

The food is excellent - that's the good news. The seats are incredibly uncomfortable and the table layout is awkward. The service was sloppy with waiters "auctioning" food - is this your food, how about you? It took about twelve minutes before our waiter even acknowledged that we were seated. We asked for salad plates since we were sharing and we were given piping hot plates. I have a photo of wine glasses. One is the glass that is already on the table and was used to pour the wine we brought. The other was the glass given when I needed a new one when a bug flew into mine. What I am trying to say is that the new glass should have been given to us when the waiter saw we brought our own wine. Anyway, we will try it again and hopefully it will be better. I may bring my own cushions. read more

Caffè REL - Better, best - French Near Me - Hendersonville, North Carolina

Food wasn't great. Had a French dip sandwich that was kinda blah and bread wasn't French bread either, and served with what appeared to be store bought potato chips. Sorry, not impressed with this expensive $25 lunch which I could have gotten for 1/2 the price at an establishment down the street. read more

Had dinner with several friends. Food and service were great. I highly recommend Caffe REL to my friends and family.

Went for a peaceful, solo, Sunday brunch. The crab egg's benedict was delicious. Sometimes when I go places alone, I get ignored for larger parties, but not the case here. It was very classy looking, but not uptight. Want to go back for dinner with my boyfriend. read more

The sign says "It's about the food". We will never find out because it certainly is not about the service. Got there at 1:15 for a late lunch. Less than half the tables seated. No one at front of house. Someone comes up after a few minutes and seats us. We begin to look at the menu, turn over our water glasses, one of which was dirty. The waiter waiting on all of the tables around us passes us at least three times, no other servers were visible in the restaurant, only a bartender. No one ever came to fill water, take drink orders or anything else. We left after another party was seated and no wait staff was to be found. It looked like a promising lunch spot, but there should be better service (or any service at all) for those prices. read more

Not ready for prime time. I think they need some more time to straighten things out after recently opening. We made a reservation for 6:45 and then received a notice that it was changed to 6:30. We arrived to a huge line, full tables and much confusion. They suggested we wait at a table outside. After more delays, we decided to just eat at the outside table but received NO SERVICE! A server explained that they were using google for reservations but had not put in required data (number of tables, estimated turn time, etc). We eventually were seated inside but the numerous delays made it not worth the trip. Someone at the restaurant needs to straighten this all out before they lose more customers and their reputation. read more

Great new Restaurant downtown. Creative menu with lots of flavor. Finally something a little different with class to enjoy with family and friends. I have tried most everything. Crab Cakes are excellent, all the protein from the grill is cooked and served perfectly. Early on the servers were working to find their balance. Now its is working very well. When its busy (like most nights) the food might come out with a little delays but it is always worth the wait. Quality and presentation matter here and that is appreciated. read more

The food is amazing. It's a very relaxing atmosphere, you can visit with your friends and not feel rushed. The mashed potatoes were amazing. The staff was great, they took good care of us. The head chef came out to see if everything was OK. The manager was walking around checking on every table. I'll be back. read more

Nice atmospher and we wanted to like it, however, the service was terrible. One guest at our table never received the chicken with her meal until the checks came. One other person at our table never received the vegetables that were supposed to be with her meal. When we mentioned the missing chicken and vegetables, they apologized but never corrected the problem. The manager was aware of our issues but never came to our table to offer an explanation or apologize for the situation. They did comp the meal missing the meat. We'll just see how long they can stay in business. read more

I want to describe an experience I had with Caffe Rel in Hendersonville and the owner who was in Franklin. Four of us dined at the Hendersonville restaurant on Friday evening 11/22. All in all the experience was enjoyable. I wanted dessert and usually I get my dessert to go. I did that and got a slice of chocolate cake to go. Got home planted ourselves in front of the tv and I opened the box with the slice of cake in it. Took a bite and thought the cake was a bit dry. Took another bite and decided it was one of the driest pieces of cake I had ever eaten. Next day I called Caffe Rel. I spoke to the chef Brian and we had a fairly constructive conversation He was really understanding and apologetic. Brian offered me the opportunity to receive a replacement slice of cake .I told him I would take him up on that. About 30 minutes later I went into the Hendersonville Rel. I was offered my money back or another piece of cake. Another slice was brought out. II gave it the touch test and appeared to be similar to what I had taken home. I was then offered a different slice of cake. There was no difference from the others. I called Rel to talk with Brian again. The owner of Rel got on the phone. He really had no reasonable explanation for my cake being as it was. There was no guarantee that would prevent my experience happening again. I had a little difficulty in accepting that. He then told me that I " sucked". Yep. He did. I would suggest not visiting his restaurant based on "my" interaction with him. What he said to me was unquestionably inappropriate and uncalled for. All I have to say is " what's up dude ? read more