Soul Food - Chef Paul's Cafe

Chef Paul's Cafe

Chef Paul's Cafe is a classic Southern Soul Food restaurant in Fresno's Chinatown. It is open for lunch Wednesday through Sunday. Located at 952 F Street, you could drive right by it if you don't know it is there. The theme of the interior is New Orleans Jazz.

Wall Mural of New Orleans Street

New Orleans Music Mural

The Menu contains classic Southern dishes. Be sure to ask about the specials.

Menu

You have your choice of six different hot sauces on each table.

Hot Sauces and Honey

We ordered three entrees and sides. We asked what the specials are. The Gumbo was a special (not on the regular menu).

Gumbo

The Gumbo was nicely spiced with shrimp, hot link sausage, chicken parts, and crab legs. White rice is served on the side and can be added to the gumbo or can be eaten by the spoonful dipped in the Gumbo broth. 

Chicken Wings and Waffles

We ordered one of the chicken and waffle dishes: fried chicken wings on a seasoned waffle. They also serve this dish with a chicken breast. Chef Paul's is known for its fried chicken, and pairing it with a seasoned waffle is a Southern classic.

Three Meat Combo Plate with Cornbread

Grits

Fried Cabbage

Three meat combo comes with two sides. I ordered fried cabbage and grits, which were warm and buttery. The three meats were tritip, ribs, and hot links, which came with barbecue sauce on the side. All entrees also come with corn bread. Squirt honey on the corn bread if you are used to it that way.

Greens

We ordered an additional side of greens to go with the Gumbo. Add one of the hot sauces if you want 'mean greens' (which our companion did).

After the generous entrees you might be full, but ask what they have for dessert. We ordered caramel cake and the peach cobbler. The caramel cake is yellow cake with a rich caramel frosting. The peach cobbler is warm, served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The peach cobbler alone may be worth a trip to Chef Paul's. If you have already used your spoon and the server has taken it away, you might want to ask for another spoon to spoon up every last drop of the peach cobbler.

Caramel Cake

Peach Cobbler

Music Figures Near the Front of Chef Paul's

While eating, we were greeted by Chef Paul who told us about growing up in Fresno and how he learned to cook all kinds of food. He loves best Chef Paul's because there he recreated the food he grew up eating.

Open Kitchen in Chef Paul's