Le Relais de l’Entrecote, French Restaurant, Paris
Share
Le Relais de l’Entrecote is good value atmospheric back-street French restaurant and a favourite with locals.
It’s a good sign when you see Parisiens queuing in the rain for a table at a back street restaurant. This, I thought, as I got wetter and wetter, is clearly no tourist dive.
In fact, like all great local secrets, it’s a bit intimidating inside. There’s no menu. They point to a table and you squeeze in under massive unruly vases of flowers. In my case I sat between a Sorbonne student reading philosophy books and a noisy French family.
You can order anything, as long as it’s steak and chips. Now, I’ve never ordered steak and chips in my life before but I was assured by a local that something special was going to happen. And it did.
The steak is good as you’ll find anywhere, the chips are golden French-style frites and the sauce…. Well I can still taste it now and I want more. More, I tell you… MORE! It’s simply the most delicious, moreish thing in Paris and that’s saying something.
Best of all, when you’ll slumped back in your cramped cheap chair thinking ‘well that was nice’, the classically black-and-white clad pert waitresses appear again and ask if you want seconds. Then thirds. You can just keep going.
Okay, it’s not much good for veggies. But that herby creamy mustardy sauce - a closely guarded secret recipe evidently - is worth checking out. Parisiens seem to think so. They’ve had to open a second restaurant to cope with demand at 15,rue Marbeuf (+33 1 49 52 07 17).
The steak et frites costs 18 Euros, including lots of baguette to munch while you’re waiting. Wine and nice cake-like sweets are extra. There’s a side salad available too.
It’s all perfectly charming, French, simple and scrumptious and should be made compulsory for all visitors.
rue St-Benoit 20, Paris, France
Contact tel: +33 1 45 49 16 00
Useful links
Le Relais de l’Entrecote
Email
