I EAT: Le Relais de l’Entrecote @ Boulevard Montparnasse, Paris – Delicious Steak Frites the way the French do it!

I was in Paris a little while ago, for the first time in almost 20 years. This time, I did a little homework for food, and one of the first places I went to eat was at Le Relais de l’Entrecote. I do enjoy my steak frites the way the French do them. While I don’t usually enjoy skinny fries, the French do do them very well!

Le Relais de l’Entrecote is a famous and popular bistro restaurant that serves, you guessed it, steak frites, and has a few different branches around Paris and apparently now, even globally.

I’d read about queues and long waits, but when the taxi pulled up at the Montparnasse branch, I was gratified to see that there was absolutely no queue! It might be because it had just opened for lunch.

I’d also read some unsavoury reviews that called this a tourist trap or that it served mediocre fare. But I was determined to try it anyway. You only live once!

There is no menu. There is just 1 thing served – steak with their special sauce and fries with a side of green salad for €26.50. So, that’s what we had.

The waitress seated us in a lovely glassed in area, which was very lovely as it was chilly outside yet a little sunny in Summer. This was before the heatwave that hit Paris the next few days. I imagine it would be more comfortable in the cooler months, when the sun is scarce so you don’t have it blazing down on you through the glass.

After taking our request for the doneness of meat (she spoke enough English to explain things to us) we were served a fresh green salad. Everything kind of tastes nicer when you’re a little jet-lagged, I swear LOL

Then came the mains – steak and fries.

Slices of beef came on a plate piled with lovely salted shoestring fries and doused with the special green sauce that they are so famous for.

I don’t eat very much beef at one go, so this was just about right for me. However, after we were finished, the waitress came around to top up our plates with more steak and fries and sauce! That was a surprise. We weren’t expecting it! But I believe 2 rounds is all you get, and that was more than enough for me anyway!

The meat was done to my request – medium, and it was tender and juicy. The mysterious special green sauce was flavoursome. The fries were real potatoes, and addictive! All in all, it was an expensive meal (once you convert to RM) but one I enjoyed. No complaints and I’d even return if I’m back in Paris!

SUMMARY

AMBIANCE: The tables were small and set close together. Would be uncomfortable if you had coats and large bags with you. Otherwise, it was quite cosy, and I enjoyed sitting in the glassed area, where you get the fun of sitting on the sidewalk without being actually exposed in the open!

SERVICE: Our server spoke enough English to take our orders and to explain that we were entitled to top-ups of steak and fries when we were done with the first round. Service was fairly quick but it might have been because it was fairly early in lunch service when we arrived.

TASTE: Beef was done to my requested doneness and it was tender and juicy. Sauce was flavoursome and fries were crispy and made of real potatoes (this matters to me).

PRICE: A little pricey but the food tasted good so I have no complaints

LE RELAIS DE L’ENTRECOTE
101 Boulevard Montparnasse
75006 PARIS

Tel: +33 1 46 33 82 82
Metro: Vavin (Line 4)

Opening Hours: 1200-1430, 1900-2330 hours