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When you're down by the sea ~ and an eel bites your knee ~ that's a moray!
Now, one might expect that such adulation would be reserved for the Grand Dames of the French culinary tradition, Parisian restaurants like La Tour D�Argent, Taillevent, or Jules Verne, but not so for us. Our epicurean mecca is a small restaurant in a region of Paris called Porte Maillot, not far from the Champs Elysee. Here stands a restaurant that takes no reservations and only serves one dish - steak and frites or French fries as they are known elsewhere.
Indeed, that is the nickname we gave this restaurant when we were little, �steak frites� which was easier to say than its formal name Le Relais de Venise son Entrec�te (entrec�te is the cut of beef known as rib-eye in the United States). They are open for lunch and dinner every night of the year except a few holidays and the month of July. And yes, that is all they serve, steak and frites - at least for the main course. Dessert features a full menu headlined by their famous and delicious profiteroles, as well as cheese plates, tarts, fresh fruit and more.
It was founded in 1959 by a Frenchmen who had little experience in restaurants. He purchased an Italian restaurant called Le Relais de Venise, left the name and the Italian d�cor as it was, added the word Entrec�te and decided to keep the meal simple and straightforward.
Steak frites takes no reservations, and is packed every night, thus there is always a line, but it�s one everyone is willing to tolerate. Standing under the faded red awning is like the beginning of a ritual and only adds to the experience. After about 10-20 minutes a table comes available and upon being seated at the table, the waitress asks simply �how would you like your meat cooked?�
That�s it, no choice of cut or sauce or anything, just the same perfect steak and frites they have been serving for over 50 years. The decoration, the chairs, the uniforms - everything is as it always has been. We always order the house wine and then wait for a simple green salad followed by the most heavenly, melt-in-your-mouth, steak and crispy-perfect fries in the world. By Philippe Cousteau, son of Jean-Michel Cousteau, grandson of Jacques Cousteau. Now the key to the whole deal is the sauce; a secret for decades that many have tried to replicate but none have been able to. Impossible to do justice to in words, there is most certainly a dash of mustard, some herbs, butter, cream and more that combines into a perfect sauce.
I admit this is lofty praise and no doubt much of this adoration is linked to my happy memories of dinners with friends and family; sitting with my mother, sister and grandfather under the faded paintings of venetian canals that adorn the walls, talking about life, my grandfather�s countless adventures, our mutual love of wine (when I got older) and of course global conservation. There is some irony I will admit that one of the conservation actions I now advocate is to limit the consumption of meat. I, for one, strive to be a weekday vegetarian and avoid meat most of the time; however, my French heritage encourages the occasional indulgence as well as a blissful stroll down memory lane.
Welcome to Relais de Venise L�Entrec�te
When you dine with us, there is no menu - simply tell your waitress how you would like your steak cooked. After your salad starter, your steak is brought to you in two stages, with one half held back to keep warm, so you can enjoy it at its best and is accompanied with more freshly prepared frites.
There is a small selection of wines to accompany your steak frites and to round off the meal, you can choose from a selection of cheeses and a dessert list with profiteroles, meringue and other ice cream confections.
With this simple offering, prompt service and informal atmosphere, Relais de Venise L�Entrec�te is an ideal place to enjoy a quick and inexpensive meal with friends, family and colleagues.
We have a policy of no reservations so please note that at peak times you may have to wait for a table.
Our Background:
In 1959, Paul Gineste de Saurs purchased an Italian restaurant called Le Relais de Venise in the 17th arrondissement of Paris, near Porte Maillot with the intention of developing a market for the wines produced by his family's Ch�teau de Saurs winery near Toulouse in South West France.
Not having had a restaurant background, M de Saurs decided to keep the operation simple: he retained the Venetian d�cor, added a �L�Entrec�te� sign outside and offered customers a no-choice menu of French bistrot favourites: a salad starter followed by steak frites.
Whereas most restaurants served steak frites with herbed butter, he served it instead with a secret recipe sauce containing various herbs, spices and condiments. It was only at the end of the meal that customers were presented with a choice for the desserts and cheeses.
Despite offering just a single main dish and a limited selection of wines, the restaurant flourished. It became a Parisian institution with customers ignoring the name and typically referring to it as �L'Entrec�te Porte-Maillot�, or just �L' Entrec�te�. Eventually, the restaurant's name was changed to Le Relais de Venise � L'Entrec�te.
Today, the business is run By Madame H�l�ne Godillot, daughter of M de Saurs and guardian of the secret recipe for the steak sauce. Mme Godillot oversees new openings to ensure all aspects of this unique dining experience created by her father are faithfully maintained: from the colourful paintings of Venetian scenes that adorn the walls to the waitresses� much talked about uniforms and even down to the precise width of the hand made frites.
As well as the Parisian original, branches of Le Relais de Venise L�Entrec�te can be found in London and Manhattan.