Paris bistro

When you’re in the mood for steak frites, Le Relais de Venise L’Entrecôte is the place to come for a reliable meat fix, served up with a touch of nostalgia. In fact, its singular approach to dining feels somewhat comforting in a world full of choice.

Le Relais de Venise in London offers diners a set menu of a green salad with French dressing and crushed walnuts followed by steak frites covered in their ‘secret sauce’ (£21 each). Steak is served just three ways – rare, medium or well-done – but strangely enough, there is an overwhelming amount of desserts to choose from.

A Paris institution, Le Relais de Venise L’Entrecôte opened in 1959 near Porte Maillot and quickly became so popular that it has been replicated, down to the last interior detail, in New York and at two London locations – Marylebone and The City.

Le Relais de Venise has been on my wish list since I moved to London, so I was excited to review the restaurant and try to guess what was in the ‘secret sauce’.

The Restaurant

We arrived just before 8pm and there was already a queue inside the entrance, however it moved quickly we got a table within five minutes. Le Relais de Venise has a strict ‘no bookings’ policy, even for its owners, so be prepared to wait if you go during peak times.

Much larger than expected, the restaurant was already buzzing with an international City crowd and clued-up tourists all packed together on small tables with leather banquettes.

We were served immediately by one of the lovely waitresses dressed rather primly in a black dress and white apron who gave us a menu, for what it’s worth, and took our order of how we’d like our steak cooked.

The Wine

We ordered a bottle of Le Relais de Venise Côtes de Bordeaux red wine (£15.95) and a large bottle of Evian still water. The reason for the set menu concept was that Paul Gineste de Saurs, founder of Le Relais de Venise, wanted to keep the focus on the wines produced by his family’s Château de Saurs winery based in Toulouse.

The wine was dense with lots of tannin – a typical Bordeaux. It complimented the steak and was a nice enough house wine on its own.

Starting with Salad

The salad arrived piled high on a small plate and was meticulously dressed with a creamy mustard vinaigrette and a sprinkling of crushed walnuts. The dressing was a bit heavy on the mustard but it still worked and a few tiny splinters of shell testified to freshly cracked walnuts.

It was a good, light start to the meal and the accompanying sliced baguette was fresh and crisp.

Steak Frites

Soon after followed the steak frites, piping hot and covered with the famous sauce and we weren’t disappointed!

Pommes frites were golden, slim and nicely salted – just what you’d expect from a good Paris bistro. The fries are made using Bintje potatoes specially brought in from France and hand-chipped daily in the restaurant.

The entrecôte steak was completely free from fat and was cooked to perfection – medium, just how I had asked.

The Secret Sauce

The base of the delicious pea green-coloured secret sauce is hard to identify, leading to much speculation in the press, but I definitely noted tarragon, meat juices, butter and perhaps some shallots.

Some food critics have bemoaned the thickness and overwhelming presence of the sauce, but I found it to be light and buttery in texture and but with a pleasantly intense flavour. It was still possible to tell the excellent quality of the steak, which is provided by Donald Russell, the Scottish supplier to HM The Queen.

After working our way through the first plate, we were quickly served the rest of our steak with another mountain of frites.

It’s hard to tell just how big the steaks are when they come sliced in two portions, but it seemed to be a modest size and very well trimmed.

Dessert

The only decision-making required was for dessert and there were so many lovely traditional French treats to choose from. In the end, Steven went for the crème brûlée and I chose the Gâteau du Relais from the dessert trolley.

The crème brûlée was creamy and velvety with a thick layer of crunchy burnt sugar. The Gâteau du Relais was a nutty and dense slice of flourless chocolate cake – soft in the middle with a delicate, crumbly crust. What I thought was an extra rogue slice on the side was in fact a piece of the most divine chocolate fondant. As if that wasn’t enough, it was served with a big swirl of Chantilly cream – how decadent!

We finished off with strong, rich roasted cappuccinos that came with chocolate-covered espresso beans.

Impressions

We found it refreshing that Le Relais de Venise is uncompromising when it comes to tradition and playing by their own rules. It’s all part of the fun and we noticed that many of the tables were returning guests, who were already familiar with this very particular style of hospitality.

The only thing that may put off some diners is the rapid turnover. I had barely put down my fork and already my plate was whipped away by the hawk-eyed waitresses and the next course swiftly served. Even though the food is so tasty that you’re inclined to wolf it down, linger a little over each course, otherwise you may find the experience over rather quickly.

With buckets of charm and a reassuring sense of the ‘good life’, Le Relais de Venise L’Entrecôte is a place that you have to try at least once, however like our dining neighbours, you might find yourself coming back again and again.

For more information and opening times, visit: www.relaisdevenise.com

Chérie City was a guest of Le Relais de Venise.

French restaurant guide Le Fooding has been leading the revolution against Michelin Guide snobbery for a monumental 1o years and to celebrate a decade of defiance, they hosted a 72-hour cook-off in a pop up restaurant in Montmartre with a stellar line-up of Paris’ most respected chefs.

I was invited by Air France to come to Paris and attend a sitting of the cook-off and to experience the cutting-edge cooking of Le Fooding’s top recommended restaurants.

Founded by French journalist Alexandre Cammas, the name ‘Le Fooding’ is derived from ‘food’ and ‘feeling’, a philosophy that French food can be full of passion and emotion when it isn’t restricted by convention or the Michelin Guide.

Yves Camdeborde, former chef at palace hotel, Le Crillon, shocked Paris society by handing back his Michelin stars and setting up his own, unpretentious neo-bistro, La Régalade and most recently, Le Relais de Saint Germain. With Alexandre’s support and uncompromising vision, many of France’s top chefs have broken away from the most prestigious and have set up restaurants on their own terms.

On arrival in Paris, we checked in to the Pavillon Nation in eastern Paris that was well-located, near some of our chosen restaurants.

The morning after an indulgent night at Stéphane Jego’s bistro L’Ami Jean, we went to Galerie W in Montmartre for the much-anticipated breakfast session of Le Fooding’s 72-hour cook-off.

Renowned chef Christian Etchebest took to the stove for the four hour slot and prepared a four-course breakfast for a communal table of foodie guests and us, the UK press. Etchebest is at the helm of La Cantine du Troquet, an informal Basque restaurant in Montparnasse that is a regular favourite of Le Fooding.

We were joined by Le Fooding founder Alexandre Cammas, who gave us some background on the revolutionary guide, and Constance Jouven, our host who accompanied us to the best Fooding restaurants.

A surprise guest was Jalouse founder Alexandra Senes, who took a break from her manic Paris Fashion Week schedule, while being followed around by a film crew, to come to the cook off. It was amazing to meet the woman behind my long-time favourite French magazine, who not only predicts but creates major trends in fashion and lifestyle.

We started with a soup of onions, smoked eel and cubed apple, served with fresh baguette – a nice light start to the meal, although I couldn’t quite handle the chunks of eel at 9am.

All courses were matched with a wine and a short demonstration from a petite, eccentric wine buff representing wines from the Côtes du Rhône. She told us to swish the wine around our mouths before tasting the food, to release the full strength and flavour of the wine.

The next course was a typical Parisian breakfast – a slice of grilled baguette covered in dulce de leche, on top of a glass of chocolate milk. The dish was simple, delicious and perfect for breakfast – I could have easily polished this off twice!

Over the course of the trip, we discovered that these small glass tumblers are the way to serve anything from water to beer and wine in the Paris bistros.

The main breakfast meal was a deconstructed piperade of scrambled egg with pig’s ear, a tomato and onion compote, a slice of cooked ham, a jalapeño pepper topped with a piece of crispy bacon.

Those well-versed in cooking (thank goodness Janine of Olive magazine was in our group) will know that a piperade is a kind of hash of all of these components, but being something of a food separatist, I enjoyed the more DIY approach.

Everything went exceptionally well together and the flavours were extraordinary, although I wasn’t so sure on the cartilage-like texture of the pig’s ear mixed up in the scrambled eggs, but hey, at least I’ve now tried oreille de cochon.

The dessert was a Chèvre Brebis – a fluffy brioche filled with sweet whipped goat’s cheese, slices of sheep’s cheese, topped with Coco Pops and a fig coulis. This was an interesting mix of sweet and savoury flavours and the fig coulis was a real highlight, but the cheese filling saturated the brioche.

After our indulgent breakfast, we had a chance to look around Galerie W – a wonderful space with a well-curated exhibition of eye-catching and intriguing pieces.

The purpose of the trip was to gain an insight into the unique food movement and to experience the magic of Le Fooding’s events first hand.

Air France have teamed up with collaborated with Le Fooding on The Definitive Food Guide – a little black book full of insider tips on the city’s most exciting restaurants, artisan food markets and recommended hotels.

This can be found on the Air France website and is a ‘must read’ for anyone wanting a change from the traditional soupe à l’oignon, steak frites and crème caramel set menu of regular Paris bistros.

My experience with Air France was incredibly breezy and enjoyable, from the check-in at Heathrow to touching down in Paris. It’s easy to be put off flying such a short distance with all the airport restrictions, but the terminals at each end are so calm and zen.

The Charles de Gaulle Air France departure lounge even has a Ladurée boutique selling the whole collection of macarons, perfumes, candles, stationery and bags. It’s worth the visit just for that!

After an indulgent weekend of innovative taster menus in unpretentious surroundings, I found that my preconceptions of what makes an outstanding restaurant were truly altered. Le Fooding has enabled chefs to cook with pride and passion and its influence goes far beyond a year guide book…it’s a movement, a way of life.

Have you been to Le Fooding favourites Le Chateaubriand, L’Ami Jean or Yves Camdeborde’s Le Relais Saint Germain? Is Le Fooding your Paris dining bible? Please comments and share your French food experiences…

AIR FRANCE flies up to eight times daily to Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) from London Heathrow airport and return fares start from as little as £119*.

* Prices are per person including all taxes and online booking fees. Fares quoted are based on return flights in economy class departing from London Heathrow. See www.airfrance.co.uk for more details.

* Cherie City was a guest of Air France & Le Fooding.

A Great Dinner at Le Relais de Venise L’Entrecôte London