A place I felt in love since the first time I went was Le Relais de Venise. What is not to love, good meat, fries, and a spectacular “secret sauce”. The menu can’t be more simple, one main, one dish to rule them all, one dish to find them, one dish to bring them, and in the darkness bind them.
 |
| The Place |
The place a French brasserie, winning formula since 1959, when Paul Gineste de Saurs bought an Italian restaurant called Le Relais de Venise in Paris to distribute his family wines, he kept the tacky Venetian decor, add a sign that said L'Entrecote and gave to his costumers a salad for starter and then steak frites but with a twist in the sauce, and voila immediately success. Four locations under the original name, Paris, London two times baby? London twice today, yes City and Marylebone, and New York, but there are three branches of the family operated by Paul’s children are expanding the business around the world. It’s a thing for specialisation and simplification just face it, you get to the place and there is no options, you only let them know how you want your steak cooked and that is it.
 |
| Inside |
 |
| Venetian decor |
Got to the place, City branch, full of bankers and suits, had a Grand Caprice glass of wine, order my steak medium, got my lettuce and walnut salad, nice, light, mustard vinaigrette, nice balance with acidity and bitterness notes, good start, wouldn't mind a little bit more nuts, and then my steak frites, perfectly cooked, pink and juicy in the centre, the dish was really hot that reveals attention to detail, and the sauce as usual to die for, it was brilliant. I still remember the first time I had the sauce was in Caracas, in a place opened by a former chef from one of the Cafe de Paris branch, and immediately became one of my favourite places. The fries perfect, crispy and crunchy, and you don’t realise it but it’s a huge portion of food.
 |
| Order on the table's paper cloth |
 |
| Grand Caprice |
 |
| Green salad with walnuts |
 |
| Trimmed Entrecote steak Porte Maillot |
It was my birthday treat so I went for the dessert, I ordered the profiteroles, they were excellent, filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with hot chocolate sauce, the combination of the ice cream with a hot sauce I wasn't expecting blew my mind, perfectly executed.
 |
| Les Profiteroles au Chocolat |
5 star lunch with a simple menu who can say that I guess Paul’s family.
This Venetian inspired restaurant reminds me the Seinfeld episode “The Red Dot”
George: Who do I like? I, like, uh, Art, Vandelay
Boss: Art Vandelay?
George: He's an obscure writer. Betnik, on the village
Boss: What has he written?
George: Venetian Blinds
Le Relais de Venise L'Entrecote
T: 020 7638 6325
French Brasserie
Aprox Damage: £38pp
Area: Bank
Borough: City of London
View Larger Map
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment