Le Relais de l'Entrecôte
A no-menu institution serving one thing: steak with a secret sauce, frites, and a second helping.
The call
Worth it if you're traveling with kids and you're traveling as a couple.
Short answer
Is Le Relais de l'Entrecôte worth it?
Le Relais de l'Entrecôte deserves a place on most first itineraries. Go early or reserve ahead. Crowds are part of the cost.
The answer depends on your budget, time and travel style; the breakdown below shows who gets the most value.
Why
- 01
You sit, you state your doneness, and out comes a walnut-leaf salad, then sliced steak-frites under the famous green sauce — and the kitchen comes back with a hot second serving.
- 02
Brilliantly simple and great value, but no reservations and queues are the norm, and the whole thing rests on whether that herb-and-butter sauce (its recipe a closely guarded secret often pegged to thyme, herbs and a touch of chicken liver) works for you — the people it doesn't land for find the meal monotonous by the second plate.
Is it a fit?
Go if
Think twice if
You're watching the budget
Le Relais de l'Entrecôte can strain a tight budget. Go only when it is a priority.
You only have one day
Keep Le Relais de l'Entrecôte only when it outranks a half-day elsewhere.
You're traveling solo
Solo, Le Relais de l'Entrecôte needs the right timing and tolerance.
You prefer local life to spectacle
Le Relais de l'Entrecôte offers some local authenticity, but not enough to make it the reason to go.
The plates that decide it
- The steak-frites under the secret green sauce — it's the only choice — just pick your doneness and let them refill the plate
- A glass of house red — does the job alongside the formula
- Asking for menu alternatives — there are none, and vegetarians have no main — go elsewhere
Plan it well
- Cost
- Fixed formula ~€30 incl. the second serving
- Timing
- Off-peak to skip the line; arrive at opening. The Marbeuf branch near the Champs-Élysées is the original
- Booking
- Generally no reservations
- Allow
- 1–1.5 hours incl. queue
- Accessibility
- Brasserie seating; no vegetarian main