Le Relais de l’Entrecôte’s secret sauce

Dubai; If you’ve never tasted the famous, secret sauce that accompanies an entrecote steak, life is not worth living. Le Relais de l’Entrecôte has opened a franchise at Dubai Festival City’s marina waterfront. And just to confuse you, there’s a number of offshoots around the world; Le Relais de Venise, and more specifically here in Dubai, Entrecôte Café de Paris at both Dubai Mall and Khaleej Palace Hotel.

Depending on what you choose to read (never believe the media!), the special sauce was developed in the early 20th century, with the ingredients remaining secret ever since. When I first decided to visit the new DFC outpost one evening earlier this month, my guest and I quickly discovered that it had not yet been granted its much-awaited alcohol licence, so I opted to return for lunch another day. And so on Saturday with clear blue skies, I sat outside on the pretty terrace overlooking the marina; the decor, both in and out is very French brasserie style.

Forget perusing a menu, there’s only one set of dishes; a salad of frisee lettuce sprinkled with walnuts and dijon dressing. Looks very simple, but that’s why it works; the dressing is divine. Having ordered medium-rare, l’entrecote duly arrives pre-plated with the fries; now I had expected the serving dish to be placed on a mini-heater like its Parisian counterparts. But did it matter? Well presentation wasn’t that appealing, but the meat was thickly sliced and tender; the sauce sooooo flavoursome and tasty, one could almost savour it by itself. The french fries were a tad too overcooked…but the fresh baguette goes a long way in soaking up the sauce. Best bit, you get second helpings without asking (a L’Entrecôte brand standard), and if that wasn’t enough there’s plenty more fries on hand.

Oddly enough, the restaurant offers a myriad of dessert options including their signature profiteroles, but there was no way FooDiva could digest anything else. Shopping called instead! Service was reasonable (there were only three tables at the time) but too intrusive…the waitresses tried to top up my Evian five times even though I repeatedly said I could manage by myself. I look forward to enjoying my next l’entrecôte with a glass of vin rouge.

The ‘formule’ menu is priced at AED 125 per head (one salad, two servings of steak, plus unlimited fries and bread). Open lunch and dinner throughout the week. Tel: +971 4 2325208.

A bientôt.

FooDiva. x

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