Le Relais de l'Entrecôte

Some rooms tell you exactly what to order the moment you sit down. Le Relais de l'Entrecôte, in Paris, is one of them.

The room is exactly what you want it to be: queues out the door on Rue Marbeuf. We were seated near the back, given menus we hardly needed, and brought a small bowl of olives without being asked.

We started with house-cured beef carpaccio, which set the tone — generous, unfussy, and confident enough not to crowd what was coming. With it we ordered a glass of port to finish, and then another, and were glad of both.

Then the main event: entrecôte with secret sauce, the dish that puts Le Relais de l'Entrecôte on every short list. The seasoning was simple — salt, pepper, restraint — and it was the right call. The signature touch — no menu — just the steak, twice — is not a gimmick; it is the reason to come.

For sides we asked for broiled tomato with a breadcrumb cap and creamed spinach so rich it should embarrass us. Both arrived hot, both arrived early, both were exactly large enough to overdo it. We overdid it.

Dessert was panna cotta with stewed cherries, mostly because the waiter raised an eyebrow when we hesitated. He was right to.

It is not cheap. It is, in this case, worth it.