Yesterday I went with Nat for lunch at Le Relais de l’Entrecote in Al Fanar mall. I’ve past by the place from outside numerous times before but I was never interested in going in because the place looked really boring. Nat had been there before and both Nibaq and Rampurple seem to frequent it often so I figured I would give the place a shot.
Firstly its important to note that l’Entrecote serve only one dish and its steak with fries, so if you are expecting a menu with a sellection of dishes you will be disappointed. When I first went in and sat down I felt kind of let down. I was expecting l’Entrecote for some reason to be a lavish restaurant (I guess because of its name and location) but it actually felt cheap. The tables were small, light and flimsy, and they were covered in white paper sheets similar to the ones used at those sea food places in Fisherman’s Wharf. The only thing is that at the sea food places you are smashing crabs open on the table, at l’Entrecote you are not doing anything close to that so I don’t see the need for the cheap looking paper sheets. First impressions weren’t that good.
The head waiter came to our table after we were seated and asked us how we liked our meat to be done, we both said well done and he then asked for our drinks, I had a coke and Nat had a small bottle of water. He scribbled down our order on the paper sheet on the table and left… so thats why they use paper sheets, how creative (I’m being sarcastic here). Two minutes pass by when the waitress comes with 2 bottles of coke and no water, we tell her its supposed to be 1 coke and 1 water (pointing at the scribble on our table for proof) so she goes and gets the water. A few minutes later our salad arrives and its the most boring salad ever, its just lettuce, nothing else. I dig into it since I was hungry and surprisingly the salad dressing was pretty good. When we were done the waitress asked us if she should serve our main meal. I was bit surprised again, that was pretty quick, it had only been 15 minutes since we came in and ordered, how did our steak get done so quickly? I guess since they only serve one meal they can always be preparing the food non stop even before someone orders a dish.
The main dish arrived and it was a pretty simple setup. Half the plate was fries, the other half sliced up steak with some sauce on it (See picture above). I liked the arrangement, and the food looked pretty appetizing so I dug in. The food was good, the meat was tender and the sauce was really tasty. Even though I had ordered my meat well done it was a bit pink on the inside, I didn’t mind it but I know some people wouldn’t eat the meat if its a bit pink and thats why they order it well done, so, they kinda fucked up there. The fries was good specially if eaten with the sauce. When we were done with our plates the waitress came and gave us a refill. Everyone gets one refill, its like when you order the milkshake at Johnny Rockets. They bring you your glass filled with milkshake plus an extra steel container with more milkshake in case you need one more refill. At l’Entrecote they bring you a steel dish with extra fries and meat in case you need one more refill, pretty cool.
Finally we were done with our lunch. The whole process took less then an hour which was pretty impressive since I hate staying long at a restaurant (I am a come in, eat and then leave type of guy). We get the bill the total was around KD14 including the two drinks, but I am having a hard time figuring out if thats a decent price or not. The location of the place being Fanar Mall and the name being French gives the place a bit of elegance. But the setup inside and the presentation of the food and even the food itself points more towards casual dining. I think a total of KD12 might have fit the bill better.
Overall I didn’t find the place that interesting or special. I didn’t enjoy the seating inside, the table setup looked very cheap and the fact that the place only has one dish really makes it hard for me to give this place a really high rating. The food was good and filling so thats where the majority of the points will be coming from but it won’t be enough to give it anything higher then a 3.5 out of 5.
26 replies on “Review: Le Relais de l’Entrecote”
are you kidding man? 14 KD for 2 of that??? that is most definately NOT a decent price. this shit should be like 8-10 KD max even with the refills. and it’s not like you are paying for the atmosphere or anything. you are still eating shitty mall food in the mall. wow.
true but you aren’t being fed fried chicken in this case. its good fillet meat and that doesn’t come cheap.
yeah but it still shouldn’t be that much. there is a reason finer resturants get away with shit food for higher prices. and that’s atmosphere. the place you described feels worse than mcdonalds. and it’s still in the mall like a few metres away from some sort of food court.
btw what’s the backstage pass area about?
thats where i log in to post on the site
I love that place we go there once a week … this place was the French fastfood attempt… the table and setting are teh same in paris and geneva the deffrence is that u can get wine beer and champagne there.
mark the place will grow on you and soon u will be going there every time u want a quick good meal 🙂 14 kd is bit high but I don’t mind
Tweego
You must be a closet vegeterian.
i like the meat and fries combination! But like you said it feels cheap, the good thing is coming in to eat and leave! Thats about it!
Hmmm overpriced
and not having the red wine kills it
plus in geneve you get free refills of steak n fries and the sauce is a better consistency
all in all, i went once, never again here in kuwait
Kindly do not talk about my favourite restaurant like that 😛
And the reason they ask you if you would like your main meal, is because I had a big fight with them once when they brough the bread, salad and meal all within 2 mins of us walking in 😀
erm u guys… its 14 kd for 2 people! how is that expensive?
You’re happy with taking 1 hour at a restaurant while saying that you hate being at a restaurant for a long time? I think that’s a long time, especially considering that they have only one dish.
I kind of like the idea of offering only one dish 🙂 The paper sheets on the table are common in southern Europe, I like them, they’re always clean and hygienic.
On the other hand, I don’t know how fast/slow you guys eat 😉
Where are my free refills!!!
I hate the service but i like thier food.
14kd for 2 is good for dinner, Rampurple’s right… stop being cheap! JK.
if you’ve lived in (or been to)Paris, you will notice that lots of cafes and bistros use the white paper cloth on tables.
Le Relais is french.
If you asked for your filet well done, then you are the type of guy that should not come to these places. stay at McDonalds and enjoy. If you go to the relais in Geneve the price you’d pay should be around 30 to 40 USD per person, depending on the wine. The Cafe de Paris sauce they serve over the filet is worth the price.
i went to the original Relais in Paris off of the champs-ellysees, and it was amazing. the tables were certainly not cheap, there was no paper instead of tablecloths, the food was amazing, and there was plenty of atmosphere. This place is certainly not a fast food attempt, and the food was the best i had in France. I would definitely give it a 5 out of 5. it deserves even more.
You have got to be one of the hardest to please people I have ever read a review from. Le Relais d’ Entrecote is a French institution. The steak is some of the best you will find…anywhere!!! Their sause is world famous. The price for Paris is very reasonable. I guess you would rather eat at McDonalds? You obviously do not understand what Le Relais d’ Entrecote is all about. Sorry, but this is a restaurant that I highly recommend to all who want a great lunch/dinner at a reasonable price.
Le Relais de l’Entrecôte is an institution in Paris and Geneva, as are its twins, Le Relais de Venise – Son Entrecôte and L’Entrecôte. (The three groups of restaurants, each using a slightly different name, are owned by two sisters and one brother of the Gineste de Saurs family.)
But the real question is whether this restaurant in Kuwait City has any connection to those others in France and Switzerland. Or is this simply a knock-off which has copied the name from Paris?
If the restaurant in Kuwait City is genuinely part of the Le Relais de l’Entrecôte group, then count yourself lucky! In Paris and Geneva, it’s a fantastic place to go for dinner.
yes its connected to the one in geneva and paris.
Le Relais de l’Entrecote in Kuwait is a flop but remains open so far cause of its financially well off owner and also because the monthly income remains stable and not that bad after all.
By the way, YES, it is a frenchise and not a copy unlike the other newly opened “L’entrecote” in Al beda which has my doubts.
A flop because till now the service is not ok and needs improving a lot more even though it has been opened since quite a few years now (with only two changes in management). This again may be due to the fact that till now most of the waiters have hardly been replaced and used to be housemaids orginally (an easy and fast way to fill in the owner’s restaurant:)))and because somehow, looking at the comments here but also on the market, they did not adapt exactly well to Kuwait (including the paper table cover which yes, is a tradition in Frane in this type of restaurant but may seem to be toilet paper over here !). The one meal deal is ok in France but in Kuwait people are also having a hard time with this.
The decoration needs to change as it ‘s been the same deco since its opening. The meal is overpriced because we are in AL FANAR and because with a name like that you got to make money. The price is certainly not due to the foods itself which i personally also have a doubt about (meat fresh or frozen and origin?) or the salad and walnuts or the staff.
And what really makes me laugh about that place on top of quite a few points is their so called “non alcoholic wine” which is totally and thoroughly overpriced for a simple sparkling juice which does not even contain a single natural ingredient but there you go… we are in Le relais de l’Entrecote ! lol
Just a few remarks to all of your comments and to stop the confusion that seems to be carried on by the restaurants in Kuwait and elsewhere:
1- The original restaurant was opened in 1959 in Paris under the name “Le Relais de Venise-l’Entrecôte” and is still opened today at the same address and with the same owner/management (271 Bvd Pereire-75017 Paris,Tel 0033 145 74 27 97). They now run restaurants in Barcelona (since 1999) and London (2005) and are planning to open this year in Bahrain, Dubai and New.York.
2- Restaurant under the name “Le Relais de l’Entrecôte” are run by family relatives of the original owner as are the restaurants called simply “l’Entrecôte” but situated only in France.
Hope this helps those confused by so many copies… don’t let them sell you the parisian restaurant when it’s not.
come on man… its amazing rest i have visit in my life its very simple but food amazing …..tasty….they open new one in the avenues mall also its a very vey nice rest also there… i love it when it comes to steak….
but do not try the one in ALBEDA AREA its sucke “cafe de paris” dont try my advice….in the begining i thout it the same cafe but its not……but i love relies entrecote …….. 14 kd its really nothing…..style of the rest …its same style with all the frensh cafes in france …..you have to try avenues one also….good luck
Its like drugs ,sometimes u dont want it ,but always u have to have it….
Somehow I stumbled on this review. Read the whole thing, you’ve come a long way Mark. Specially when it comes to cursing, surprised to see the f word in a review.
P.S. 5 years later, their food is still delicious.
Lol !
Come and c it now in alhamra tower !
Waiting lists and people waiting for ages to find a spot and try their delicious meal. !!