Le Relais De Venise L’Entrecôte

5 Throgmorton Street
London
EC2N 2AD

This is strictly a drinks blog, and Le Relais De Venise L’Entrecôte, while being many wonderful things, is not a drink. Fortunately, the house red served at this no-nonsense steakhouse extraordinaire is rather good, giving me an ideal excuse to write up the place. Indeed, Le Relais, which has branches in Paris, Barcelona and New York, as well as two in London (we went to the City outlet - the other is in Marylebone), was originally set up by a wine-producing family as a vehicle for shifting surplus bottles. For those who haven't been, the restaurant doesn't have a menu in the traditional sense. The 'choice' is steak - done as you like - in a secretive sauce with frites, plus a mustardy green salad with walnuts to start. The main course comes in two parts: just as you're finishing your first serving of steak'n'frites, along comes a waitress to 'top you up' with a second helping (more on the food here).

The house red, aforementioned, was a 2007 Bordeaux bottled in Chateau de Lardiley, a reliable cocktail of 60% merlot and 40% cabernet sauvignon grapes, weighing in at quaffable 12.5% abv. It was smooth, with big fruit and some oakiness too - paired well with steak. Boringly, we ordered only a half-bottle this time, for £8.50, but now we've got a taste for the stuff I expect we'll be back for a great deal more.