There is no menu to peruse at L’Entrecote… and yet customers return again and again to experience the magical French cuisine. Their secret? Magnificent steak frites… cooked to perfection, flavoured immaculately with divinely crispy skinny chips.
Canary Wharf is not an area of London I frequent – it is a maze of tall angular buildings. My friend and I didn’t manage to locate each other for twenty minutes, both confused by the unfamiliar surroundings. When we did finally unite, we got lost again trying to find this remote branch of L’Entrecote. The casual Parisian restaurant has a shabby charm, located just by the water with a view of the industrial skyline. The staff are, unsurprisingly, French and very accommodating and sweet.
Our waitress welcomed us with their set menu: Green Salad with Walnuts to start and Trimmed Entrecote Steak “Porte Maillot” with its famous sauce and frites for main. All that is left to do is decide on how you would like your steak cooked: medium for me, rare for my guest. They run a swift operation at L’Entrecote, speedy service and super efficient. The food was all delicious, high quality and minimum fuss. Our small salads arrived promptly, light and dressed in a lovely vinegary dressing, topped with a sprinkling of crunchy walnut pieces.
The steaks are brought in two rounds, to ensure all your food arrives and remains hot. The cut is quite thin so thankfully medium wasn’t too red for me and instead was perfectly tender with each mouthful full of flavour. The meat is coated in a delicious creamy sauce (a secret recipe) – it tasted like a spicier version of Bearnaise sauce… almost like a light curry sauce! The frites are divine, soft yet crispy, light and salty. I was a little disappointed to find mayonnaise wasn’t available, but I guess that compromises authenticity. The steak is served on small plates, and when we polished off our first helping, the next was already at our side ready to be devoured.
When the time came for dessert, we were accustomed to not having much choice, and I felt a little baffled by the long list of classic French puddings. After consulting our waitress we decided on Crème Brulee and Profiteroles to share. Both were made well by an in-house pastry chef… I particularly enjoyed the Crème Brulee which was creamy, light and sweet… the Profiteroles were scrumptious too, fluffy pastry piped full of whipped cream and covered in devilish dark chocolate sauce.
A must try for steak lovers… and I imagine this Canary Wharf branch of L’Entrecote is a life-saver for overworked bankers.
Visit the website here for more information and to book.