Steak frites is the dish Paris built into its bistro grammar: contre-filet or onglet pulled saignant, hand-cut fries fried twice, butter sauce or just sea salt on the side.
Where to eat it: 5 restaurants across 1 city.
The Parisian bistro form of steak frites took shape in the second half of the 19th century, when Belgian-style frites travelled to Paris bistros and the slim contre-filet cut became the city's default beef. By the 1930s, the dish was the standard set lunch across working-class quarters of the 11e and 12e. Yves Camdeborde's 1990s bistronomie movement, then Bertrand Grébaut and the neo-bistros after, kept steak frites on the carte but moved the meat sourcing onto farmer-named cuts. Le Relais de l'Entrecôte, founded 1959, codified the no-choice salad-then-steak-then-frites format with secret-recipe butter sauce that the chain now runs across four addresses.
Common allergens: Gluten if served with sauce béarnaise, Egg in béarnaise sauce
Tip from the editors. Rest the steaks longer than the brief sear: 5 minutes minimum. If the chips are sagging, raise the second fry to 190°C for 60 seconds extra.
Bistrot Paul Bert is Paris's textbook bistro: zinc bar, chalkboard menu, steak frites cooked rare with hand-cut fries, île flottante for two on a single.
Signature: Steak frites, Île flottante
Order: Steak frites cooked saignant, île flottante for two, a pichet of house red.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. Book two weeks ahead for a weeknight or take the 19:30 first seating.
Le Relais de l'Entrecôte in Paris is the 6e steak-frites room that queues until 23:00. At 20 Rue Saint-Benoît. Booking recommended. Reservations advised.
Try: Steak frites with house butter sauce
Tip: Queue from 21:00 for the late seating; tables turn every 45 minutes after the dinner rush.
Bouillon Chartier in Paris is the 1896 workers' brasserie still plating œuf mayonnaise at €3 and a full bistro 3-course set under €18, no reservation.
Try: Three-course bistro classics
Tip: Queue moves fast. Arrive at 11:30 lunch or 18:30 dinner for the first wave of seating.
Le Bon Georges in Paris's 9e cooks farmer-named meat and a tarte tatin worth ordering before the main: the kitchen prep includes a 12-hour rest on the apples.
Signature: Côte de bœuf, Tarte tatin
Order: Côte de bœuf for two from a named Limousin farm, tarte tatin with crème fraîche.
Tip: The wine list is small but well-chosen; ask the waiter rather than the sommelier.
Robert et Louise in Paris's 3e has grilled côtes de bœuf over an open log fire in the dining room since 1958. Booking required for the fireside tables.
Signature: Côte de bœuf grilled on log fire, Aligot
Order: Côte de bœuf for two grilled in the room, aligot from the Aubrac.
Tip: Two seatings only, 19:30 and 21:30. Closed Sunday. Sit close to the fire in winter.
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