Le Relais de Venise (City)

Food is ok but service isn't - our waitress was pretty rude and our food was slopped food down on our plate without asking and before the previous food is finished. When I asked for the pace to be slowed down the waitress said a special order would have to go in for the fries to be delayed, which doesn't seem to be a great issue as that is all they are cooking! Very tightly packed seating for couples.
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3 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Have been here several times but doubt if I'll go again after recent experience. The steak was tender and arrived quickly but pretty much swamped by sauce. The overall dining experince however was poor. The waitresses were unsmiling and seemed to stare into space looking bored. A request for some butter to go with bread was refused bluntly - 'we dont serve butter'! The second portion of food was piled onto our plates before we had finished the first and most irritating, a dessert card was offered before we were asked if we had finished our main course, which we hadn't. The unaccompanied tart citron - no cream or a single berry was also disappointing. Can do better elsewhere.
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4 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 5
Friday, June 24, 2011

Delicious, expect a bit of a queue but certainly worth it. Excellent salad, steak, chips and wine... lovely desserts... went there last night, half tempted to go back for lunch today!
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Ben H
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Saturday, June 04, 2011

Had a work dinner last night, which was nice as I didnt pay for the meal however I found this restaurant quite pointless frankly.

The service was useless. I had to explain twice what a 'Virgin Mary' was, they were totally confused by our orders (despite there being no menu! they were confused by the cooking orders, and the dessert orders).

There is only one thing on the menu - steak of the day (at £22). So very restrictive and pointless because variety is what a restaurant should be about in my opinion. You get served baguette slices, a mushed up salad (must have been there, dressed, for hours), then the meat. It arrives in two slots, so you have the impression that you are getting double helping while really, you are just getting a slice of thin steak, very good, of course, well cooked but that's just about the only good thing about this place. French fries were defined by my colleagues as 'mcdonald fries' and they hit the spot. The sauce we had on our night was a weird green, almost thai like, dense sauce - flavoursome but kind of overpowering.

The dessert menu is a large array of classic french desserts. I asked for 'les glaces au caramel' and the waitress told me three times 'it is not sorbet'. I kept telling her that I knew it was 'ICE CREAM'.

Pointless. Would never return, unless of course, work pays for it.
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Fried Egg Fred
4 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, April 05, 2011

went for lunch with a friend. amazing steak. Had mine rare and it was so soft....beautiful!!! Sauce was divine and the salad was a nice entree. Shared a bottle of house red that was also fabulous

Great service too.......basically loved it!!!!
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Jellypig6
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, November 18, 2010

I agree with the reviews here, not really expecting much from something that has the idealogy of a quick in and out place to eat with no choice but we went as we fancied a bit of Paris reminising!

We were pleasantly surprised and have found ourselves recommending this place to friends and colleagues. Handy, go when quiet off peak and enjoy the delight of not having to make a choice, a nice relief from usual menus.

Steak, salad and wine done well - you can't go wrong.
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TommyN - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, October 05, 2010

We went here on Friday night and took advantage of the offer (2 courses for £20 per person with a bottle of wine to share).

After reading mixed reviews on here, I wasn't expecting too much however have to say that I thought the food was great!

The salad was lovely and fresh and the steak frites were divine! I have to agree with others, that the meat wasn't the best I had ever eaten but the green sauce was absolutely delicious and made the whole meal! I was left wanting more even after the 2nd portion!! We are planning to go back again later this week :-)
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R - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Finally got round to going to Le Relais de Venise last night and went in with mixed ideas after reading some of the reviews on this site.

Firstly it was about 8pm and the place was about half full so no waiting involved (they dont take bookings).

We were warmly greeted and showed to a table and explained the concept of the place, ordered a bottle of wine from a tiny list of less than 8 wines and ordered our steaks.

We were then served our green salads with some French bread. The salad was simple and fresh and had a nice coating of dressing but my request for some butter was rejected with the 'they dont serve butter in Paris so we dont serve it here' line which i'm sure they have to repeat a lot.

Then came the steaks on what can only be described as the smallest plates I've ever eaten a main course from. However the meat was cooked blue as requested, the frites were hot and crisp and the sauce was plentiful. As other reviews have mentioned the best bit is when you have nearly finished you get another helping of steak and some more frites.

As for the quality of the meat, it was not the tastist entrecote I've had but as it comes covered in their secret sauce which was very tasty I didn't really mind.

Service was very French with some of the managers looking a bit grumpy but Maud our waitress was great.

Overall about £30 - £35 per head with wine for a very enjoyable meal. Would I queue 30 minutes to go in, no chance, but if I was passing and they had space I would go again.
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Chris - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, April 01, 2009

I thought this place was great and liked the concept. Was a really enjoyable lunch experience. The service was excellent and the waitresses were so friendly. The dining room is large, buzzy, but with tables close together.

The starter salad is served with quite a strong mustard dressing (our party all loved it) and crusty bread. The steak frites were superb - I didn't realise they kept half back until mid-way through the meal when we were offered more, fantastic! A great selection of desserts - can recommend the creme brulee and profiteroles.

My visit was on a Friday lunchtime, about 12.30pm. We had to queue up for about 45 mins - starting off outside in the cold ! I guess to be expected but not a place to go if you are in a rush. Didn't feel it was a place you could linger either with a new wave of diners glaring at you for your table! But I would definitely go back, either early or late to avoid the rush.
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Mrs P
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Quite simply good value steak -frites in the heart of the city.

Perhaps better than the Paris original!
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noodles
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Thursday, March 12, 2009