When it comes to steak restaurants in Hong Kong, we have the choice of Italian, Argentinean, American, Australian and even the odd Japanese restaurant moonlighting as a steakhouse. We can now add Parisian steakhouse La Vache to the mix.
Brought to us by Black Sheep Restaurants, the group behind Motorino, Boqueria and Chôm Chôm, La Vache brings a uniquely Parisian dining experience to Hong Kong’s Soho. It pays homage to the much-loved Relais de Venise L’entrecôte in Paris, London and Manhattan, specialising in steak frites and steak frites only.
Walk past the giant neon cow, down the stairs into the basement restaurant on Peel Street and step into a Parisian bistro, complete with red leather banquettes, red and white chequered tablecloths and paintings of Parisian monuments splattered across the walls of the spacious 70-seater restaurant.
There is no menu at La Vache – the only thing you will have to choose is how you would like your steak cooked. Although it is often nice to have options, here, the hassle and stress of having to make decisions between equally delicious-sounding dishes is taken away, adding to the relaxed vibe that radiates through the restaurant. Obviously, this means it isn’t the ideal place for a vegetarian; so if you’re one of those, stop reading now.
The meal begins with a plate of freshly baked baguette slices and real French butter, before you are served a simple yet delicious green salad with thinly sliced radish, walnuts and a light mustard vinaigrette. As you may know, I’ve never been much of a salad person, but in this case I scraped my plate clean.
Moving on to the main reason to visit this restaurant: the steak frites. Your steak, a gorgeous cut of rib-eye, cooked just how you like it, is pre-sliced in the kitchen. The staff serve two thirds of the meat, keeping the final third in the centre of the table, above a tealight candle to keep it warm. Thin, deliciously crispy ‘frites’ are served according to the same protocol – some to accompany the first serving of steak and fresh ones served later. Everything is accompanied by La Vache’s secret recipe béarnaise sauce, the perfect frosting to each delicious bite of melt-in-the-mouth beef.
To finish the meal, an impressive trolley/tower of desserts is wheeled to your table, so that if you were ever going to say that you don’t want dessert (a sin, I tell you), upon seeing the offerings, it becomes impossible to resist. We tried, in order of preference, the éclair filled with dulce de leche, the chocolate mousse cake and the Paris-Brest. The latter, a hazelnut cream pastry, took us completely by surprise (particularly given the fact that we thought our waitress had offered us a ‘pear express’, whatever that may be), and completed what was already a fantastic meal.
The set menu at La Vache costs an incredible $258 per person. Add on desserts, wine (the house Bekaa Valley Bordeaux went down far too nicely) and service charge, and you’re looking around the $500 marker per person – a true bargain in comparison to any other nationality’s steakhouse in this town!
La Vache
48 Peel Street
Central
Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2880 0248
