Lucinda O’Sullivan’s review of Entrecôte on Clarendon Street, Dublin: The food was so-so and the service slow-slow at this Dublin ode to a French classic

The latest dupe to be ‘inspired’ by someone else’s idea has hit Dublin’s bustling creative quarter, says our critic. The food failed to impress and the service was painfully slow

The steak-frites at L’Entrecôte on Clarendon Street in Dublin. Photo: Lucinda O’Sullivan

No sooner had the buzz died down about whether Ashton’s in Clonskeagh was a dupe of London’s Devonshire Pub than similar talk began about the ‘arrival’ of Entrecôte to Clarendon Street in Dublin’s ‘Creative Quarter’ – the D2 version of Temple Bar!

Was it a branch of the French Le Relais de Venise – L’Entrecôte, founded back in 1959 by Paul Gineste de Saurs? His beloved steak-frites prix fixe format with a world famous secret green sauce, preceded by a green salad starter with walnuts and a mustard dressing, with no reservations, has had people queuing for over 60 years. Nowadays, L’Entrecôte and its derivatives, owned by the next generation, have branches and licensees in different countries.