A Birthday Dinner in Paris

We were in Paris for 4 days, and our second day there was my Birthday!

We explored the city all day, then made it back to our hotel to figure out dinner.  The night before, we had seen a restaurant with a long line outside and people waiting until 10 p.m.  So, we decided to check it out and see what the line was all about.  {We were there before it opened, so we only waited about 15 minutes!}

We ended up meeting a very friendly family from Edinburgh.  It was two sisters - one still lived in Scotland, the other had lived in Paris for 40 years.  She said she's been going all 40 years.

The restaurant is called Le Relais de Venise.  I'm not sure how long it's been around, but we were told the decor and owner has remained the same since it opened.

They had one item on their menu: steak with special sauce and fries.

Thats it.  No menu.  The waitress asks you how you like your steak and what you want to drink, and that's it!

{did I mention it's all you can eat?}

Coming from a used to be-still kinda am-but not really vegetarian, this was some of the best steak I have ever had.

And we felt totally silly not knowing any French.  Our waitress wasn't the most friendly woman I've ever met, but the food made up for it!

It felt like we were at a true local spot and it was away from all of the normal Paris attractions... but knowing me, it's probably a huge tourist attraction ;)

We ate inside - the decor was vintage and everything Venice.

The restaurant opens pretty late, and that line is there all. night. long.

The meal! Yum.

We were so excited about our little find, and it made my Birthday pretty special.

Lesson learned.  If there's a long line to eat at a restaurant, it's probably pretty good.