During one of Jason M Jones' trips to Paris, he discovered three rules of Parisian dining worth following. Keep it simple. Serve it till late. Never shirk on the fries. And so was born Entrecôte. Jones' famed restaurant is modelled closely on the Parisian restaurant L'Entrecôte. It was originally located on Domain Road in South Yarra, but moved to new digs in Prahran in 2021. Since then, it has reestablished itself as one of Melbourne's most beloved glitzy diners primed for long, late nights filled with champagne and caviar. This year, the French brasserie achieves a tremendous trifecta: celebrating ten years on the plate, the release of a tell-all book, and the 50th birthday of its founder. Jones says, "At ten years in, it felt like the right moment to pause and reflect. After ten amazing, chaotic, joy-filled years of Entrecôte, and turning fifty myself, it finally felt like time to tell the Entrecôte story." Entrecôte-Depuis 2015 is part memoir, part recipe book, part portrait of a decade spent at the heart of Melbourne hospitality. It's a richly layered story that captures the essence of the restaurant, from champagne mornings to countless servings of steak frites to caviar bumps and fluffy soufflés. Speaking of steak frites, the signature dish remains popular as ever, never having lost any of its lustre. Steak and fries, with a side of salad in vinaigrette with walnuts, is finished with the Secret Herb Butter Sauce, giving the dish its instantly recognisable velvety green look. The famous sauce will not remain a secret for much longer. The celebratory book will reveal the closely guarded secrets behind Entrecôte's elusive herb butter sauce for the first time. That's reason in and of itself to get your hands on a copy fast. Crowd favourites like escargot, beef tartare with egg yolk and mustard leaf, and chicken liver parfait continue to hold their place on the menu. And if you're not going for the steak frites, it's likely that's because you're drooling over the Entrecôte Cheeseburger Royale with truffled brie and frites. A place for special occasions or bougie nights out that give the credit card a workout, Entrecôte offers many special dishes and drinks that'll make you feel fancy and fun. Go for caviar bumps with a One Sip Vodka Martini, or a glass of NW Taittinger Cuvée Prestige, or go all-in with the caviar service featuring pommes Anna, crème fraiche, capers, shallots, egg, and chives. There's a gourmet seafood platter, oysters served with champagne mignonette, and an array of creative cocktails, including the Elderflower Gimlet and the Parisienne Paloma. Reflecting on the ten-year anniversary and his new book, Jones says, "It's not quite a cookbook, and it's certainly not a novel. I imagine this as the kind of book where you really do scan the music playlists QR code I have curated on each seasonal menu, settle into your favourite chair with a cuppa tea or a good G&T and step into my world. It's a world I haven't spoken about before as the biggest introverted extrovert in the world, shaped by 39 years in hospitality and 50 years on this great big ball called earth. I wouldn't recommend reading it in bed though — it's rather heavy, and nodding off mid-chapter could be mildly to seriously dangerous…!" Images: Supplied.
