Prix fixe

On Saturday I went for dinner at Prix fixe on Dean street for my friend Rachel’s birthday. I’ll be honest, I was expecting another ubiquitous Soho eaterie but it was actually a really pleasant surprise. Our waiter was a chatty Aussie who effectively managed a group of seven squawking girls and the place had a really relaxed ambiance with old fashioned French prints dotting the walls and a piano in the corner.

I had an entrecôte steak frites, boring I know, but I rarely eat steak at home any more as the decent cuts are quite expensive so occasionally I “treat” myself to it when I go out.

One of my all time pet hates is restaurants overcooking beef so I often err on the side of caution and ask for rare, generally in the hope of being served a steak that is more medium rare/saignant -in other words nice and bloody.

The steak arrived with a fairly simple garlic butter sauce and to my surprise was truly rare (but not unpleasantly so/leaving me chewing incessantly) and with great flavour as it was a traditional entrecôte and cut from the rib. It had lots of nice thin crispy chips and a small salad to soak up all the juices. I don't understand how you can get steak wrong so long as you season adequately and don't charcoal it but I've paid out a lot more than I did on Saturday at other London restos on some really average steaks.

I love puddings but we were ready to hit some bars so didn’t opt for deserts but there weren’t any big surprises on the menu- they had your typical crème brulée, banoffee pie- (perhaps an odd fit for a French bistro non?) and an île flottante.

I’d definitely return as the warm atmosphere and attentive service was a really refreshing break from some of the pretentious haunts that line Soho’s labyrinthine streets.