French steak-frites · Al Faisaliah, Riyadh · SAR 160
French steak-frites$$$Al Faisaliah TowerSauce since 1930 · Geneva origin
Photo via Google Places
"Entrecôte in the 1930 Café de Paris sauce, SAR 160, twenty-one floors up — book this one-dish formula for a first date."
7Food
7Ambience
8Value
About Entrecôte
One dish. One price. SAR 160 buys a green salad with walnuts, sliced entrecôte bathed in the secret Café de Paris sauce, and as many fries as you can eat — there is no menu to read. The recipe is the point: Arthur Boubier built the herb-butter sauce in Geneva in 1930, and the single-formula room he inspired has been copied across the world since. The Riyadh outpost runs it from the 21st floor of Al Faisaliah Tower, glass on every side over the city. The kitchen slices and sauces your cut over a tableside warmer; you decide doneness as you go.
The Kitchen
There is no celebrity chef here, and that is the concept, not an omission. Entrecôte Café de Paris serves a single formula descended from Geneva: Arthur Boubier devised the Café de Paris sauce — a warm emulsion of butter, herbs and spices whose full recipe stays inside the founding family — in 1930 to dress his entrecôte, and the one-plate menu built around it has been franchised ever since. The Riyadh kitchen does exactly that and nothing else: a green salad with walnuts and mustard dressing first, then thin-sliced sirloin coated in the sauce, served in two waves over a burner so the second half stays hot, with unlimited fries alongside.
The fixed price is SAR 160 a head before drinks. Because the kitchen makes one thing, it makes it consistently — the test is whether the sauce arrives glossy and the second serving still warm, and here it generally does. Dessert is the only real decision. For a French room in Riyadh with an actual à la carte and a named kitchen, La Petite Maison is the alternative.
The Room
The draw is the height: floor twenty-one of Al Faisaliah Tower, floor-to-ceiling glass, Riyadh laid out below and the Kingdom Centre lit across the skyline. Inside it is classic bistro — white linen, dark wood, brass, warm low light — with tables set close enough to feel busy but far enough to talk. The sound stays at an easy hum; there is no music fighting the room. Dress is smart-casual, and the tower setting nudges most guests a notch up. It seats around ninety. Ask for a window two-top at sunset for the view before the lights come on.
Best for a First Date
Book this room for a first date because it quietly removes every friction an early date has: there is no menu to negotiate, so neither of you stalls over ordering; the price is fixed at SAR 160, so the cheque holds no surprises; and the window tables twenty-one floors up give you the view to fall back on if the talk runs dry. The shared basket of fries and the two-wave service keep the table active without demanding attention. Picture a window two-top at dusk, the sauce arriving as the city lights come up. Reserve a sunset window seat ahead. See the Riyadh first-date guide or more first-date rooms worldwide.
Not for
Not for vegetarians or fussy eaters — the room serves one beef formula and little else, so anyone who does not eat steak, or who wants choice, should book elsewhere.
Frequently Asked
Is Entrecôte Café de Paris worth it?
Yes, if you like steak and the idea of one perfect plate. The whole room exists to serve a single formula — salad, sliced entrecôte in the 1930 Café de Paris sauce, unlimited fries — at a fixed SAR 160, twenty-one floors up Al Faisaliah Tower. The cooking is consistent precisely because it is the only thing made. For variety and a full à la carte, book La Petite Maison instead.
How hard is it to book Entrecôte Café de Paris in Riyadh?
Easy on weeknights, harder for a weekend window seat. The Al Faisaliah Tower dining room is large, so a table is usually available, but the sunset window two-tops with the skyline view go first on Thursday and Friday evenings. Reserve a few days ahead and ask specifically for a window seat at dusk. There are other Riyadh branches if the tower is full.
What is the dress code at Entrecôte Café de Paris?
Smart-casual, leaning smart because of the tower setting. There is no jacket requirement, but the 21st-floor bistro room and the skyline view mean most guests dress up a notch — a collared shirt, neat trousers, closed shoes. Avoid shorts and athletic wear. It is comfortable rather than formal; dress as you would for a nice city dinner with a view.
What is the price at Entrecôte Café de Paris?
The signature formula is a fixed SAR 160 per person before drinks: a walnut green salad, sliced entrecôte in Café de Paris sauce served in two waves, and unlimited fries. There is no per-dish ordering for the main event, so the cost is predictable; only desserts and drinks add to it. That fixed price is part of why it works for a first date — no cheque anxiety.
What should I order at Entrecôte Café de Paris?
The decision is mostly made for you: everyone gets the salad, the entrecôte in Café de Paris sauce and the fries. Your only real choices are how you want the steak cooked — it arrives in two servings, so you can run the second rarer or more done — and which dessert to finish on. Pair it with a window table at sunset for the full effect.
Reserve a few days ahead and ask for a sunset window two-top on the 21st floor for the skyline view.
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Practical Information
Address21st Floor, Al Faisaliah Tower, King Fahd Branch Rd
Where to take a first date in Riyadh, from skyline rooms with a fixed-price formula to quiet French tables, ranked on how easy they make the conversation.
