I didn’t have to go all the way to Paris to have a “West Village” cheeseburger at the France outpost of the restaurant group Hogsalt, which boasts 4 Charles, Monkey Bar, and Au Cheval among its restaurants — but I did it for the sake of you, my esteemed readers. (Just kidding; I did it because I love steak, cheeseburgers, and various kinds of potatoes, and they tend to do that sort of food very well in Paris.) Besides, I could actually get a reservation at Le Renommée. I booked our weeknight table at the Paris restaurant perhaps a month in advance and reservation times were already limited; that being said, I didn’t have to sell a limb as one seems to have to in order to get into 4 Charles. (I’ve been only twice in six years of living 5 minutes away from it, not for lack of trying, and both times were the result of reservation swaps, which New York is now cracking down on.)
This iteration of La Renommée is less than a year old, but it’s located behind a 200-year-old façade with plenty of old Parisian charm. The interior is decorated with intricately carved wood paneling, impressionist paintings in ornate frames, and red leather banquettes. It’s the kind of place that makes you want to sip a martini and smoke a fat cigar (I did the former, not the latter, because it’s 2024 and I’m a lady, goddammit).
The menu is similar to 4 Charles, including multiple cuts of beef, plus sides like frites, pommes purées, and epinards à la crème to 4 Charles’ French fries, mashed potatoes, and creamed spinach. Steak tartare, escargots, and sole Meunière are also on offer, but having had multiple very French meals by this point, we stuck to the 4 Charles-esque classics.
We skipped appetizers and decided to share a filet au poivre and the aforementioned West Village cheeseburger. The filet was tender and perfectly rare, but that’s where the dish’s attributes end; the peppercorn sauce it was doused in was not peppery enough nor salty enough. The “West Village” burger, a double stack burger with American cheese, pickles, and a mayo-based sauce, was good but not as good as the notorious 4 Charles burger (it also lacked the thick-cut bacon and fried egg that that one is known for; I didn’t miss that per se, but nothing made this stand out from your everyday good smashburger). A steakhouse meal is nothing without sides, of course, so we ordered pommes purées and epinards à la crème. The potatoes were almost as velvety as Joel Robuchon’s, with a touch of nutmeg, but lacking a bit of savoriness; perhaps Robuchon and his minions use more salted butter. The creamed spinach was the best I’ve ever had: deliciously garlicky, with just a touch of cream that was barely detectable, serving to soften the spinach rather than weigh it down. I did wish we had gotten the chance to try the frites — I’ve never had bad frites in Paris, and these were served with garlic aioli, my favorite way to enjoy them — but we couldn’t even finish our one potato dish. I would also like to come back to sample the beef tartare, another absolute favorite of mine.
For dessert, we enjoyed their version of strawberries and cream, which was served in a refreshing twist on the classic with crème fraiche and turbinado sugar rather than chantilly. I never say no to strawberries, especially not in July, and especially not in France. So it was no surprise that this made for a perfect end to the meal.
If you’re seeking a classic steakhouse meal, this is a great option — but it’s not as special as its New York cousin. Next time I want a good meal of filet mignon, mashed potatoes, and creamed spinach, I’ll walk a quarter of a mile instead of flying 3000. If I can get a reservation, that is.
TL;DR: WHAT WE ATE
Loved: creamed spinach, strawberries with crème fraiche and sugar
Liked: filet au poivre, burger, pommes purée
Should have skipped: nothing