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Jakarta’s steak scene is having a moment. There’s wagyu on practically every menu, dry-aging cabinets have become status symbols and dinner now comes with its own marbling score.
In a city like this, a 250-gram USDA ribeye for Rp 185,000 feels... suspicious.
So when Bouchon relaunched as L’Entrecôte by Bouchon, centering its entire identity on one dish, steak-frites, the classic French ribeye with fries, I had questions. Mainly: what’s the catch?
It turns out, there isn’t one. Or at least, not the one you’re expecting.
Parisian roots, Senopati rethink
Bouchon used to be a two-floor bistro that sat comfortably between a fancy-fancy French restaurant and a nice, regular Senopati hangout concept. It often held one-off thematic events centering on burgers or French vacation-inspired drinks. Lately, though, things have changed.
With its parent company Union Group taking over the upper floor to expand its bakery brand Knots, the space has downsized, and so has the menu. What’s left is focused, tidy and almost aggressively French.
L’entrecôte, which literally means “between the ribs”, refers to a ribeye cut, long beloved by Parisian bistros, usually served with fries and a herbed butter sauce. It’s the kind of dish that doesn’t need reinventing. So Bouchon didn’t.
Instead, they dialed into what makes it good: quality meat, a sauce that tastes like someone’s been tweaking the herb mix for weeks and free-flow fries that come crisp and stay that way (they’re plated separately, thank god).
“Our version features a house-special sauce inspired by the famed Café de Paris butter, though we’ve made it distinctly our own by incorporating a more robust blend of fresh herbs,” Jennifer Karjadi, Union Group’s PR and Marketing Director, tells me.
There are no gimmicks. The steak arrives on a hot metal plate warmed by candles, with the green sauce already pooled underneath. I tried both the regular Rp 185,000 ribeye and the wagyu upgrade for Rp 495,000 (for 200 grams).
The wagyu was predictably lush, but I kept going back to the ribeye. More flavor, more fat, a better fit with the sauce. The only caveat? The hot plate keeps cooking the steak as you eat, so ask your server to go easy on the flame.
Verdict? You’re not getting steak at this quality, in a setting this nice, for this price anywhere else in Jakarta. I checked.
Picca Steakroom does a similar format with MB5 picanha at Rp 295,000 and MB7 at Rp 365,000, plus another Rp 15,000 if you want free-flow fries.
Gaston’s USDA Choice entrecôte is Rp 385,000 (fries portioned, not unlimited), and Charné Ribroom’s ribeye starts at Rp 355,000 for MB3 with free-flow fries. So unless you’re someone who speaks fluent marbling scores, Rp 185,000 for a 250g USDA ribeye is a solid deal.
Don’t just go for the steak
The real surprise wasn’t the steak, though. It was the Seabass à la Meunière, a standout that somehow escaped the marketing spotlight. The fish is pan-fried to golden edges, finished with a buttery sauce that is richer than it looks, and delicate enough to flake at the touch of a fork. It’s classic French, and kind of perfect.
You’d never know it from the name or the menu description. Maybe that’s the charm.
For dessert, there’s only one crêpe on offer, just butter and sugar, but it’s another scene-stealer. Thin, warm, with just enough caramelization at the edges, it melts in your mouth in a way that makes you question everything you thought you knew about crêpes.
I tried to investigate the butter. Got vague answers from the marketing team (“unsalted, high butter-fat content”) and a quiet staff whisper that it used to be Échiré, “but now it’s something else”. I may never know the truth. I just know I’d eat three more.
So... what is the catch?
There doesn’t seem to be one. The steak’s affordable because Bouchon wants it to be. Perhaps they’re betting on volume, return visits and a menu that balances signature hits with unexpected wins.
It’s not trying to be a temple of meat worship. It’s trying to be the kind of place you can return to after a long week and order the same thing, not because it’s trendy, but because it’s good.
While everyone else is chasing more, more luxe, more labels, more zeroes, L’Entrecôte by Bouchon is going classic, reminding us that steak doesn’t have to be an event. Sometimes, it’s just dinner, a really satisfying one.
