Have Yourself a Steak Frites-apalooza in Boston This Winter

Steak frites at DW French. / Photo by Emily Kan

Flap meat is, by linguistic standards, one of the least appealing cuts of beef—but as soon as you get past that name, it’s a truly special cut, yielding those tender steak tips New Englanders know and love. It’s also a frequent star in steak frites—yes, that’s essentially steak and fries, give or take some squabbling over appropriate accoutrements—although high-end steakhouses that use it for this dish usually go with the fancier, Frenchier name for the cut, bavette.

You’ll also see steak frites made with different cuts of meat—skirt, flank, hanger, etc.—and while we’re particularly fond of the bavette preparation, probably thanks to our steak tips obsession, we’ll eagerly eat just about any version. Especially in the winter, and especially with a nice, big glass of rich red wine, and especially with endless frites. Wait…endless frites?

See also: The Best Steakhouses around Boston

Yes, endless frites. Two restaurants are making meat-and-potato lovers’ dreams come true this winter with steak frites deals, each involving all-you-can-eat frites.

First, there’s Fenway newcomer DW French (1391 Boylston St., Boston), where chef and restaurateur Douglass Williams (of Italian restaurant trio Mida) is providing a hospitable-meets-trendy take on familiar French classics. (You must get the French onion soup.) On Tuesdays from 4 to 10 p.m., diners can pay $40 for steak (striploin)—or mussels, or a vegetarian pasta option—with unlimited frites, salad, and warm bread and butter. (Add extra helpings of the main dish for $7.) Steak frites is a flexible dish that allows restaurants to get creative with the sauce, and at DW French, there are three choices: béarnaise; maître d’ butter; or au poivre cognac. Sauce isn’t an afterthought for the frites, either, which come with a trio: classic aioli, spicy tomato aioli, and Dijonnaise. Get your money’s worth, sure, but might we recommend saving a tiny bit of room for the exceptional crème brûlée?

Steak frites at Rochambeau. / Courtesy photo

You’ll have to wait a few weeks for this second special, but might as well book a table now: In Back Bay, the beautiful Rochambeau (900 Boylston St., Boston) debuts its “Steak Room” on February 5, 2024, turning the first-floor dining room into a carnivore’s paradise from noon to 10 p.m. daily. There, the only choice will be a prix fixe menu ($36) that centers around steak frites—specifically eight ounces of skirt steak with endless frites, greens, and fresh bread. A small à la carte menu of snacks, drinks, and desserts complements the main attraction.

In addition to these hearty deals, there are a number of steak frites options in town that won’t drown you in unlimited French fries, but will offer plenty of delight nonetheless. Add these spots to your roster:

Batifol’s steak frites. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

• Batifol (291 Third St., Kendall Square, Cambridge): Nothing like indulging in steak frites and wine on a snowy night in the subway-tiled dining room of this Petit Robert sibling. Here, the 10-ounce sirloin ($42) sits in a pool of irresistible green peppercorn sauce—“just a tiny bit creamy; it’s perfect,” as owner Loic Le Garrec told us prior to the restaurant’s 2022 opening. (And he was right.)
• Dovetail (1 6^thSt., Charlestown, Boston): This lovely Charlestown destination from the Brewer’s Fork crew has a globetrotting menu that ranges from small plates like muhammara with bagel chips to larger entrees like roasted red snapper with Thai-style crab fried rice. On the larger side, find steak frites with a choice: prime grade top sirloin (eight ounces) or Creekstone prime NY strip (12 ounces) with roasted rosemary garlic, watercress salad, and fries. Bonus intel: This stands up extremely well for takeout, as evidenced by a pandemic-era at-home birthday feast.
• JM Curley (21 Temple Pl., Downtown Crossing, Boston): This Downtown Crossing hotspot has a fancy steakhouse hidden within, Bogie’s Place. You won’t find steak frites on that menu, but the steakhouse magic spills out into JM Curley proper, where you can enjoy marinated flank steak ($28) with herb butter, Bogie’s steak sauce, and shoestring fries. (Have your dining companion order the burger or mac and cheese to get a taste of the lively restaurant and bar’s other strengths.)
• Little Whale Oyster Bar (314 Newbury St., Back Bay, Boston): In 2022, when chef and restaurateur Michael Serpa decided to swap his Parisian-inspired bistro, Grand Tour, for a New England seafood restaurant, we shed a tear for the loss of one of the best steak frites in town. But fortunately he kept it on the menu ($40) at the new restaurant. It features an eight-ounce bavette (there’s that bavette!) from iconic local butcher Savenor’s, maître d’ butter, mixed greens, and frites. Precede it with fried Ipswich clams for a fun surf-and-turf.
• The Tip Tap Room (138 Cambridge St., Beacon Hill, Boston): Known for its tips (steak and more exotic meats), chef Brian Poe’s Tip Tap Room also gives the steak frites ($29) the star treatment, serving a Denver cut with a peppercorn crust and having fun with the accoutrements—maple butter and rosemary chimichurri. Hand-cut Yukon fries complete the dish.

And keep an eye out later in 2024: D.C.-based chain Medium Rare is expanding to Watertown’s Arsenal Yards, bringing its steak frites prix fixe menu, which features coulotte steak with secret sauce, fries, salad, and bread. (The meatless option is a grilled portobello mushroom with roasted red pepper sauce.)

It’s going to be a good year for steak frites.

You Might Also Like

Where to Eat in Greater Boston in December 2024

Where to Eat in Greater Boston in November 2024

Lesser-Known Mexican Spirits Are on Showcase at Boston Bars