The Best Steak Frites In Sydney That Might Just Rival The Parisians
Eloise Luke
Contributor | Urban List
There are few dishes that walk the line between simplicity and precision quite like steak frites. At its core, it’s just three elements—steak, fries and sauce—but when done right, it’s a complete, self-contained experience.
Born in the bistros of France (with Belgium still staking its claim), steak frites has long been a benchmark of technique: perfectly cooked beef, golden, crisp fries and a sauce that ties everything together. It’s a dish that leaves nowhere to hide—every element has to hold its own.
It's not hard to see why Sydney restaurants continue to chase perfection of this dish, year after year. In a dining landscape leaning towards restraint and ingredient-led cooking, steak frites feels right at home—uncomplicated, nostalgic and luxurious without being too upmarket. As chefs may point out, it’s as much about execution as it is about expression, with each venue putting its own stamp on the cuts, sauces and sides used to pull it all together.
Whether you’re in it for a classic béarnaise situation, a butter-drenched finish or fries built for soaking up every last drop, Sydney’s doing the dish justice right now.
Read on for where to find the best steak frites in Sydney.
The Dry Dock
22 Cameron Street, Balmain
Image credit: The Dry Dock | Supplied
The Dry Dock is doing steak frites with the same confidence they take into the rest of their menu—classic pub feeds, with a polished, fine dining spin. The $62 offering centres on a 250g Pinnacle grass-fed sirloin, finished with café de Paris butter and a glossy red wine pan sauce, alongside a pile of fries that hold their own.
Woodcut
Level 1, Crown Sydney, Barangaroo
Image credit: Woodcut | Supplied
At Woodcut, steak frites gets a more streamlined, city-paced spin. The Woodcut Frites is a new lunch play designed for when you want something premium, but don’t necessarily have all afternoon to sit in. At $45, it rotates between top-tier cuts—think a 220g woodgrilled sirloin or swordfish—paired with fries and that inherently produce-driven approach the restaurant is known for.
Bouillon L’Entrecote
6 Loftus Lane, Sydney CBD
Image credit: Bouillon L’Entrecote | Instagram
A part of the shiny Quay Quarter dining precinct at Circular Quay, Bouillon L’Entrecote is Sydney’s first bouillon-style eatery. Named after the French bouillon soup, this sub-category of restaurant sits somewhere between bistro and brasserie, serving classic French dishes at friendly prices.
Bouillon L’Entrecote has been inspired by Paris icon Le Relais de l’Entrecôte and steak frites is the hero dish on the menu—premium sirloin steak, that is, served with a salad, home-cut fries, and a secret sauce.
24 York
24 York Street, Sydney CBD
Image credit: 24 York | Instagram
When a restaurant hands you a hefty 10-page menu, it usually means one thing: they haven’t quite decided who they are. That’s not the case at 24 York, a swish restaurant in the Sydney CBD that puts all its chips on one signature dish: steak frites.
The star of the show is a 220g MB2+ O’Connor Superior Grass-Fed Scotch Fillet, which is the same cut used at Rockpool Bar & Grill Melbourne, whose sister Sydney venue is one of the World’s Best Steak Restaurants.
It’s grilled, sliced into four and served swiftly with golden beef-tallow fries and your choice of peppercorn sauce, chimichurri, umami butter or veal jus, alongside complimentary mustards, an optional crisp green leaf side salad and a velvety New York cheesecake with vanilla ice cream for dessert.
Bistro St Jacques
96 Pitt Street, Redfern
Image credit: Bistro St Jacques | Instagram
Bistro St Jacques is the little red bistro on Pitt Street in Redfern that has been serving its loyal clientele for the past nine years—a beautiful selection of unpretentious, honest French delicacies.
It’s another entry in the “timeless” French bistro experience for Sydney with lighter finishes to the traditional classic French techniques. Their Southern French-inspired menu means less butter and cream and more olive oil, seafood, and fresh vegetables—but the steak frites is a must-try. Think eye-fillet steak with hand-cut potato chips, red wine jus and Cafe de Paris butter.
Armorica Grande Brasserie
Shop 1 & 2/490 Crown Street, Surry Hills
Image credit: Armorica | Instagram
Bringing the fun, energy and excitement of Paris to Surry Hills’ Crown Street, Armorica Grande Brasserie is a 150-seat French restaurant by Andrew Becher, who operates Euro-inspired venues Franca and Parlar in Potts Point.
On the menu, the best of Aussie seafood and meat is prepared with respect to the techniques and heritage of Northern France, with a custom-built Josper grill at the heart of the kitchen. They also boast a menu section dedicated to steak frites—with various cuts of Australian beef—and a bottomless steak frites menu that runs on Monday nights. Say less.
Main image credit: Armorica | Instagram
Urban List Best Of: has our highest stamp of approval—curated lists of the very best recommendations for you to eat, do, see, buy, or book, carefully chosen by our Editors.
Here’s Where To Eat Sydney’s Best Charcoal And Fire-Led Cooking Right Now
Here’s Where To Find Sydney’s Very Best Lasagna This Winter
