La Vache! SoHo — Restaurant in Hong Kong Island

As a loyal customer since 2017, it pains me to say that my recent visit to this once-beloved steakhouse that used to be my go-to dining destination in Hong Kong, has left me utterly disappointed.

First off, the price has soared from HKD288, HKD298 to HKD318, and now they’ve reached HKD398 per person. I understand that quality comes at a cost, but this steep rise feels unjustified given the overall decline in experience:

I invited 2 friends to join us for dinner, hoping to share the good vibes I once cherished here. Unfortunately, from the moment we arrived, they felt anything but welcomed. The hostess who escorted them to their table didn’t make eye contact even for a second and left the dropped drink menu on the seat.

When it came to the steaks, it’s not cooked to our specifications, but seeing the staff rushed and busy, we decided to let it slide and not raise our concerns during the meal. The tenderness of the steaks was still acceptable. The chips were overcooked and dry, a far cry from what I used to enjoy.

To add insult to injury, we waited over 10 minutes for our desserts after ordering. When they finally arrived, they were just plopped onto the plates straight from the trolley. We wondered why it took so long and had what came up next, to make matters worse, we were asked to vacate our table less than five minutes after receiving our desserts, while we were still savoring them half way and the lady could obviously see it. It felt rushed and inconsiderate.

The Mille Feuille, a once-delightful dish, has been downgraded over time, the puff pastry is getting less airy, and lacking the sides and decorations that made it special. It’s disheartening to see such a beloved item reduced to something so basic. Uploaded few pics of the Mille feuille I had in the past and you can tell the difference. We didn’t even take a picture for the banana Mille feuille for this visit.

Finally, most staff seemed like walking zombies, sporting fake smiles that lacked the genuine warmth and passion I had come to expect. The cozy and wonderful atmosphere that once made this steakhouse a favorite is now a mere memory.

This steak house has lost its charm, and what was once a delightful dining experience has turned into a disappointing ordeal. I sincerely hope they can find their way back to what made them great, but until then, I’ll be seeking my steak...

I had a table booked for 7 people on Saturday (December 1st) at 6 pm for my graduation celebration dinner. The food was great, unfortunately it took about 40 minutes for our steaks to arrive, but the wait was worth it. However, we had a very unpleasant ending to the dining experience as we were waiting for the bill to be divided between us. The next party, a man, who had reservations for 7.30 pm came up to our table and told us that we were occupying their table that they had reserved for 7.30 pm (at this point it was 7.40 pm). The wife then proceeded to point out that they had hungry children with them, as if we were purposely loitering at the table to deprive her children of food. I understand the their frustration, but how La Vache! staff handled the situation was absolutely unacceptable. Never before have I been bothered by other guests saying I'm sitting at their table while waiting to pay my bill. If a party of 7 is expected to finish eating three courses within 1.5 hours, then food should be brought out readily. Staff didn't even reminded us that we had to vacate the table in 15 minutes. Furthermore, the staff at La Vache! had no business pointing out to the next guests that we were sitting at their table. Staff apologized to the new guests, but we were left feeling dismissed and like we were to blame for the situation. All this was done in view of the entire restaurant and my friends. Not the greatest way to end a day of celebration. Steaks are nice, but with the time pressure and disappointing service - it's not worth it. It wasn't my first time there, but I sadly won't go back anytime soon.

edit- After being contacted by La Vache!

La Vache! Reached out to me and offered a dinner on the house to make up for my horrible experience on my special day. Unfortunately it was an empty promise as 5 months later, and no one "got in touch" about coming back to the restaurant. It's disappointment yet again from La Vache! I gained a lot of respect and admiration for the restaurant for reaching out to me to apologize. That would have been enough, but to then make an empty promise... that was completely unavoidable by simply...

La Vache markets itself as a Parisian bistro offering entrecotes and unlimited amount of frites. The steak was done well and the sauce excellent. But the frites looked and tasted like MacDonald's. Service and what was on offer, unfortunately, didn’t quite hit the mark. It is just an ordinary steak house pretending to be Francaise. Fine if all you want it a reasonably good piece of steak. But don’t expect too much else.

I arrived just before 12:30 on a Saturday. Only a few tables were occupied at the time. But I was asked to share a table with another couple! When I said I’d rather not, the waitress told me that all the tables were the same. No, they weren’t! The tables were small square ones pushed together to make a table of four. Splitting them was just a two second job. Ok, if there were lots of people, I understand, but the restaurant was never full in my entire meal. When I left at 1:30 pm there were still tables unoccupied. Why then was I asked to share a table with strangers? What was the staff thinking, or rather not thinking? Parisian service? Non!

The restaurant is suppose to be offering entrecote. But what I had was just an ordinary piece of steak. It was cooked well, grant you. But entrecote? No. It certainly is not! Entrecote is my favourite dish in France and I think I know one when I see one.

The steak was served already sliced. But when it was served on a metal plate placed on top of a rack with two burning candles underneath, I eyebrows went up! I supposed I was expected to take the slices off one by one as I dined. I could imagine what might happen to my RARE steak towards the end of my meal. Parisian practice? Non! Hong Kong? Oui!

All in all, this is just a normal steak house that serves reasonably good steaks using MacDonald standard frites. The service is nothing to write home about. But the practice and culture have a local feel. I am pleased that the dishes plus coffee were not all served at the same time.

Will I go back again? Now that I know what to expect, may be, after some time. Afterall, there are many choices...