L'Ox by FLO is Your Ticket to Paris Without Leaving Beijing

With travel to Paris pretty much off the cards for the time being, the next best thing is a meal at FLO group’s new steakhouse, L’Ox. Located on the west side first floor of the Grand Millenium hotel, L'Ox is inspired by the great Parisian cafés of the 1920s and 1930s, featuring a delightfully Art Deco space complete with a stage for live jazz in the evening (with music provided by Beijing-based independent jazz music label Harmonious Melody).

In summer there is also a substantial outdoor terrace, but with the weather getting colder they have moved the seating to the glassed-in sunroom, which is equally as pleasant on a clear-skied day. 

Like all FLO properties, the menu leans towards modern French, adding subtle twists to some classic dishes. For example, the steak tartare (RMB 198) has added chunks of foie gras to up the richness and is served with crispy potato chips. One holdout, though, is the baked garlic butter snails (RMB 95) which are as traditional as can be. If you want that all-important WeChat moments picture, be sure to order the Coco Chanel salad (inspired by the salads the lady herself would purportedly eat to stay slim), which is spritzed with vinegar from a perfume bottle at the table.

As the restaurant's name suggests, beef is the star of the menu, with a number of different cuts and qualities to choose from. Don’t see a steak you like on the menu? Head into the steak aging cellar to choose your own portion — guess the weight of your custom cut down to the gram, and L’Ox will foot the bill. Before your steak is served a waiter comes 'round with a selection of flavored salts from the small city of Aigues-Mortes in the Camargue region of southern France and wholegrain mustard from French brand Moutarde de Meaux Pommery (the king of mustards in this editor's humble opinion) — a level of attention to detail that really sets L'Ox apart from similarly-priced steak houses.

While steak is the star, we were very pleasantly surprised by the restaurant's seafood dishes, including a seafood linguine with a rich lobster bisque sauce (RMB 245) and charcoal-grilled Chilean sea bass (marked on the menu as French cod) in a moreish buttery sauce. 

While the price point may make it one to save for special occasions (we can see a lot of proposals taking place at that booth right in front of the stage), L'Ox is a welcome addition to the CBD dining scene.

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Images: Robynne Tindall, courtesy of L'Ox by Flo