Brunchers: Add Lower Greenville’s Medium Rare to Your List

It was around noon on a Sunday, and other than one couple inside and another on the patio – we were the only patrons at Lower Greenville’s Medium Rare. (We should note the space did begin to come alive before we left). Granted, Medium Rare, which has seven locations nationally and three more on the way, has been in business for only about a month in Dallas. It’s been bustling at dinner, but brunch at the steak spot has yet to take off.

It makes sense – briefly, anyway. A restaurant known for its prix fixe steak frites at just $29.95 might not draw a brunch crowd. But after our visit, there’s no reason brunch hours shouldn’t be rocking at Medium Rare.

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” Leonardo DaVinci once said. That quote is on the restaurant’s website, and it’s something the Medium Rare brand lives by.

Dinner service is simplicity at its purest: A prix-fixe menu of artisan rustic bread, mixed green salad, Medium Rare’s culotte steak (a small lean cut from the sirloin) served with a secret sauce and fresh-cut fries. The only decision left to you is how you want your steak (you should probably go with the restaurant’s name; just saying). Dinner at Medium Rare is $29.95.

Vegetarians can go with a portobello mushroom for dinner.

The $34.95 brunch comes with the aforementioned rustic bread and a choice of vanilla yogurt parfait, farm-fresh fruit salad or mixed green salad. Then, you’ll pick a brunch main from the following options:

• Steak Frites
• Medium Rare’s Famous Benedict
• The Ultimate American Breakfast Sandwich (steak and eggs, fries and chorizo sausage served on a French rustic baguette)
• Steak and Eggs
• French Toast and Sausage

Oh, and that comes with bottomless bloody marys, screwdrivers, mimosas, coffee, sodas and orange juice. That’s right, bottomless. Our server joked that we could drown ourselves in screwdrivers and mimosas until Sunday closing time if our hearts desired. While tempting, we didn’t take it that far – though we did indulge in three rounds of bloody Marys and screwdrivers before asking for the check.

The small-ish space is glossy and stylish, with plenty of seating along with a nice patio. The playlist leans ’80s and ’90s with everything from Nelly and Tupac to Bobby Brown.

Brunch at a Steak Spot

We started with a vanilla yogurt parfait with dried fruit and granola, with which we were enamored. The fruit salad was fresh and bright, and the mixed green salad had a vibrant dressing with a noticeable punch of horseradish that worked quite well.

The steak frites arrived, cooked a perfect medium rare (as you would expect). The house secret sauce pairs well with the sliced culotte steak, and the fries are addictive.

Next was the Famous Benedict: Steak and portobello mushroom hash over rustic bread, topped with a beautifully poached egg and creamy hollandaise. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better eggs benedict anywhere, and it paired flawlessly with our spicy bloody mary.

Speaking of flawless, the French toast may very well have been the best I’ve ever had. The toast is the brunch specialty, soaked for 24 hours, airy and crispy, and after a healthy drizzle of house syrup, something we’ll inevitably find ourselves dreaming about for breakfast over the coming weeks. This dish comes with sausage.

The service we received from our server was stellar and considering the quality of the brunch fare, the atmosphere and those bottomless bloody marys, mimosas and screwdrivers – if you love to brunch, you’d be well advised to add Medium Rare to your list.

Medium Rare, 5631 Alta Avenue. Monday – Thursday, 5-10 p.m.; Friday, 5-11 p.m.; Saturday, 10:30 a.m. – 11 p.m.; Sunday, 10:30 p.m. – 4 p.m.