‘THIS is, uh, interesting.””Hmmm, what an interesting restaurant.”

”How interesting.”

Those expressions of ”interest,” collected over a half-dozen visits to Le Marais, the kosher French steakhouse, were made by Jewish and non-Jewish friends.

They were gamely muttered as my guests had their first glance at the dairy-free menu – but before they attacked the hanger steak. By the time we left, ”interesting” most often turned to ”terrific.”

Le Marais is one of those patented only-in-New York culinary conundrums – is it French, or is it Jewish? Both: it’s a French bistro operated under glatt kosher rules. They close after lunch Friday for the Sabbath, and don’t reopen until Monday. For Passover, there’s a complex schedule of opening hours built around Seder dinners this week and next.

Yet the owners are not kosher. They are not, in fact, Jewish. As a result, a chatty waiter informs us, it is the place of choice for diners who want assurance that kosher rules are rigorously respected because, ”The rabbis’ inspections are tougher here than anywhere else.”

Le Marais is just as much French – ”La Goulue with yarmulkes,” my companion chuckles. It’s also one of the most laid-back and welcoming of theater district restaurants, where they offer you the best, not the worst, table available.

A homey mix of brick, wood, banquettes and the obligatory poster art, the place is no visual knockout. But to lift from that old Levy’s rye commercial, you don’t have to be Jewish to feel right at home. You’ll want to chat up your neighbors, although, as in Paris, strangers tend to exchange smiles but not small talk. And the choicest (if highly suspect) remarks come from the waiters, like the one who told us, ”It’s a gold mine – it nets $7 million a year.”

If he’s anywhere close, they’re not making it on bottled water: Everyone is served tap water in attractive flasks, thank you. That’s the more remarkable given the high cost of running a strict kosher establishment.

Kosher beef, which among many other considerations must be blood-drained and may not be aged, can be tough. But this is a French kosher place, and the kitchen compensates. Take that $20.75 hanger steak – similar to flank steak, thin yet tender, served with sweet shallot sauce and a mountain of thin french fries. Brisket it ain’t. Equally fine is ”butcher’s cut,” tender enough for a baby to chew.

Not every dish is as good. Pates and Portobello mushrooms taste generic. Merguez, ”spicy” lamb sausage, is unlikely to inflame the most delicate throat.

But for a meat-oriented restaurant (with butcher shop in front), the fish can surprise. Grilled trout, a special, was delicious on a bed of fresh spinach with saffron rice and garlic sauce on the side.

Le Marais ”is not about the wine,” a friend points out. But the short list includes some nice bottles, like a crisp Abarbanel Gewurtztraminer for $30.

This fall, the owners plan to open a Wall Street branch. Folks fed up with financial district slop should find the new alternative, as they say uptown, very interesting.

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LE MARAIS 150 W. 46TH ST. (212) 869-0900