Santa Maria del Sur

My favourite restaurant in the world. Have been going here since before it was made famous by Gordon Ramsay's show. It never fails to deliver the best steak in London (better than most I've had in Argentina too), with beautiful, huge hunks of meat cooked perfectly. You don't go here for anything else. The sides are reliable yummy stalwarts - fat crispy papas fritas and mushrooms do the trick; start with mojellas (sweetbreads) - scrumptious. The house malbec (La Colonia) is spot on. The prices are still far below other big London steak restaurants, the service and atmosphere is always far above. Does what it says on the tin.

One note of caution to the restaurant: my last visit (11/05/12) saw the introduction of a fancy red pepper puree arty smear rather than the classic and simple slice of pepper. Looked like they were trying too hard. Not what you go to Santa Maria for - keep it simple.
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Rupert Lane - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Saturday, May 12, 2012

Been meaning to go here for ages and did so earlier in the week. What can I say? What we ordered read on the menu as Ribeye steak, however what we ate and tasted was hitherto unknown!!! By the end of the evening, 3 of us had consumed 6 Ribeye's! This was my Everest. If I find anything that can surpass this - Lord take me in that very moment!!!
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Hassan
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Saturday, February 11, 2012

We had lunch at Santa Maria shared a platter of sirloin, rib eye, sausages and black pudding. All of the components were delicious as was the cheese that came on the griddle. Admittedly, it was a little pricey but not compared to some steakhouses in the centre of town(Charterhouse for example).

There are negative comments on here about the quality of the meat. These are absolute nonsense and should be ignored. The steaks came exactly how we asked for them.
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Dominic
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Thursday, December 08, 2011

Visited this restaurant today as part of a group of 9 to celebrate a friend's birthday.

The atmosphere, service and food was indeed good. The shock however was when the bill arrived. Between us we had 4 mixed grills, served on hot plates.. each consisted of 2 chunks of steak, 2 sausages, a tiny black pudding and a melted cheese. Add to this with a 3bowls of chips, salad, 4 bottles of red and 3 bottles of beer and suddenly price rocketed to £61 per head!

Compare this to a similar meal the week before where the meze kept coming until we had to ask the kitchen to stop for £22 each this restaurant suddenly seems overpriced.

What they do is good, they just need to reign in the bill.
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6 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 3
Saturday, September 24, 2011

Shocking!!!! Having our first steaks under cooked to be sent back, they returned only after been cut in half and and stuck back on the grill this resulted in a chewy ,dry, tastless bit of meat. As a restaurant that is supposed to have a reputation for top class steaks this place sadly lacks....
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1 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Friday, June 10, 2011

sad service and far from being professional

food - meat was ok not more and hence overpriced

the rest was really bad
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Omar
2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Sunday, January 23, 2011

After trying to book a table there for weeks, finally got to enjoy the meal there this week. I must say how disappointing it was. All 5 starters came cold, served on side plates with no presentation whatsoever. Although the stakes vere tasty, all was barely warm again. The staff were quiet friendly although at times seemed a bit irritated. Will not come back to that restaurant again and wouldn't recomment to my friends.
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5 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 4
Wednesday, November 24, 2010

How very disappointing. Went tonight for a birthday celebration, having booked back in August.

I had their best steak (fillet) ordered rare. Although it was correctly cooked and rested; it was chewy, cold and had absolutely no flavour what so ever. The rest of the steaks at the table were equally disappointing.

Once seated, we saw our waitress for the taking of the order and for the bill only. This meant that I had an empty glass the the last 30 minutes of the meal!

We were not asked how we enjoyed the meal and were not thanked for spending our time and money at their establishment.

I read similar reviews to this before we went but threw caution to the wind, deciding that they were probably isolated experiences. What a shame, it seems that it can be good but we will never experience their good nights.
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SWreview
1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Saturday, November 20, 2010

In August I wanted to fit around thirty of my friends into Santa Maria, which is not a large restaurant, so I booked up four or five tables for various time slots, all around the 6pm mark. I then went in and spoke to a very helpful man, who I remember now was called Gerardo, and explained that although it would be very inconvenient for them I hoped that they might be able to accommodate my friends and I all together, at the same time. Despite our bookings initially being spread all over the restaurant, and my making it clear that we would still take the tables whether or not they were together, Gerardo and his staff went out of their way to accommodate us, and the thirty of us had the most incredible meal I’ve enjoyed in London. We never felt rushed, and I certainly wasn’t made to feel awkward for making such demands of them, and would have been happy enough with the service that even if the food hadn’t been absolutely phenomenal, which it was (no mean feat with over thirty different steaks to be served simultaneously, and all cooked to different tastes), I still would have had nothing but praise for this restaurant.

Bearing in mind that I only booked my table after the restaurant appeared on the F Word, and that Gerardo knew we would take the tables whether they were together or not, I cannot understand anybody saying that Santa Maria does not care about its customers.

I’ve since been back to the restaurant in a smaller group, and the food and service were again exceptional. Having spent some time in Argentina, I can honestly say that the steaks were up to their very high standards, and the sides were great too. Not one of the thirty of us had the smallest of compaints, which is something any restaurant would be hard pushed to achieve.

I’m going again in a few weeks. Keep up the good work, Santa Maria.
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Pauline M
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, November 11, 2010

I don't understand how a restaurant can have such extremes! We ate there last night had had a great meal, very attentive and helpful staff, especially with the fact we hadn't booked, they were extremely busy, but not once did we feel forgotten. Food superb, steaks cooked to perfection, great chips and salad. A great experience and I can't help but recommend this restaurant to anyone who is after a fantastic steak and lovely evening
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James Lowe
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, November 05, 2010