Gaucho (Charlotte St)

The day was not going well, my lovely wife was back to work, baby G was with his nanny so I decided to go shopping. I could not have picked a worse day, the weather was catastrophic, the sales staff in John Lewis largely disinterested and the fancy paper bag holding my two new fancy shirts did not repel the rain. This led to the shirts falling into a large puddle, my newly shined leather shoes being ruined and all my clothes getting soaked. I took refuge in the excellent Young’s pub “The One Tun” and over a lovely pint of Winter warmer dried out a bit and tried to plan the rest of my day. I was supposed to meet my lovely wife for lunch at “the Salt Yard” but it was shut. She suggested “Navarro’s” but added the caveat that it was a bit ordinary which didn’t fill me with confidence. So I wandered down to her office in a generally damp fashion thinking lunch would also be a washout. However I then spotted the “Gaucho” on Charlotte St and thought possibly a bit extravagant but why not.

We entered and the nice receptionist took my sodden coat and purchases off me and we were lead down to the basement restaurant which was empty but very welcoming. I do admire Gaucho for giving a touch of the nightclub to their restaurants. I like the kitchy cowpelt chairs and furry walls, it makes a change from the rather austere decoration elsewhere. We were seated and some lovely bread and pimento oil turned up. They don’t do a special offer lunch menu like “Goodman” which is a bit of a shame but the standard menu has plenty of choice. My wife needed to be back at work in an hour so it was just mains and a carafe of house Malbec for us. She went for the medallion fillets which she always choses but I decided to go off piste from my usual rib-eye and try a rump steak. We ordered some chips and spinach as sides. The steaks turned up and were very good. I was initially disappointed with my portion which was small but the waiter explained the rump I had chosen was cut thin so they actually came back later with seconds as dishing all up at once would lead to it getting cold. A nice touch I thought! The chips were very good, thin and nicely seasoned. However the spinach was far too garlicky. However the main attraction is the steak and these were well cooked, seasoned and delicious.

There was no room or time for desert but we did have coffee which rounded of a nice meal. Lunch came in at £90 with tip which is expensive for lunch for two consisting of one course and wine. However we did enjoy ourselves and the service was very friendly. So overall we were very happy that this was our refuge from the rain. I do like Gaucho as a chain, it’s sleekness and uber professional approach may not be for everyone but I really think the food speaks for itself.
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david ginsberg - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Poor service and average food is my sordid memory of visiting this restaurant.

An early Saturday night dinner was met with long delays; relevantly, 20 min+ for water even though the restaurant was nearly empty. An excuse from the waiter "I'm not allowed to leave my station" is simply not acceptable to paying customers.

The food was average, very average:

(a) Starters of baby squid and salmon were good, though the plates were cold. (b) Mains of rump were ok though the eternal problem of dinners requesting "medium" and getting "medium-rare" continued.

(c) To be avoided is the "mustard sauce" which is little more than a tea-spoon of mustard with half a cup of cream!

(d) Likewise the "season vegetables" consisted of roasted carrots and parsnips. I am no farmer but know there are more vegetables out there this time of year.
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Z
3 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, December 13, 2011

We keep going back to Gaucho quite often, as the steaks are big and incredibly tasty! I fall in love with their cheesecake every time all over again!
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Ana
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 7
Thursday, July 21, 2011

I work around the corner from Gaucho and wanted to treat my boyfriend to dinner.

We went on a Mondaay, but it was quite busy, considering. I got someone else to make the booking for me, and the booked for a week later, but the host was lovely and gave us a table!

Had a drink at the bar first. I'm very fond of my Dirty Martinis, but they use a very salty olive which kinda ruined it for me :-(

We then sat at our table and were "introduced" to their cuts of meat, which I thought was pretty cool, in case you don't know your rump from your fillet!

I'm from Brazil, so have a very high standard in my meat. I chose the empanadas for starters as they are very similar to a Brazilian dish, Pastel. How disappointed! The taste was pretty average, but you only get 1 small empanada, and at £4 a bit of a rip off, They should put the price up to £6 and serve 2, with maybe a bit of salad as garnish, as presentation was poor.

For main, we chose the Sampling Platter, which has all cuts of beef! At £75 I found it a bargain to be honest as you get 1,200g! Sides once again, very disappointing. The creamed potatos were bland and so was the spinach.

We skipped dessert as we were quite full.

I also like the fact that service is not included, tha way you can give as much as you think the service was worth.

I'd definately go back, but will be wiser with my order!
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8 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, December 30, 2009

I was extremely excited at the thought of trying this new restaurant which has just opened on the doorstep of my office. The restaurant itself is lovely and I guess the atmosphere was good (although it was a Friday night). Our waitress was fabulous but sadly the food was not up to scratch. I am a bit of steak connoisseur and have heard great things about Gaucho. Maybe I was unlucky but the steak was below par and did nothing to live up its reputation as the best steak in London. Unfortunately the side dishes were no better and did nothing to lift the meal. Better off at Sophies in Covent Garden, cheaper, less pretentious and much better steak!
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6 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, November 11, 2009