A La Cruz

We took the family out for lunch a couple of saturdays ago to A La Cruz. We had an awesome afternoon with the kids at the restaurant since we were all impressed with the food. We ordered the mix grill which incredible, except for the fact that we hadn't realized how much food was coming and having order side dishes made a feast to go for.

Of course, the red Malbec Reserva recommended by our waitress went down very well with the sirloin and chicken. We have always loved going to the Gaucho Grill, but we never thought we would find something better than Gaucho, but we are coming back in January for a birthday party here since the place has real decor, all new and it looks fun!

well done to the waiters who were kind with our kids and the hit the spot in recommending the right desserts for our girls (Dulce de Leche was amazing...!)
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Tomas, Natalia, Eva and Anna - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Sunday, December 11, 2011

Went to A la Cruz last night for my boyfriends birthday and had a great evening!

I'd got a living social offer, but even without it the meal would have been a very reasonable price.

The food was all delicious, we went for the Vacio and side dishes. The people on the next table had steak and was obvious from the sounds they were making they were enjoying it!

The staff were all very friendly, willing to help and answer any questions. They were mostly all spanish, so just left us to it, until we called them over.

If you're prone to sweating, don't sit near the barbecue!

A wonderful evening and a great venue! Will be going back for sure!
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Laura
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, October 12, 2011

I had a fantastic evening at La Cruz with some collegues. The staff very friendly and the food was delicious.
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Alex
7 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Saturday, September 03, 2011

I had a fantastic evening at La Cruz with some colleagues from The City. The staff were very welcoming and the food was delicious. The restaurant is well decked out and I would recommend La Cruz for a nice hearty meal!
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Stella English - View all reviews by this user
6 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Tuesday, August 23, 2011

While Gaucho have cornered the market in the pricier end of fine Argentine dining they're not the only cooks on the block specialising in the meat heavy cuisine of the region. John Rattagan, of Buen Ayre fame, is making his own slower push into the market. His original has been a popular authentic local staple on Hackney's Broadway Market since 2004 and the management team have moved a little up market to a converted pub between Farringdon and Exmouth Market. Opened in 2009, it's the first proper asador (named after the traditional fire pit that cooks most of the meat) in the UK.

Where the original is a little rough and ready with a large open firepit on which hunks of meat sit and sizzle, they've tricked this one out slightly differently. White walls, dark woods and a more refined air should justify a higher end price tag, but thankfully they don't hike the prices to match. You can eat well here for not much more than a starter at Gaucho. Thankfully too, the grill at the heart of the restaurant remains.

Empanadas, the rock and roll brother of the Cornish pastie, stuffed with densely packed spiced mince (beef naturally) and deep-fried for extra emphasis, they are a staple of Latino street food. Here they're petit recreations, almost a little too refined, served with a fairly forgettable salad of roast veggies and thankfully, lest we saw them as too healthy, a slice of melted provolone cheese.

These were followed swiftly by plates of mixed sausages and charred, chewy sweetbreads, known as Mollejas in Argentine. The latter were served with vegetarian taunting similarity to barbequed halloumi, jazzed up with a sharp lemon drizzle. The sausages were fine in the main though the morcilla, Argentine blood sausage based on pork, was best. Dark, herby and with a subtle chilli tang, it was soft enough to spread on bread and truly a thing of beauty.

Nice as these all were, the steak's the thing. Served to the table on Parillada grills, thin metal trays heated with charcoal, they're mighty meaty lumps of rump and rib-eye. The advertised 300g per head feels like an under-estimation initially but it's more than enough to tame the most savage beast and we're forced to send shamefacedly for doggy bags. Great cuts, cooked well. The secret here is to get enough onto your plate before the residual heat of the grill takes it past the desired level of done.

Unable to give it true justice, I remember enjoying a dulce de leche ice-cream and some fine coffee to finish, but I only had thoughts for home, my bed, and a long snooze. Meat dreams are made of this...
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Rich
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Saturday, April 16, 2011

Fantastic place to eat, the best in London for any steak, easy going great ambience and good to see Tremlett's work on the walls.
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Lucien Broth
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Saturday, February 19, 2011

A La Cruz has possibly the worst consumer service I have ever experienced in London....ever!

I went with some work colleagues for a leaving lunch and we should have realized the mistake when entering the restaurant it was completely empty. We each had vouchers that we bought from a website stating we could have £20 worth of food for £8. Before going to A La Cruz we each selected what we wanted from the Lunch Menu on the website and asked whether we could pre-order how food to maximize on our 1 hour lunch break. This was all okayed by the person on the phone. When we arrived we were told we cannot order from the Lunch Menu as it was a 'special offer' and they took it down the week before. No one in the company thought to do this last week or when the voucher deal went online to buy. The voucher didn't state that there are 2 different menu's and I've never heard of a standard lunch menu being the same as a special offer.

After much disagreement with the waitress on duty who wouldn't back down on our point we had to leave. There was no manager on duty, no assistant manager apparently she was the only person on the floor working that lunchtime. There's no wonder they cant afford the labour costs as it appears no one goes there for food. I have been to their sister restaurant Buen Ayre which had excellent service and amazing steaks. Maybe it should train the staff better here and make sure terms and conditions of deals are met.

Highly disappointing. Nil stars.
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Anon
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, February 01, 2011

My partner and I came to the restaurant expecting great things after reading very complimentary reviews on another site. This appears to have been a mistake.

The first issue was that one of the starters (Provoleta) was effectively a bowl of microwaved cheese. There was no grilling involved as the menu suggested.

Whilst eating the starters we finished our drinks, and had to wait until after the plates had been cleared to be asked if we wanted another drink, around 15 mins.

As the plates were being cleared away for our starters, with used cutlery placed on the plates, the forks which we had just used were put back on the table to be used for our mains! Then the hot plates were put down for the main course about 10 minutes before the course arrived, by which time they had become cold. At this point the music had changed from traditional Argentine music to rap far too loud to hold a conversation over without shouting.

The green salad was a small bowl of plain leaves with no dressing, and the 'A la Cruz Maxi' was average at best. The chips were very nice, as were the Empanadas, an Argentine take on a Pastie.

During the course of the meal we were served by 4 different members of staff allowing for no continuity or attention from staff. Fortunately for them, we were only asked if everything was satisfactory after we had finished the meal. The fact that 12.5% service charge was expected was an insult, as was the reaction when we queried it and decided not to pay a tip. We were asked why we were not paying the charge and offered our explanation which suited the last waiter we had, and who seemed perfectly professional. The evil looks shot across from other various staff aware we had declined to pay the 'optional' service charge was downright unprofessional.

In summary the restaurant held great promise, and were were excited about trying something new. It turned out to be an overpriced, unpleasant experience which we shall never repeat again. We would definitely avoid this restaurant in future.
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2 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 3
Friday, August 27, 2010

We ate here last week and although the steaks were very average on the low, for a place that has its reputation for good meat, the service was abysmal. The restaurant is run by very rude staff who have a ridiculously high opinion of themselves - avoid this place
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james B - View all reviews by this user
1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, August 25, 2010

I visited this restaurant yesterday and was sorely disappointed. Our waiter never smiled and looked like he wished he was somewhere else. The other staff around did look rather more cheerful.

We waited quite a while to order. Our first choice of wine was unavailable. The waiter suggested another which was undrinkable - tasting and smelling of vinegar. We tried another bottle which was acceptable but overpriced at £24 + 12.5%.

One of our party doesn't eat meat so ordered the only non meat dish on the menu - salmon. It wasn't available. She ended up ordering two starters.

The rest of us ordered and waited a couple of minutes under an hour for our food to arrive.

One steak was massive, served rare. It was tough and fairly tasteless.

One flank steak on the bone, served medium (the only way) was overdone, tasteless and tough. It looked massive on the plate but by the time the fat and bone were removed it was about 1/4 the size.

One lamb was just a heap of fat with virtually no meat. It was changed after another wait for a different piece which was just as fatty. We were then told this is how the Argentinians eat their lamb.

Our sides were green salad - mostly red leaves - served without any dressing which we had to request - and fries which appeared to be reconstituted potato.

In all our bill came to £91 inc. service. The only meal which was anywhere near enjoyable was the vegetarian starters - in a restaurant that specialises in it's meat! For this we had one course each (except for one poor person who ate nothing) and one bottle of wine.

A disasterous evening on every level.
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1 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Sunday, August 01, 2010