El Gaucho — Restaurant in Oranjestad (city)

I intended to eat here one evening because I saw a salad on their menu that tickled my fancy. On the way, I passed another restaurant that I hadn't seen before, and I decided to eat there instead. I mentioned that I was originally headed to El Gaucho at the place I went, and two staffers got wide-eyed, then a look of relief on their faces and said, "It's good that you're staying." I thought they were just happy to have my business. Little did I know...

Another night, I decided to go. I had dinner, and the food was just okay, but I did take this shrimp & avocado salad to go. I subsequently ordered many of these salads to go over time. I specifically loved it because it was all shrimp with no bitter crunchy vegetables.

The final night I ordered from El Gaucho, when I got back to my place, I saw that my salads were now loaded with raw onions and peppers. I called the restaurant, spoke to an employee and they said I could come in for replacements. No big deal. Another employee also knew and expected me.

When I got there, those two employees were gone for the day, and instead, I encountered D'Angelo, the Manager. He again brought me salads full of onions, etc.

When I explained to him that I'd ordered multiple times before and this was first time I got it like this, I was lied to, gaslit to high heaven and told the salads were always this way, and I was wrong, and D'Angelo told me in the most dismissive tone that he "would not change his recipe for me", nor would he refund me. When I stood my ground and wouldn't be dismissed, he called the police. I sat at the bar and waited.

An employee came up to me who was very warm, and qith an eye-roll directed toward D'Angelo, kindly asked that I just call the owner the following day at a certain time to get a refund. So I left, and called to speak to the owner the next day. I was told they weren't there, and when I called the following day, I was told "the owner left the island", which turned out not to be true.

I was stunned. So I did some more due diligence.

Not only has the place gone downhill, it has long held a reputation among locals as a 'den of chaos and discontent'. The owner, Riri (sp?) and D'Angelo are both reported to be problematic and not the most honest. Apparently, there are always incidents and bad things happening here, and the employees are miserable. Once revered, this place is now a black mark on the island.

While there are guests who feel a sense of nostalgia at having eaten there in the past, what El Gaucho realistically has become is a miserable and toxic shell of its former self. Times have changed, and sadly, it's no longer the great place people remember from 20, 30 years ago.

There are far too many other great restaurants in Aruba, and there are certainly other steak houses on the island that are truly fantastic, one of the best located near the cruise port. I recommend you take the hint that I originally missed, and just...

I hesitate to leave this review in light of the excellent meals we have had at El Gaucho over the last 20-25 years, but this place is just not what it once was. The restaurant is tired and does not feel clean, almost the feeling you get at a Disney theme restaurant that is just cranking people in and out, day after day, year after year.

The Gaucho Steak is still the only reason to come (and the only reason for the second star), and the highlight of any visit, but it doesn’t make up for the less appealing aspects. At some point it just became accepted that if you wanted steak on Aruba, you went to El Gaucho, and for many years it was the highlight of a trip to the island, not anymore. We went this week and the meal and experience confirmed we will never be back.

We had a wedge salad that was the worst I’d ever had, anywhere. A quarter of a head of lettuce with bad dressing and tiny (tiny) bits of bacon, nuts, tomato and blue cheese lining the rim of the sad plate. The sides they serve with the steak are basically cafeteria food, at fine dining prices. The noise level in the main dining room is deafening, not even considering the wandering guitar player, who is very nice.

Again, I really hate to leave this review after El Gaucho being such a highlight and favorite for so long - but we won’t be back and our last visit was the confirmation of a decline that has been happening for the last several years. The upstairs seating area was closed but there was a decent crowd in the main room, so they are still getting by on past reputation and lingering word of mouth, but with a number of much more interesting (and less remote) dining options on the island, it feels like this might not be the case for much longer. Sad to see....

On 7/25 we returned to el gaucho for the second time in 5 years since we enjoyed it so much the first time. We were greeted by a not so friendly woman. Our family of 4 were seated in the center dining area where we were greeted by a not so friendly waiter. He seemed impatient when we couldn't decide on a wine. It didn’t take long to decide since we were still eating the 4 tiny dinner rolls and were waiting on our appetizers. Our empanadas appetizer were delicious. We all ordered our steaks and my daughter ordered her cheese and broccoli soup. All were delicious but since the room was freezing (thank goodness I brought a sweater) our steaks and soups were getting cold within minutes. I would have given the food grade 5 stars if we didn't have to scarf down our steaks before the cold ruined it completely. Each steak entree comes with 3 sides of your choice and if you want mushrooms it will cost an addition $8.?? (forgot the exact amount). I ordered the mushrooms and noticed a minute after my meal was served that I did not receive them. Our waiter never returned to our table to see how everything is nor did we see any waiter in our section until we were done. When our plates were cleared and he asked us if we want dessert or coffee, I mentioned i did not receive the mushrooms I ordered or another 3rd side that should come with our very expensive steak. Our waiter did not apologize or compensate with a coffee or dessert. Just simply said it will he taken off the bill. Because of that we skipped our coffee and desserts and asked for the check. We did not give an additional tip like we normally would when a 20% service charge is automatically include on the bill....