El Gaucho — Restaurant in Xàbia / Jávea

First I’ll mention I’ve been coming to this place over the last 10 years. It’s a great steakhouse, the meat is on point and the rest of the dishes are also great. However, the service has taken a turn for the worse over the past year or two with inexperienced servers. When they asked if we wanted anything to drink to start with we ordered some water and mentioned we’d have a look at the wine carte. It never got to us, I reordered halfway through the meal and they delivered but once the bill reached the table they’d charged twice. Now, the bill was considerable, 190€ for two people. It’s not about the 3€ for the water, it’s about having to repeat twice that I wanted it corrected and then, eventually, having who I suppose is chief of staff, coming to the table with a bit of an attitude to tell me that she was giving me the 3€ back (coins in hand) but she has to support her ‘boys’ as they’d said we’d ordered two waters.

My girlfriend and I were enjoying one last night together before she left for a few days and we really love the food and atmosphere there. Having our moment tainted by the harshness of the employees dealing with us was not an experience I want to repeat. Sad that such a wonderful place has taken a dive hiring personnel that isn’t up to the standards their food sets. I won’t be coming back for the...

We had been meaning to go to El Gaucho for years but have only just managed to do so. We booked for a Sunday lunchtime and arrived at 1pm. We had asked for a table in the conservatory area. It would have been nice outside had it not been so windy. It is easier and quicker for me to simply say that the service was excellent, the food was good as we had been told it would be AND there was some atmosphere - an element sadly missing from many places, however good the food is. We were surprised to see a menu del dia at the weekend, and as the dishes we would have had were on the mdd, we chose that. Three courses, a small soup amuse bouche at the start and a sorbet, bread and alioli and half a bottle of wine each for between 27.50€ and 33€, depending on the main course choice, is outstanding value. In addition to the famous meat options, there are fish, chicken and two vegetarian dishes. The only one negative is that when the chateaubriands are put on the metal hotplate, the fat creates quite a lot of smoke and if two or three tables are having it, it is not all that pleasant. When we go again, we will make sure we book at a time of year when we can sit outside. But apart from that, it is the best restaurant we have been to in the seven years we...

I was really looking forward to eating here, after reading the reviews. The restaurant itself is lovely, with a rural mountainside setting. The outside dining areas are picturesque and have adequate shading to make dining comfortable. The Staff seem miserable, particularly the older ones. We were received and shown to our table by an older portly grey haired gentleman who was nothing short of abrupt. The food was ok but not exceptional, and my T- Bone steak was under cooked, grisly and fairly poor. As the night wore on the service got a little drawn out too. There seemed to be no sign of anyone who looked like a Proprietor - nobody came round the tables, interacting with the Clients, no-one asked if our good was ok. You are in, seated, served and billed. Very cold and unwelcoming. Not a disaster, just average. Would not return as there are better venues serving better food for...