Gaucho Edinburgh — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

Booked on line 2 weeks ago. Restaurant called on the day to double check our (2 persons) booking.

Arrived 5 mins before our time of 7.15 and advised the table not quite ready, please take a seat in the bar. The bar is on ground floor and quite small and only one seat at the bar was free. We had decided beforehand that we would probably choose to not to have a dink but rather than sit and just wait we changed our minds. 2 staff busy and no problem waiting and very nice girl then explained the wine list. Ordered and seats became available and rushed to grab them as more people coming in. Hadn’t got to actually sit and the check in girl came over to say our table was ready but I said we would sit for a few mins.

Then we went downstairs to the restaurant and welcomed by another check in girl at another computer, then shown to ‘our’ table by another girl.

However there was a momentary hesitation as to which table she would sit us at and took us to table set for 4 in the middle of the room. Eh? Table pre booked, ‘not quite ready’ on arrival (no problem if busy but room nowhere near full and no loads of earlier diners leaving), then to one set for 4? So seems no adequate table policy – well for 2 persons at least.

This is the restaurant maximising bar sales. That’s OK but don’t push guests into area that can’t accommodate and don’t say the table is not ready when ‘one’ is.

Meal: Delicious breads and chimichurri. We shared Empanadas starters delicious. Medallions of Ribeye the smallest size of meats available at £20. Very good but presented on a plate, bare. Burger – in such a restaurant where beef is THE theme and range from £27 – £60 pp you await a ‘burger’ experience. Not so. Over milled compact meat, dry ordinary style bun and, well just the type of burger you get at a just OK average restaurant. Very, very disappointing. Complain - no point – it’s what they do.

Wine – extensive and expensive.

No desert – stuffed.

And both of us still felt bloated next morning.

The gents toilet. Stank. Stank. So bad that I felt compelled to tell one of the staff on the way out. The only two guys I saw were head waiters (going around wearing radio earphones that you see, and understand why, at huge eateries or large functions but give an air pomposity and detachment from guests) rushing back and forth so passed this on to the check in girl who took the comment very well indeed.

Design and ambience. Excellent and so no issue sitting in the middle area. Music good level and not intrusive. Lighting great.

My star rating. Arrival * Food * Staff ** Wine (what we had) * Ambience/Style/Comfort...

I’ve thought a little on whether to write a review, normally I don’t and I especially don’t like doing so if negative but if it saves someone a bit of their hard-earned money, I think I’m doing people a favour.

The restaurant itself looks very nice, with music at just the right level. This gives the restaurant its first star.

The staff were friendly and polite. This is what the second and final star is for.

It took some time for the food to arrive even though the restaurant was not full, but it was quite early so that's more understandable.

The bad part is the food is vastly overpriced. I can get better steaks in my home town with sides and drinks for 2 for approx £70. I paid £180 for 2 people, 2 courses with one drink each! The place came on recommendation hence why I thought it was going to be amazing and willing to pay but I've eaten everywhere from dive bars to 3 Michelin star restaurants and although Michelin dining costs more, at least you get 10-18 courses, and they are at a bare minimum actually cooked and seasoned correctly. You leave those places happy to have paid knowing you have had a culinary experience, here just left me with a bad taste in my mouth figuratively and literally. We didn't even have dessert.

They also charge quite a tip without asking, I feel in the UK and especially for what it was, didn't deserve this level of tip.

Now I love steaks! However, I can cook better steaks at home - seriously. There was no seasoning, no real crust. The oyster mushrooms were lacking flavour and super undercooked, no texture at all, almost rubber. The mac and cheese conversely were over cooked into one congealed dry mass - again no flavour. The only thing decent was the steak tartare as a starter. I should have just eaten that and called it quits.

It's my own fault as I took a recommendation from someone who hasn't experienced much in terms of foods/restaurants and doesn't cook at home. Fair to say I will not be going back and even at half the cost honestly, it’s still overpriced. Save yourself the trouble and don't...

We have been to many steakhouses and Kylo's takes the cake so far. Gaucho is atmospheric inside, elegant but you don't go to a restaurant for the decor. Unfortunately there is nothing exceptional, very commercial, hotel food. Marinated steaks- you can barely taste the difference from a regular steak and we've eaten seasoned excellent steaks before. The texture of the steaks was good and that's it. My lomo al diablo was supposed to be with salsa and I got so little of it on the bottom that it wasn't even enough for half a steak. There was a small selection of sides so we only took fries which were good. Strange, maybe it was a bit out of place that the waiter asked us if we wanted mayonnaise or ketchup. I would understand if he asked about sauces or other sides in such a restaurant, unless he wanted to draw attention to the unsophisticated customers. The tip was added to the bill. If the service was somehow special, but this time it was ordinary. We waited 30 minutes for a dessert that looked like something from the production line. It was definitely not handmade, like in other renowned restaurants. Unfortunately the croquettes were tasteless; salmon tacos-a very interesting idea. Overall impression is very average, decor is pleasant but the food is bland. We make better steaks at home and it's a shame because this restaurant had good reviews. After an hour this place became like a noisy bar. Large groups disturbing the peaceful atmosphere of other customers should be placed in a separate room. we felt like we were in a medium quality bar, when we left the restaurant we felt relieved to leave this loud and ill-mannered company. What's more it was my birthday which was noted during the reservation. But as you can see, not every customer deserves a small gift, which the restaurant describes on...