Gaucho City — Restaurant in London

Have been to a few gauchos and the electro brunch here was simply not it.

Sold to be quite an experience and have to say it was anything but.

Had no idea would be underground with no natural lighting and the decor felt very basic with almost a few drapes up to hide the fact is basically a very plain rectangular set up of a room. Almost could see some of the plain white plasterboard style to the far side.

The entry, doorman, cloak room and all that was great and was a comfy seat when at the table and toilet facilities were fine too.

Had to ask for the arrival bread to arrive and when asking, when should it be served the reply “on arrival” was somewhat iconic as I then asked, “well have we not arrived” so had a very confused look to why I was asking for the arrival bread on arrival which should just be served right?

Anyhow, that was served and it was lovely. 2 choices with a lovely butter and salsa verde. But have certainly had better pre bread.

The starters were lovely and a great selection. So much choice and was enjoyed by all. I’d rather have kept to those in honesty.

The drinks were good, red wine lovely and the passionfruit martinis were nice, but volume hidden by froth so not getting a full cocktail. One of the worse experiences here was when I got asked for a drink by two different people and replied yes to both as was not really focusing too much on what should be the responsibility of their staff however when one arrived and then the other, the gentlemen serving looked almost in dismay at how there were 2 drinks. He then removed one to allow me to finish one first. Considering the very apparent ease of drinking and consumption and clear ability to handle my drink, it was insulting and very patronising of a thing to have happen. Felt like a condescending teacher at a school disco feel to it and really had no time for it. I get the moderation but when it’s enforced like this it makes it feel like an utterly pathetic brunch experience.

Mains were ok, and considering is a steakhouse chain, “ok” was not the level I was expecting. 2 were sent back as were stone cold and in fairness, was handled well and new ones cooked. I saw another table have to do the same thing. It feels like they are accepting a low standard in hope the drinks soften people. Chips were nice. Steak was nice but again, nothing special.

Dessert was ok, again, nothing great and brownie was very dense. The roof sticking, tongue removing kind of one.

It sounds like an excessive assessment but for £80 a head in total I guess it’s not awfully bad. But the small bits as broken down made it what was a medium to poor experience and one I’d not rebook. I’d actually take some time in going back to a gaucho as feel there are more choices out there to entertain first. Shame at how brand loyalty can reduce so quickly.

Maybe other location would be better but I’ll let someone else try them as I certainly won’t...

We stayed at the Club Quarters Hotel London City above this restaurant for 2 nights on vacation the week of September 23rd. Being so busy and getting in late both nights we went to this restaurant both nights. The first night was GREAT! Food was very good and the beer wonderful. Both nights we ordered off the A La Carte Menu and both nights we had Provoleta and Truffle Mac & Cheese. Both nights they were very good. I can't say that about our waitress on the second night. Different waitress the first night, very nice. I believe she was Italian and should find another line of work. I had to ask a second time for a second beer. When she took our order she seemed to questioned that we were only ordering 'Starters' and 'Sides' and not a main course. Maybe because the 'Starters' and 'Sides' were very good as our main! I will say the first night we were there it was not crowded at all and quiet. Not the second night. It was very crowded and very loud. After all our glasses and plate were taken away, we sat for another 10 minutes before our waitress came over to ask if we wanted our check, not if we wanted desert. We took the check. I would dine here again if I'm in London again because the food itself was very good but not if we had the same waitress and if it is very crowded and loud. For the hotel above I rated the breakfast served here and it was awful. The scrambled eggs were a soggy mess and at least there was 1 cereal to...

Gaucho is not a bad restaurant, but it’s not worthy of anything over 2 stars. Here is a few reasons why. Gaucho prides itself of being an Argentine restaurant, but it’s not. I ordered a “tira de asado” but they don’t serve this dish. This is sacrilege! Imagine going to an English restaurant with no fish and chips, or an Austrian restaurant with no Wiener schnitzel. Missing the essentials. On top of this, the steaks are served with sauces. Why would you ruin a piece of meat brought to you from across the world with a butter based creamy sauce. If a real gaucho saw this they would roll their boleros up their throats and kill themselves. Chimichurri did not taste like chimichurri. This was a bell pepper based spread which tasted far from what it should. I asked to speak to the chef about this, but he was not Argentinian so how would he know what the real thing tastes like? And to top the evening. “Argentine Dulce de Leche ice cream” [wait for it….] produced it the UK. Tastes like salted caramel, not dulce de leche. In a nutshell, Gaucho has more resemblance to the queen’s guards that anything remotely close to Gaucho Argentine cuisine. Again, not a bad restaurant, but they are using the Argentine positioning to serve a typical UK steak with fancy sides. On a very positive note, the staff were lovely. Especially the host and the maitre who were super attentive...