Gaucho

This restaurant chain is living from its brand and location. Beyond the steaks which you expect to be perfect at high prices, sides and puddings were poorly cooked and tasted way too sweet. Overswert cheesecake size of an oversized table spoon costing £10, shock. High prices did not match the quality of food. Chips were cold and could tell had been recooked. At £5 per tiny side, you would expect better then what they delivered. When the waiter showed no empathy in our expression of cold chips, all he said was «yes they are cold» in the most sarcastic way without even replacing. For a wednesday night, they were not even overun woth orders for that to be an excuse.
Ps!!! Dont order pancake, has texture of leather, oversauced too

This Gaucho restaurant is somewhat hidden away, underground beneath a glass-​enclosed bar near Broadgate Circle. We came here to treat ourselves to a steak meal after coming back to London from a trip away.
The setting of the restaurant underground is quite stylish. It feels top class and good for bringing along people to impress. I can imagine the suited workers from the professional firms surrounding the restaurant accompanying clients or their team out for dinner. You can see into the kitchen at the far end and hear the hiss of steaks hitting the grills. Along another wall, you can see an enviable collection of bottles of wine.
The food, while adequate, didn’t live up to the standard set by the surroundings. My steak was a bit overdone and I didn’t feel like I was enjoying a rare treat like I have in other London steak restaurants. We had a baby gem lettuce salad as a side, but it was so overwhelmed with dressing that I couldn’t finish it.
I would be happy to come here if I were going for a work do, but there are other steak restaurants in London which I prefer.

Very disappointing. Private dining room. Poor pace of meal. Food served piecemeal, multiple service errors. Even worst, my steak was tough and less enjoyable than what you’d have at home. Failed at almost every level and we spent over four figures here. Won’t be coming back.
Staff was nice though, just poorly trained and managed.

Don’t bother!
And if you read through my reviews, I don’t think I’ve ever said that!
I’ve always wanted to check out a Gaucho restaurant as they seem to be quite notable in London and look extremely flashy.
My friend’s birthday was a great excuse.
Well, the terrible experience started as soon as we walked through the door. My frien was turning 35 and had a balloon with 35 on in. The waitress, very belittling, stated that they had a «no balloon policy». A restaurant of this status, would have expected them to had the situation with a LOT more class.
The birthday guy had told that we all, 15 people, were going to have the set menu. Once we got there it was noted that there a few people that were vegetarians and others had to leave early and thus wanted to order for the a la carte menu. For some reason this was a HUGE issue for the waitress and she had to check if this was okay. WHY??? Why would this be a problem at a restaurant that charges over the top prices for EVERYTHING!
«Luckily» the waitress told us that this time it would be okay. Well, «lucky» for her, I’m sure there will not be a next time.
As a adore steak, I went along with the £55 set menu (the lowest price one they had). The food was average, as best. I do that some reviews noted the great steaks, though maybe it was because of our poor initial customer experience, or because we were a larger group, they didn’t make the effect. The 100g steaks were thrown down on the table. There were 4 per plate, and we were to take them off the common plate over to ours. It didn’t really make sense.
The cheesecake was awful, to the degree that 4 out of the 10 people that had the set menu didn’t even touch it.
Gaucho has set there target market, it seems, for young bankers to go, look good among other good looking people, with not caring about cost or quality.
I would not recommend Gaucho to anyone, even their intended target market… there are FAR better places to go where you can get better quality food, and probably people as well.

Great steak place for the guys and for the girls!
Spiral cut rib-​eye, 500g, bone marrow drawn butter. Wash it down with a scorched ginger.

In Broadgate circle part of the Gaucho chain. Upstairs is a comfy bar which serves wines, cocktails and draft beers. The cocktail menu changes and having had a hard time deciding which cocktail I fancied this time, they offered to make me one. Having been asked about my favourite cocktails and flavours a personal cocktail was quickly whipped up and presented. By the second one, he had improved it a little more. It was very yummy!
The restaurant is based downstairs accessed by their lift. Service was polite and reasonably paced.
Gaucho is Gaucho so the deco is the Gaucho theme and the service of presenting the meats on a display board was gone through in the usual slick manner.

Who says the heyday of banking is dead?! Not me. And not the people of Gaucho.
I had my first steak ever at a Gaucho (what a way to start!) in Holland a few years back (Im Indian, so dont tell my Mum), and so I lobbied my boss hard to have our Team Dinner there.
The Gaucho Experience starts with being greeted by a young woman in a small red dress and being shown to a table in the lounge. So far so good ;)
Beer/​cocktails/​wine later you get led downstairs which is weird because you do then remember that Broadgate Circle is right above you.
The venue is pretty dimly lit but that’s atmosphere, and the lined seats are quite luxurious and opulent. If you’re relatively new to this type of cuisine (see heritage comment above), it’s good that the staff know all about the different cuts and can recommend what and how you should have your steak. Cue the server coming round with the cuts which is a fun experience, as they recommend what to have based on how you like it too, and then recommending wines.
I had a 600g rib-​eye which was brave/​stupid (cue jaw-​ache!), and I think my boss had a mixed selection which he said was awesome.
Food was really ‘king good and you are definitely getting what you pay for. I was slightly surprised that some ppl have found the service bad, perhaps an off waiter? On the whole I found the service pretty good; it’s in these guys’ interests, as I imagine a place like this, they get pretty healthy tips.
What I really like about this branch (it is a chain after all), is there is a seated area outside for balmy evenings. As we were all pretty stuffed (read: battered), the servers took our drinks upstairs, and then, WOOH offered us cigars!
All in all, a great experience! :-D

Great food if ready to spend some big bucks. Don’t even think about going here if you’re vegetarian. Steak choices are wide and cooked with expertise. Sides are decent portions so suggest order a range and share. Care if poor sight– lights are VERY dim and a number of us had trouble reading menu — a torch would have been handy! Would definitely return — just make sure your wallet is ready!

I’m afraid I may have some words of dissent although this branch of Gaucho is very nice, it’s not fantastic. On the plus side, there’s the novelty of the contrast between the apparently pockey entrance/​bar, which looks a bit like the sort of semi-​temporary sales office that would be erected for a new development of over-​priced flats, and the spacious interior. The staff were friendly, on our visit, but more of that later.
On to the food I enjoyed my starter of empanadas, but couldn’t escape two conclusions. First, they’re probably the most expensive in London, at a fiver each (which seems a bit steep for a pleasant but unexceptional product). Secondly they lacked a bit of oomph, neither being as spicey nor as well seasoned as some others I’ve had, merely salty.
My entrana fina (marinated skirt steak) was a lovely piece of meat. However, it took a few minutes to get to me, as it took a detour via another diner’s plate, which wasn’t very satisfactory, and did rather cast into doubt the apparent efficiency of some of the waiting staff. I decided to pass on desserts, in part because I was rather dissapointed to see that there was no dule de leche centred option at the time of visit, which was a shame. My dining companion’s sticky toffee pudding was reported as fine, if dry high praise indeed if you’re talking about the weather for a visit to the seaside, but poor if you’re talking puddings.
All in all, I feel that the product is good, and the service OK, but Gaucho’s still not the best place (sorry. chain) to visit in London if you simply must have a great Argentine steak if you can brave going out of the way, I’d say the mighty Santa Maria Del Sur on the Queenstown Road still holds the crown.

A quality, gourmet steak house which would deserve the full five stars if it imported Argentine beef, added some must have side dishes like mollejas (sweetbreads) and just tried to be a bit less pretentious.

If you charge so much for food… at least have better servers/​hosts.
4 stars for food…2 stars for service.
Barely missed this place by inches! Googlemap was doing a bad job getting us here, but based on the dark exterior, I looked up and low and behold it’s Gaucho! We were welcomed through the door… and it was great and all, lovely service, she pressed the elevator for us, talked through her walkie talkie that two of us girls were heading down. and it wall went down hill after… Upstairs is where the service was…
We got down there, and the girl at the reception turned her back on us when it’s obvious we were coming in. HELLO??? and she walked away. wtf? So we had to search for our friends in this dimly lit restaurant.
The other reviewers said something about lots of young girls, yes, they are all so skinny and young! My server was stupid and kept trying to hard sell things to me, making them seem free… i already knew what i wanted, but just wanted to see all those raw steaks, and even jokingly asked for her opinion on if i should get the medallion which is 10 pounds less than the BIFE DE LOMO which is at 31 pounds. I already had my heart set on the bife de lomo and of course she was like selling the more expensive one, thats fine. Predictable. I orderd it medium rare, but i’m a big fan of almost rare steak… She did manage to sell me a cocktail, as everyone around me was drinking wine, asked me twice if i decided on a cocktail… and than ranted off what i should get, and i heard the word «mojito» so that drew my attention and i ended up getting the SAN LUCAS for 8.50. It was mighty delicious and very strong taste of alcohol. but i liked it!
So for my steak, it was amazing… just like a fine dining It was practically rare inside… my friend ordered the ribeye, and she ordered it medium/​well done, but said some places it was rare!!! My other friend who ordered medium said there was rare parts as well. SO i guess if you are looking for medium steak, order it really done. because you will get rare parts, which i love so i thought mines was absolutely perfecto!
ambiance: very dark… i could barely read my menu and the server couldn’t read it when i told her to find me the cocktail she was talking about… so that’s says something and she had to apologize. It’s quite loud and packed. unlike Gaucho –city which is where you want to go for a romantic dinner by Bank station!!! Service is better there too!
service: Service sucks… if you have to try that hard to sell. please don’t call yourself «fine dining» or whatever and have your dress code «dressy» even though i wasn’t dressy, just work pants and a t-​shirt with a backpack. Our server also had this annoyed look when we were like «no, we don’t want dessert/​more drinks, we’re full» and never came to check on us after she took away the dessert menu. We had to flag down another one to get the bill.

Still the best! if they did rooms I’d live there. Also since my first review I have been to the City and Piccadilly ones, they are just as good as my home one (Broadgate).

A fun experience with pretty decent food. For the price though, I expected something near the best and I really can’t say that.
When you walk in, you get to make your own mojito. There’s a table to the right of the entrance, and a guy let’s you pick your own ingredients, rasberries, blackberries, sugar, how much mint, alchy you want
Once you’re done, you’re seated at your table and the waiteress went over the different cuts of meat. Definitely the most detail i’ve experienced.
The food was good, but it definitely falls a notch below the atmosphere, expereince, and service.
Also, like Mike T. below I was somewhat annoyed there weren’t proper knives.

Wonderful atmosphere and décor with friendly waitstaff.
We ordered different cuts of meat and various sides to share. Do try the chipotle potatoes… delicious! Our steaks were fine, but not as good as I expected for the price.
One thing that really irks me about this restaurant: they do not have steak knives.

I’ve been to Gauchos several times, including this branch which is hidden underneath a square near the back of Liverpool Street station. On this occasion I took someone for a birthday meal, so was hoping for a good impression.
The waitress was apparently on the ball asking if we’d like an apéritif whilst showing us the selection of Argentinean cuts of meat. She took our food and apéritif order of a Champagne cocktail and a Gin and Tonic. The starters arrived, and then the aperitifs, rather disappointing because I’m not sure that G & T or Champagne go with Empanadas and fish cakes. The wine arrived, the starters were cleared away and as we finished our aperitifs the mains arrived.
I asked the waitress to slow down a little, explaining that we weren’t in a hurry. Perhaps this was a mistake: because after we’d finished our mains it was practically impossible to get our dishes cleared or get the bill: which was offered with no offer of puddings.
Overall the food was very good; the service was variable but the whole experience disappointing.
Such a shame.

Great Argentinian Steak house. Recommended

I reliably good steak in a great atmosphere. Gaucho is a very special experience if you love your red meat (there isn’t much here for you if you don’t!). I would highly recommend the empanadillas as a starter and the mustard sauce with your steak. You can’t just go to Gaucho once, you will be returning for the rest of your days!

The Gaucho Broadgate is a spectacle to be seen for a reasonably poor chap like me. Sumptious white leather chairs surround a solid, square, black glass table. Sitting in these leather chairs are the type of clientele who work and eat at all the top places. Recognising this need, the restaurant provides wi-​fi internet, meaning the top boys can take their laptops to eat and keep on top of the things that they need to.
The restaurant is waited on by some friendly staff, who I must note are normally younger women. an interesting theme to go for. The food is top quality, with prices matched accordingly to their class. You can expect to spend a good £40−50 on a meal here, but why wouldn’t you when you could be eating ‘Argentinian Beef’, or ‘Tiraditos’ (A peruvian sea food, thin slivers of fish normally served with right). I think you pay extra for the meals so the restaurant can afford to pay the installments on the sleek furniture they use. A really decent little place.

For lovers red meat this place is nirvana, the steaks we had were to die for. The staff are extremely knowledgeable and helpful, the atmosphere is very latin american and sexy, you feel like you’ve been whisked back in time to a pre Castro Cuba (I KNOW THE GAUCHO IS ARGENTINIAN), But you get my drift. The winelist is extensively stocked with great red wine to accompany your steak, great fun and simply delicious. recommended!

Everything about this restaurant is magical. The variety of steak is so immence that you are shown all of the different cuts and they are explained to you before you order. The setting is classy and romantic and the food, wine and cocktails are beautiful. This is a great place for a special occasion.