El Gaucho

The food was reasonably good, service reasonably good, prices reasonably good… The BIG problem is that they have an automatic air deodorizer that dispenses the most horrid floral scent every 3 minutes. That ruined my meal.

The beef Napolitana Milanesa was absolutely amazing! My husband ordered the Bife Angosto and even though he liked it, he wished he had gotten something else.
We lived in Argentina for a long time and love finding legit places wherever we go in the world.
As much as I enjoyed the plate, we wouldn’t make this a frequent dinner option because of the incredibly inflated prices.

Overall, I was hoping for more.
We showed up at 6:30 after a busy tourism day. We were the first people to arrive, which was a bit concerning, positive Unilocal reviews aside.
Food was good but not great. The fries were fantastic, but I don’t go to an argentine restaurant for the fries. The beef was just OK. Maybe I’m spoiled by the beef you can get in the US. The side of asparagus was tough. The chimichurri sauce was excellent.
Service started off as friendly and attentive, but getting attention after we were done with dinner and wanted our tab was difficult.
The most jarring thing was we were seated below the TV. There were always 2 or 3 bored waitstaff watching TV, but it felt like they were staring at us in the otherwise-​empty restaurant.
By the time we left at 8, the restaurant had some other patrons, so that was a little comforting.

Very good meat and more than that: very good selection of Argentinian wines: solo la Linda Malbec. Bottle Luigi Bosca Pinot noir

The sirloin was great, cooked perfectly and very flavorful! Order the huge platter of grilled vegetables and its a perfect dinner for 2. We ate at 7 and the service was great but started to slow down as it got more crowded. Malbec is priced very well.

I expected a lot more from this restaurant. Tucked away in a very nice locality I would give 5 stars for the ambience. But it severely lacked in terms of customer service and yes my sirloin which I ordered medium was well done. When I complained about it, the owner proceeded to give me a lesson that the middle portion is medium and asked me to check if it indeed was and was taught that the edges will always be well done when I order medium (I would have asked for rare if I had been told so when I ordered). Not something I would expect when I’m paying top $‘s. The sides were very tasty and my wife did like her Rib-​Eye, so I’m thinking this was a anomaly, but as I mentioned initially I would have been over the moon if they had offered to get me a new piece when I let them know I was not happy with my steak (and I told them after I had, had two pieces of the steak).

Lets see, what was good, what was good… the fries were awesome, the house red was just perfect and the steak was good.
Of course, good isn’t great, which is what I was hoping for. My rib-​eye was a little fatty, even for a rib-​eye and wasn’t really in the same league as Hawksmoor or Santa Maria. Shame.
The whole place was very hot and stuffy, it was a relief when someone came in and let some fresh air in. The service wasn’t great either, obviously one of the waitress’ was pissed off with something and didn’t seem to want to acknowledge anyone, just moodily spray tables with foul smelling cleaner, ideal in the stuffy conditions.
And nothing lets you down more than having to wait 10 minutes just to spot someone to ask for the bill. Lucky the deserts were so uninspiring!

The food was delicious, but it was a bit pricy. The service was excellent, and the restaurant is a bit small. If you have a big group, better call advance.

It was great! The place is small, so it’s a good idea to get a reservation. Delicious steak and potatoes. Sides and appetizers were good also. It’s a very good alternative to a fancy steakhouse if you just want steak in a casual environment for a reasonable price.

Despite being just yards from South Kensington tube station El Gaucho is easy to miss as it’s in a basement, with access down some steps at street level. In fact, on our first stroll down Old Brompton Road we did miss it as we were too busy checking out the Lamborghinis in the showroom opposite!
We had a great meal here one rainy Saturday night. We arrived at about 7pm and the restaurant was already busy we didn’t have a reservation but they sorted a table for us quickly. The menu consists of meat, more meat and even more meat mainly steak with some chicken and lamb dishes too. If you’re a vegetarian I’d advise you to steer clear of this place as there were a couple of veggie starters but no meat-​free main courses.
We had grilled aubergine and an Argentinian-​style chicken pasty for starters, followed by steak fillet for me and rib eye for my partner. Starters were delicious as were the accompanying olives, bread and chimichurri sauce. My fillet steak, ordered medium rare, arrived on a sizzling hot plate it was too hot to eat straight away and was more like medium cooked by the time it was cool enough to eat. It was delicious, but I think I would order it rare in future to compensate for the extra sizzling time! My partner’s rib eye steak did come medium rare and was tender and delicious. We ordered a portion of chips each really we could have done with one to share as the steaks were so huge and filling that we couldn’t manage all the chips. We also had a couple of beers. Total bill was around £75 which seemed very reasonable for the quantity and quality of food.
The décor of El Gaucho is a bit South American kitschy diner but it works! Staff were very attentive without being intrusive and we were made to feel welcome throughout. It’s quite a small restaurant and the tables are packed closely together so it’s more for a meal with friends than an intimate night out. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone wanting a decent steak dinner.

I had a beef empanada and the fries with garlic and parsley (provencal?). They were both very good, especially the empanada. I also had a glass of white sangria which I proceeded to inhale because it was so good.

If you look at the size of meat, all what you can say is… mmmmassive!
I dont think they are over charging.

Impresionante, riquisimo si quieres comer carne y no te importa gastar dinero por una buena comida argentina, no lo dudes

Not to be mistaken with Gaucho, this is a argentine stake house. I’ve been through a number of steaks in London now and I thought this was pretty good. It’s a relaxed atmosphere and its great value for money

We have been going to this place for year, we love it, the best steak in town

VERY good fillet. Def advise shelling out the extra gbp for that over the flatter steaks.
Although technically this may not say very much, it is the best steak I’ve had in London by far.

The lure of ‘imported Argentinian steaks’ was too much to resist on our boys’ night out. We descended the stairs into this basement restaurant to discover a widescreen telly showing the Man U v Porto Champion’s League game. This was getting better and better.
Unlike previous reviewers, we wanted meat and lots of it. A bit disappointed to find out that the meat hadn’t been hung but we confirmed that it had been imported from Argentina. Seizing the opportunity to eat our rib eyes like the gauchos, we opted for the steaks to be served with 2 fried eggs on top along with some chips, corn on the cob and black pudding.
Though we were among the first customers, the food did take awhile to arrive but we were able to chat and watch the footy (taking notes for the Unilocal footy team, Leon!). When the food did arrive, it certainly didn’t disappoint on volume — a lovely thick steak cooked as requested, medium rare. Unfortunately, I didn’t find much flavour in my steak, even when I tried it with the churri sauce on the table.
I did have a pleasant evening but food-​wise, when the place stands or falls by the quality of the steak, I’m afraid I did leave a little disappointed. At least the English team won the footy.

Alright, well, as the first Argentinian restaurant in London, it’s alright. Well, I’m a vegetarian, I’m never going to go ape for some really genuine Argentian cowboy Gaucho steak. So maybe I’m bias. And despite what this other reviewer said, I didn’t think they had particular good vegetarian options.
The interior is downstairs, dark, wooden and all real and traditional Argentinian and that, complemented (not really) by all the waitresses being Russian. I’m not holding that against the restaurant, or the waitresses themselves, just thought it was funny. So, quite pricey, really nice food, but if you’re not immediately disposed to big fat steaks, maybe not the place for you…

My friend and I happened upon El Gaucho, spotting it in middle of a small sea of restaurants. Nestled down below a bar, El Gaucho is a hidden treasure on the very posh and very popular Old Brompton Road. The rustic atmosphere is charming, so there’s no need to wear 5-​inch high heals when dining here.
The authentic Argentine Steakhouse is home to traditional Argentine char-​grilled lamb and pork ribs. El Gaucho boasts that all of the beef is freshly imported from Argentina. As a former vegetarian, I was happy to find that there is also a great selection of vegetarian empanadas and tortas.