El Matador

I love this place and have recently gone from being a passer by to a regular. I come here for the steak, it is seriously good steak. There are other things on the menu but bypass them and eat the steak. If you are a vegetarian eat a slightly smaller steak. I will get to the steak later, first you need to start with the empanadas, have them with chimichurri which is the sauce or condiment above all others for steak and empanadas. They are meaty with a little spice, flavoursome and you will want another two when you have finished the first two, but you can’t because you have to save room for the steak. I order a 300 gram ribeye which arrives on a slab of volcanic slate resting on a ceramic dish with space for sauces and slices of cooked steak. The volcanic slate has been heated to 450C and you slice off slivers of your thick steak and cook them on the slate then dip them in the amazing chimichurri. The 300 gram ribeye is perfect as it is too thick to cook through just resting on the slate even if you spend 45 minutes or so over your main course. Just slice a little off, cook it yourself to your desired level of amazing, dunk it in the chimichurri and bathe in oral orgasmic ecstasy. Have your steak with fries or chips and some vegetable type stuff then finish this off with the caramelito ice cream which is to die for.
I’d give this place five stars but they served me a ridiculously expensive £6 bottle of VSCO mineral water once and I have an issue with expensive stuff that expensive that is so similar to the local tap variety of water that may be filtered for almost free. Indeed at this price you should skip the mineral water and go for another bottle of wine.
Anyway, it’s a great place and you should go there. Did I mention the steak?

We have been to El Matador on 4 separate occasions and EVERY SINGLE TIME, we have been impressed and so have our guests :)
W have tried most of the dishes on the menu, from tapas to main course to desserts to lovely Argentinian wines and have to say while we like Paella, the beef served on the hot stone, is irresistible! :)
I have to say this restaurant has become our family favourite, and having travelled around the world, I can tell a good restaurant offering good food and service to a mediocre one!
Well done El Matador! continue focusing on good food and customer service :)

Ate at El Matador last night (a Wednesday). I was a little apprehensive having read some of the poor reviews but can only think I was eating in a different restaurant to the critics. It was amazing! Maybe it’s a different place on a Friday/​Saturday night but it was still fairly busy (especially for midweek) and I found all of the staff extremely friendly and attentive. I had the steak (I’m too lazy to cook on the stone so left it to Chef who cooked it perfectly) but my friend opted for the stone and loved being able to cook each mouthful to his taste. The great thing about the stone is that you can enjoy your steak hot to the very last morsel. (Why we insist on eating British beef in this country is a mystery Argentinian is so much better!) The ladies opted for the tapas which was all extremely tasty and beautifully presented. The wine was a bit more than you might pay in other places, starting at around £20. We had the Spanish Rioja (£21.99?) which was lovely and well worth the extra pennies. Though we didn’t have starters or coffee (and only the 1 bottle of wine plus a couple of soft drinks) it came to £33 per head. Certainly not the cheapest meal in town but I’d rather pay a little bit extra and enjoy the excellent food, drink, atmosphere and hospitality that El Matador offers. Ignore the naysayers I would thoroughly recommend especially for a midweek treat.

A Breath of Fresh Air
I have no idea why some of the reviews are so left field? judge for yourself I have been going to this restaurant ever since it opened last May and i agree it had its teething moments but now its run professionally and just what you would expect from a local community based restaurant, recognition of customers, good food, good service and a huge choice of the menu see their website
This restaurant has been working with the local schools, sports clubs, church and charities and i have often seen their donation in the form of a meal at these local places. The restaurant puts on live entertainment and DJ’s which, the Mums of Sevenoaks Love and being one myself I fully appreciate Finally a place to eat and let your hair down! we have hired the cocktail lounge 49 on a few occasions and been very well looked after. I love the fact that there is a place to drink for the over 25’s and dress code is requested. I must say that the restaurant does attract a chic and discerning clientèle and from some of the rude and obnoxious comments i have read perhaps these people need to go elsewhere! If you are looking for A VERY QUIET place to eat ON THE WEEKEND then there is plenty of that in Sevenoaks to choose from however Sundays to Thursdays El matador is very ambient and caters for a quieter mood.
On the weekends El Matador is bit of a party restaurant with lots of atmosphere! Myself and many of my friends regularly eat and drink at El Matador and have never been disappointed. and neither will you. unless you expect absolute perfection?

Went to this restaurant a few weeks ago, I have to say they do have some good things:
–The steaks (I’ve tried better but they are very good)
–It is different, something that sevenoaks needs, no more italians please!
–The wine list is great
But it also has horrible things that to me makes it a no go:
–Horrible hospitality: Bad service, and what is worse the manageress (who apparently is one of the owners) is the rudest professional I’ve ever encountered in a restaurant.
–The tapas are horrible, tiny and overpriced. Indeed they are better than the ones in La Tasca and other Spanish mega chains but that doesn’t make them good. They may be fresh but they are far from being real tapas So after all this my advice is: Do you want a good steak, with good wine and a nice atmosphere with good service? Near Sevenoaks? go to George and the Dragon Chipstead, they are in a different league

I read these reviews before going to El Matador and was seriously going to try and talk my other half out of his decision to go here, but I am so glad I didn’t!
What an amazing place!
Yes, we did have a litlle wait for our food, but as the restaurant was packed out, and they cook everythin fresh, I wouldn’t of expected our meals to have appeared within 5 mins! The steak was sublime I loved the fact that I got to cook it exactly to my taste.
The service was friendly, the restaurant décor was great and I would definately reccommend this to anyone that loves a good meal.
Looking forward to going back again next month!

after reading a few reviews I was a little put off, but im glad I decided to give it ago. very nice menu and very good hosts, Hugo was very funny and made the evening. Service was a tad slow but was well worth the wait. see you soon.

I visited El Matador last week as part of a small group. The décor and general atmosphere was excellent. Very modern bright, light, clean and comfortable with a warm welcome.
Good choice of dishes on the Menu. I had steak cooked on a stone. The meat was very tender and tasty but I found it a bit of a faff, so would opt for it to be cooked in the kitchen next time! The veggies were steamed to perfection, crisp and fresh and nicely presented.
Although, there were a lot of staff which is good in some ways, but it did’nt feel like a personal friendly experience so would suggest the staff smile a bit more and relax! It all seemed a bit rushed and stand off-​ish.
Try the ice cream, Mango and Passion fruit it is superb. We ordered a Red wine which was delightful, if only I was’nt driving.
Overall it is a lovely restaurant and I hope it does well as there is not much in wealthy Sevenoaks in the way of good restaurants.

I’ve watched as this new restaurant has been lovingly refurbished at some considerable expense and was finally able to visit last week. It really is the most attractive place, lovely granite block exterior & internally a dual level bar/​restaurant fitted out in a classy, luxurious fashion.
The first floor is the cocktail lounge. You reach it via a sweeping wooden staircase and it is a funky, contemporary place. We drank mojitos for a fiver apiece & listened to Cuban music.
The restaurant was busy and well staffed. The house red was delicious and the food plentiful. Some of us ate tapas, one had steak on a very hot stone & some had pizza’s. Whilst appearing Spanish you might see the place as modern European…
The verdict? Good quality throughout in all areas. Sevenoaks is a rich place stuffed with some boring eateries — this’ll do well & deservedly so. Well worth £25 a head with drinks. Visit.