The day was not going well, my lovely wife was back to work, baby G was with his nanny so I decided to go shopping. I could not have picked a worse day, the weather was catastrophic, the sales staff in John Lewis largely disinterested and the fancy paper bag holding my two new fancy shirts did not repel the rain. This led to the shirts falling into a large puddle, my newly shined leather shoes being ruined and all my clothes getting soaked. I took refuge in the excellent Young’s pub “The One Tun” and over a lovely pint of Winter warmer dried out a bit and tried to plan the rest of my day. I was supposed to meet my lovely wife for lunch at “the Salt Yard” but it was shut. She suggested “Navarro’s” but added the caveat that it was a bit ordinary which didn’t fill me with confidence. So I wandered down to her office in a generally damp fashion thinking lunch would also be a washout. However I then spotted the “Gaucho” on Charlotte St and thought possibly a bit extravagant but why not.
We entered and the nice receptionist took my sodden coat and purchases off me and we were lead down to the basement restaurant which was empty but very welcoming. I do admire Gaucho for giving a touch of the nightclub to their restaurants. I like the kitchy cowpelt chairs and furry walls, it makes a change from the rather austere decoration elsewhere. We were seated and some lovely bread and pimento oil turned up. They don’t do a special offer lunch menu like “Goodman” which is a bit of a shame but the standard menu has plenty of choice. My wife needed to be back at work in an hour so it was just mains and a carafe of house Malbec for us. She went for the medallion fillets which she always chooses but I decided to go off piste from my usual rib-eye and try a rump steak. We ordered some chips and spinach as sides. The steaks turned up and were very good. I was initially disappointed with my portion which was small but the waiter explained the rump I had chosen was cut thin so they actually came back later with seconds as dishing all up at once would lead to it getting cold. A nice touch I thought! The chips were very good, thin and nicely seasoned. However the spinach was far too garlicky. However the main attraction is the steak and these were well cooked, seasoned and delicious.
There was no room or time for desert but we did have coffee which rounded of a nice meal. Lunch came in at £90 with tip which is expensive for lunch for two consisting of one course and wine. However we did enjoy ourselves and the service was very friendly. So overall we were very happy that this was our refuge from the rain. I do like Gaucho as a chain, it’s sleekness and uber professional approach may not be for everyone but I really think the food speaks for itself.
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
sadly I've now stopped going to Gaucho as when my lovely wife and I went to a gig at the O2 they wouldn't give her a table as a sole diner (I was running late). I complained to them by e-mail and they never responded so we take our custom elsewhere.