DINE ARGENTINIAN STYLE

ITS THE ULTIMATE EXPERIENCE

You’d be forgiven for walking passed Gaucho on Park Row. It has an entrance below street level and there’s no glitzy signs but just a tasteful black and gold sign on the railings.

But walk down the Edwardian stone staircase and open the large black door and you will not be prepared for what you are about to experience – when this hidden gem of a restaurant is revealed in its full glory.

Gaucho is more than a steak restaurant – it is a celebration of modern Argentinian cuisine where old style customer service thrives but most important they get everything just right. This is what makes them one of the city’s best restaurants.

Within minutes of entering our wet coats were taken away and we were ushered into the warmth and comfort of the cocktail bar.

This is certainly a place to relax and mull over the menu with its gold leaf decorated bar and subdued lighting. It’s a where you can actually hear the barman shaking your beautifully presented cocktails

The list of Argentinian cocktails is comprehensive and very appealing. I went for El Nino with Pampero Blanco Rum, Barcardi, Coconut, Mango Gomme with lemon juice and coconut espuma. Utterly delicious and I could really taste the kick of the Pampero Rum.

My colleague decided on a Banana Kick made with discarded banana peel rum, Equiano rum, Solo brew coffee and butterscotch – the description sounded awesome but he assured me it was one of the best rum cocktails he had ever tasted and the combination was very pleasant.

What I love about this place is the fact that both food and wine are authentic and diverse with the largest selection of Argentinian wines outside of the country. Our choice of Mendoza Uco Valley Domaine Bousquet Organic Malbec was perfect pairing with the meal we were going to have.

Gaucho has been planned amazingly. It is on tiered levels and as you make your way down the restaurant it becomes suddenly very beautiful. There are glass screens to separate the various seating areas keeping them small and tables have Gaucho’s renown swing chairs that alleviate that pushing of chairs when you need to leave the table.

There is also blissfully comfortable booth type seating with sumptuous velvet upholstery and tables at the correct height and distance to fit these – so important.

What I loved about Gaucho was the relaxing atmosphere and no one rushed us at any time during our meal.

Our server came over and told us the Gaucho story which was interesting to hear.Gaucho’s steaks are sustainable the beef offering being 100% carbon offset. All steaks are from hand selected farms on the Pampas provinces where cattle graze on 17 different types of grass and have a free-range lifestyle.

He also asked if we would like to see the range of steaks available and brought a steak board over describing each one – a useful exercise to listen to as my colleague changed his mind about his steak choice on hearing this and was so glad he did.

The restaurant may be known for its steaks but it has a good choice of fish, chicken and vegetarian dishes all Argentinian style.

For starters I chose the Beetroot Ceviche which is vegan and vegetarian. This was very tasty with a fusion of flavours with its red onion, chilli, coriander and nasturtium. I did find it rather hot but diffused this with the bread board consisting of a selection of hot and tasty breads – Argentinian style and recipes of course.

My colleague opted for the Sautee Prawns served with a spiced tomato sauce, pepper, onion and chilli toasted sourdough bread. The prawns were perfectly cooked and the mixture of spices used blended with them very well. It wasn’t too spicy so one could still taste the prawns.

A whole grilled Seabass was my mains choice. Grilled fish is not always easy to get right but this was grilled to perfection as the fish was succulent, flakey and full of flavour – it just fell off the bone.

I chose a tomato salad to go with my fish and I never knew there were so many different colours and kinds of tomatoes. The salad was marinated in cherry blossom vinegar which was smooth and not tart and I loved the decoration of shallot and chive cress.

The description of the steaks made my colleague change his mind about his choice of steak and he was so glad he went with our servers description and advice.

He had the Churrasco De Chorizo a spiral cut steak marinated in garlic, parsley and olive oil. It had a lot of taste and was cooked brilliantly. He did order a sauce but it didn’t need it but was great, as suggested by our server,’ to dip your chips in’

Accompanying his steak and chips he had a portion of sauteed broccoli with confit garlic, roasted almond and lemon zest. Cooked andante the broccoli was crunchy and had a lot of taste

The Argentinian theme carried on in our choice of desserts my colleague choosing the Sticky Apple and Date Pudding that was Calvados infused with a toffee sauce and double cream. The pudding had a light and fluffy texture and had just the right amount of stickiness and was not overly sweet.

My heaven on a plate I am sure came from the Angels Kitchen. Don Pedro is one of those desserts you will remember for ever. Beautifully presented the whipped ice cream was loaded with a generous portion of walnuts and lace with rum. Ah pure decadence.

When the time came to say farewell to Gaucho we both made ourselves a promise – we must come here again.