Now a classic, Gaucho Piccadilly still hits the spot
In 1994, when Gaucho opened its first restaurant in Piccadilly, the London food scene was very different. At the time I was working for an advertising agency and Gaucho Piccadilly was just the sort of place we’d take our top clients. A unique venue, in the basement of the current location, it was glitzy and luxurious without being ostentatious. And, the steaks were like nothing I’d tasted before, an upscale dining experience that brought the essence of Argentine food and culture to Europe. But, this was London at a time when St John and The Atlantic Bar (now Brasserie Zedel) and places like River Cafe were just coming into their own. In the following thirty years, dining out in London became truly spectacular and specialist steak houses like Hawksmoor, Macellaio, Smith and Wollensky and more appeared. Gaucho though, has never really fallen from favour and I was thrilled to be invited back to the original restaurant to check it out.
What’s changed? Well, there’s now rather more on the menu than just steak, with excellent pescatarian, vegetarian and vegan options. But the steak options remain the same – high-quality Argentinian grass-fed beef with a selection of traditional Argentinian cuts to complement the classic European ones. And, there’s a focus on sustainability and ethical sourcing. The original basement restaurant at Piccadilly has now become a store for a larger restaurant and cocktail bar over the upper floors of the building. There’s also a charming outside terrace with its own set menu. The Piccadilly branch is set in a small pedestrianised alleyway, so the terrace is well away from any traffic if you happen to fancy dining al-fresco.
But, in late October, eating al-fresco wasn’t on my agenda. Instead, we settled in for an evening of people-watching close to the bar, which necessitated starting with a cocktail. For me, a margarita with chimichurri salt, was nicely balanced and piquant, although somewhat tricky to pick up thanks to the garnished glass. Meanwhile, my companion enjoyed the seemingly appropriate wagyu martini with burnt lemon oil, a wagyu-washed Renais gin with Ketel vodka, and Regal Rogue with burnt lemon oil added at the table by our server. This place was always excellent at the theatre of dining.
Our waiter brought the steak board to the table and explained the different options and cuts of meat on offer at Gaucho. Churrasco is a speciality here, meat that is spiral cut and then grilled. But, there are classic cuts too – Sirloin (Chorizo), Ribeye (Ancho), Rump (Cuadril) and Fillet (Lomo). There’s even a sampler board which would make a good sharing option, with all four steak cuts. The Gaucho menu does display calories – a legal requirement for restaurant groups in the UK, which for me is something of a mixed blessing.
Bread and olives arrived for us to nibble on while we waited for starters. While I loved the grilled rosemary focaccia, I was personally less convinced by the pan de bono – a type of Colombian cheese bread which is naturally gluten-free and made with corn flour.
For starters, sea bass ceviche was beautifully presented, fresh and full of flavour. The dressing was light and spicy with ponzu, aji amarillo, pickled jalapeno, avocado and red onion together with a garnish of micro herbs.
The provoleto was a showstopping dish with melted Provolone Argentinian cheese laced with confit cherry tomatoes and served in a cast iron pan with some sourdough toast to mop it up. Comfort food done to perfection, I had a moment of food envy when I saw the wonderfully soft, molten cheese.
Once we’d finished our cocktails we moved on to a bottle of Viña Patricia, Malbec 2016, Lunlunta, Luján de Cuyo which is the premium wine from Gaucho’s own Malbec vineyard in Lunlunta Mendoza. A soft, warm and fruity mouthful it’s a great pairing for all steak, particularly Ancho or Ribeye.
The Churrasco de Lomo is an old favourite of mine that I somehow manage to order every time I get the chance. A spiral-cut fillet which is marinated in garlic, parsley and olive oil before grilling, it’s wonderfully tender and well-flavoured but still relatively low in calories. The marinade means you don’t need one of the delicious Gaucho sauces, so the malbec and bone marrow jus was left to my companion.
His order of Ribeye (Ancho) was beautifully grilled and perfectly pink in the middle with a smokey char on the outside. Ribeye is a great cut to showcase the excellence of Argentinian beef, reared on Las Pampas on a vast range of grasses. All the beef at Gaucho is free-range and their ribeye has always been a showstopping example of best in class, with a unique sweet flavour and that perfect texture that you only get from grass-fed free-range meat.
For sides, we ordered a green salad, grilled tenderstem broccoli and hand-cut Koffmann’s chips with chimichurri salt. Named after the famous French chef who heads up the company, Koffman’s chips come from a family-run speciality food business in the Midlands called The Food Heroes which supplies many British chefs and restaurants. They were, of course, delicious. The broccoli was also particularly good, with a dusting of toasted almonds and ajo blanco.
After working our way through that meat fest at Gaucho Piccadilly, it was a challenge to consider dessert. But one we rose to in style!
Of our two dishes, the Basque dulce de leche cheesecake was a definite winner, with a sour cherry compote to cut through the sweet, creamy pudding.
The chocolate brownie with white chocolate ice cream at Gaucho Piccadilly was a little dry and unremarkable in texture but was clearly made with good quality dark chocolate and complemented well by the white chocolate ice cream. I confess, the error was probably mine and the catalyst was the calorie count. I was yearning for the Chocolate torte, made with chocolate biscuit, coffee, dulce de leche cream,
caramelised hazelnuts and served with vanilla ice cream – a decadent option with almost twice the calories of the brownie!
