Gaucho Sloane

This chain used to be one of the best steak outposts in London. In my mind they have lost that claim quite a while ago to the likes of Hawskmoor, Goodmans and others. If you're in for steaks (and why would you consider a place like this for any other reason) than you're nowadays better off with some of their better quality rivals in town

Absolutely amazing – this, one of the classic branches of the Gaucho empire is a well oiled gastronomic power house. It is impeccable from its new Latin American – themed “Galante” bar to the fantastic food and the top-notch service. Actually, the service is what stands out most, it always has been and always is impeccable. Be it for a romantic dinner, a business dinner or a catch up with friends, if you like meat, Gaucho is difficult to better…

We are a family of steak eaters, and the Argentine steak we had were fabulous!!! Expertly cooked and the environment is so cozy and luxurious. It was a meal to remember and we will certainly go again. We are ambassadors and have told all our friends!

First time eating here and I suspect the last as well.

We went on a sunny August evening but the room is funeral – the Adams family would feel at home. It’s like a slightly tacky nightclub in Romford, everything is black – walls, floors, ceilings, tables, staff uniforms and really dim lighting – the only thing that breaks up the single colour is the ‘cow hide’ chairs which are uniquely itchy and uncomfortable. It would be far better if someone was issued a 5 gallon tin of white Dulux emulsion and some 100 watt light bulbs and it also gets very noisy as it’s got low ceilings and some of the clientele seem to think they are in that Romford nightclub.

Service is good, polite, swift and helpful though points off for 1. Introducing you to your dinner – the only time I want to see my steak is cooked and on my plate, I don’t want to see it raw and be told its name was daisy and it enjoyed running round the pampas 2. The merciless up-selling of wine – the sommelier was very polite and really knew about her range of Malbec, but really attempted to push you into paying more.

The steaks were excellent – the fillet was just about the best I’ve eaten, but sadly the rest wasn’t that good and its really poor value; £31 for a steak is not cheap but its fair enough till you realise that chips – which incidentally are horrible, thin, cold and overcooked till they are like shrapnel – and sauce (of which you get all of 2 teaspoons) are both extra and by the time you’ve had something like spinach on the side your £31 steak has become more like £41 and let’s be honest main courses at that price are the preserve of places with at least one or more Michelin stars. Fishcakes to start were also around £10 and tiny, all be it they were delicious. After adding desserts (which are not very good), water and that expensive wine the bill came to over £260 for 3 people with service (they don’t add it on which is a novel touch for anywhere in London); it’s just not that good and value for money is bordering on the desperately bad – go to Galvin La Chappelle or Patechnicon instead, both are far better food, far better value, far nicer rooms and you won’t come out blinking into the late evening sunshine. I really can’t recommend this to anyone.

Oh dear, a bad start. They couldn't manage 6pm, or 6.30, only 6.15 was available. And yet when we arrived, and throughout the meal, there were plenty free tables. Why do they do that?!

The welcome was warm and friendly, but after that it was downhill. Seeing the prices and noting the absence of any Michelin stars, we decided to forego the first courses and just sample the meat, which was the purpose of the visit anyway. Despite being told it wasn't necessary, the waitress insisted on bringing a tray with all the various raw cuts on display. I was dismayed – to my ex-butcher's eye, the colour looked insipid, the fat too white, the marbling non-existant, and the texture or body of the meat looked flaccid (although I didn't touch it to test).

The cooked version bore out my concerns. Cooked exactly as ordered, the meat had little flavour or quality – on a par, I would say, with a supermarket's ‘Finest’, which isn't saying much. If Gaucho's cows have ever smelt grass, let alone eaten it, I'd be amazed. Sadly, the side orders didn't justify their additional cost either.

The service was erratic and poor, the music too loud to have a conversation, and all in all we were relieved to get out and to write off the experience as an expensive experiment gone wrong.

Gaucho Sloane has the ability to transport you to Argentina the second you walk through the door, the hosts are welcoming and polite, on this occasion we were running late but they held our table for us as we explained our situation. Many restaurants simply don’t listen to the Guest in these situations.

We had our normal table by the window, perfect for watching Sloane go about its business. I had the 300g Ancho which melted in my mouth I had it cooked Med, the waitress recommended this and she was spot on. Describing how the fat would melt into the steak ensure a fuller beefy flavor.

The sommelier recommended the Catena Alta Malbec, a truly wonderful selection for one of Gaucho's favorite wine makers. I have since returned to Gaucho to purchase the wine from the cavas wine shop in Piccadilly.

I will be returning as I can’t get enough of the Gaucho atmosphere

A good looking place with a nice vibe. Terrific cocktails and wines. But the steak was cooked way below the standards of Gaucho Canary. I also have to fault the rest of the food – the prawn ceviche was full of tomato sauce – I have never had ceviche with tinned or any other kind of tomato in South America – this is a daft English version of ceviche. The scallop ceviche did not taste particularly fresh and again was a daft English / Thai fusion version of ceviche – full of coconut milk and other stuff. The steak came with salad and fries. The fries were soggy and looked like they'd been sat around for a fair while. They also has bizarre green harbs mixed in which completely mucked them up. The salad was tired and thoughtless and looked like they'd taken a ready made bag from Sainsbury's and chucked it on the plate! In fact, I have had better ready made salads from Sainsbury's. which shows you just how awful Gaucho's basic green salad was. But the maitre d'i was superb – he needs to have angry words with management and the kitchen 'cos the food was extremely questionableand let down the whole restaurant and chain big time. It is a long long way from Argentinian or continental European standards. I took a guest from South America – they just said this is what they expect in the UK! I told them the UK was capable of a lot better but not tonight at Gaucho Sloane!