Buen Ayre

Sarah W. (30s, Female, London)

I am very surprised that this restaurant gets such good reviews.

After visiting last night I found the service was sloppy and not welcoming. We were crammed into a corner with only one menu per 2 people, the waiter didn't bring us any bread until we had nearly finished our starters. He was very keen to push drinks which is always irritating. He didn't write down orders and seemed very eager to rush us off the table; even though we'd only just sat down and hadn't ordered. We had the table from 7pm – 9pm which is plenty of time to eat dinner, so didn't appreciate being told when we asked for a few more minutes that we should hurry up and order.

The choice of starters was very limited, I had the aubergine which was coated in garlic, cold and unappetizing. My husband had Empanadas which he said were bland and uninteresting.

The main course came and my BIFE DE LOMO was not impressive, I had to leave a large portion as it was very gristly. My husband ordered his medium but it came well done and there was also a surprising difference in the sizes of the steak. The garnish that came with the steak was nice but the side salads and chips we ordered were not particularly well presented and expensive.

The most unpleasant aspect was the single toilet for use by both sexes which was not a wonderful experience for reasons best left unsaid but probably easily imaginable and also not ideal in a very busy restaurant.

Mainly I am surprised that they charge the same prices as Gaucho Grill for everything on their menu but at Gaucho you are also paying for the location, setting, ambiance and decor as well as a much larger choice of food. I really don't see how they can justify the same prices when the food is not better and everything else is certainly worse.

Our bill came to £250 for 4 people – £250 I wish we'd spent in Gaucho!