Oliver's review of Gaucho Tower Bridge

For any true Steak and/or wine lover there can be no Restaurant that I feel keeps such high quality every time I visit. Up until 2002 my quest was to find a steak in England that was as good as one can buy abroad, however nothing quite made the grade.

I try and go to Gaucho at least once every month, either Tower Bridge or at the O2 Arena as they are the most local. Canary Wharf Gaucho tend to be a little snobby and when I show up in a sweat shirt and not a suit they put me in a corner and are surprised when I spend a large amount of money. I have never had a bad experience at O2 or Tower Bridge however. The menu is small, the wine list huge and magnificent. Gaucho is after all a steak restaurant, and if one wants a perfectly cooked, tender, succulent and mouth watering piece of meat then of 20 to 30 visits I have never been disappointed.

The starters are lovely, the Steak alternatives are great and the side orders well put together. As for the desserts, well they are devine even on a full stomach. The Chocolate truffle cake and the Dulce de Leche cheesecake to name but two are probably as good as any dessert I have ever eaten anywhere. The sauces are not the most generous servings for the price, however the steaks really do not need anything else so the simple answer is not to bother ordering one. The wine list is mind-boggling and if choosing carefully it is almost impossible not to be satisfied. I will even say that on two occasions the Somelier has given us free wine as he decided the wine was corked, and even before the drink reached my lips.

The service is friendly, although the door staff can sometimes seem a little snooty. I think this is just the type of person Gaucho tends to employ at the front of house. Even with a full restaurant at Tower Bridge the service is as fast as the food can be prepared and cooked, and this is very impressive. For a chain of restaurants to grow so prolific and yet maintain such a high standard is unusual, and Gaucho has managed this respectably. The formula is simple: World class steak, with a world class (albeit largely South American) wine list to accompany. If thats what you are after then you will be very very pleased indeed. If you do not like steak there's still a very good chance you will leave satisfied. There are other London restaurants that can compete, including many of the big names with Michelin stars, however these are more expensive, a little more overdressed and if you want to pig out and order a kilo of meat then Gaucho will let you do this without eyebrows raised. A meat and wine lovers dream, in fact as a review that is probably all that need be said.