Oliver's Reviews

I live around the corner from the old Yellow House mentioned here, and the restaurant has now relaunched itself a few hundred yards away. There were a few major teething problems when first launched however it now seems to have settled in quite nicely.

The new decor is a little bland yet manages to maintain a warm and pleasant atmosphere. The restaurant is a little schizophrenic and unsure of what it offers with an A La carte, Bistro and Pizza menu in combination with an odd sectioning within the restaurant however the food usually delivers. The menu has a heavy French influence and the Pizzas are probably the restaurants most reliable and redeming feature with a traditional log fired Pizza Oven. The A La Carte and bistro menu offer an interesting variety and regularly changing list of modern and unique interpretations of old classics. Sometimes the dishes sound strange and unfortunately a few times they completely miss the mark however one occasionally encounters a truely magnificent plate of food. It is a shame there is not much consistency, the formula is there but it is almost as though they are trying too hard. One feature where the Yellow House truely excels is its desserts. The co-owner and Pastrie Chef Jamie creates some of the most fabulous home-cooked baking I have tasted anywhere in the world. The meringue, the chocolate brownies, the chocolate cakes, the home-made icecream – its is all to die for and a reason alone to visit.

Sadly the service can fall flat at times. If quiet the staff are charming and attentive however when busy the restaurant continues to suffer as it did in its old location with very slow service. It is not uncommon to wait over half an hour from ordering and betwen courses when the restaurant is full and this is a real shame because it can really spoil what would be a lovely experience. At the end of the day this is a young restaurant still in its early years and its popularity is growing fast. Certainly for Surrey Quays it is s breath of… More

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… More