el gaucho

dinner at elgauchotonight. we started with a table side caesar salad which was incredible. the dressing was beyond perfect, probably the best i've ever had. for my entrée i had a 18oz
bone-in ny strip, cooked to medium rare. i also had a crimini and shiitake risotto and baked brussel sprouts with a balsamic reduction. service was great, food was great, making for an overall great experience worthy of a great rating.

very pricey! worth every cent! i took my boyfriend for his birthday, i knew nothing about elgauchoother than they have steaks. it was amazing! staff was so friendly and service was great. every bite of food was delicious and the left overs were too! we shared the chateaubriand which is a big piece of meat that is cut right in front of you. it was so tender and served with fresh mushrooms. the server saved all the juices for us to pour back over our meat as we ate it. we had the chateaubriand with mushroom risotto and brussel sprouts (not the biggest fan of how they were prepared, but they weren't bad).

for the two of us, the bill was $250. that's including two drinks per person. as amazing as my dinner was, this will be a place i won't be frequenting a lot because it was a pretty penny (but it was so goood!)

great!!. definitely lives up to what i think fine dining should be. we had a lamb dish and thegauchosteak, shared a side of scalloped potatoes, food was outstanding, service was also...loved driving up to have our car parked by the valet. super expensive, but i look forward to dining here again. wish i could do it regularly!!

hello all! i was one of th.... hello all!
i was one of the regular guest at el gaucho, i'm talking about like 1 a week at least. overall experience was great, food, drinks, service, until one receptionist kept referring to my girlfriend as a couple, to the point where it would be really embarrassing and awkward...i made a comment that we are friends (2 girls can't be friends?) and all the time during my online open table reservation i was writting comments about dinner with girlfriend or friend. i email the manager, explaining him the situation but got no response, i called him and just wanted to ask him to talk to redemption person and tell her not to call us a couple. he didn't even apologize or me any signs of carring. as i was talking to him, he wanted to bring "an issue" that a server complained about me not tipping them....first of all i didn't tip them for a reason, becouse service was terrible... and i had to send my food back (steak was rare after i ordered well done, food was salty to the point where you want to spit it out), server didn't show any interest in us or desire of being there...i didn't say any of this to the manager and he kept going about how important the tips are and i absolutely have to tip them, i didn't have to do anything but pay for my food and leave. i though it was really unprofessional of him and i will talk to somebody else...also one more thing i'm a member of their relevance club and had about $100 from last year...well after speaking to the manager and brining these issues that money was gone, as of exact same day. go wonder. i canceled my reservations for elgauchotacoma tonight and i will never go there again, i wouldn't be surprise if they spit in my drink becouse i didn't tip for terrible service.
sorry guys but one more little but annoying thing, they brought me got tea, with one tea bag, i was asking for more and they jut kept brining me got water, but no tea...
completely disappointing

happy hour. tonight we went to elgauchofor the first time. the setting is classy with a piano sitting at the corner beside the bar. live performance enhances the dining experience. for starter, the blueberry lemondrop was delicious and i was glad that i ordered it.

what sets el gaucho's escargot from others is the roasted garlic. the seasoning is perfect to accommodate the escargot. although the garlic may be overwhelming for some, the escargot is still the best i have ever had. the mixed greens could use some variation of color instead of just green. however, the dressing tastes just right and so is the amount.

the fried calamari is tender and not rubbery nor fishy. however, the batter isn't crispy either. overall, the fried calamari is decent. the insane truffle soup is divine. the mushroom is tasty and the soup itself is creamy to the right texture. the tuna tartare is fresh and flavorful with assorted accommodation. the surf and turf fettuccine has a kick with it and yet another delicious dish. the tenderloin tip could use some more seasoning. ours only came with two prawns.

we ended the night with the cherry jubilee. the table side preparation was entertaining and the desert itself is very memorable. the only drawback was the cherries being not so fresh.

the best el gaucho. i've been to all but one of their location and tacoma is their best site. the atmosphere/mood is pretty-much the same between the different sites ... which is to say pretty swank. i find the service here to be consistently very good. the food has always been very good ...over time i've tried at least six different entrees. the wine selection has alway been very good, although it seems that lately the list has been leaning more towards washington state wine. it is pricey to eat here, and the price is reaching my resistant level.

bottonline ... skip traveling seattle & bellevue and spend your special occasions here.


-----08 apr, 2009-----

my favorite restaurant in the p.s region. the is by far my most favorite restaurant in the puget sound region, period. yes, it is pricey, but really not much more than some others (i.e. stanley & seafort) when comparing the quality of the meal, the level of service, and the ambiance.

a good example of why i like el gaucho; one evening my wife & i were at elgauchofor over two hours and not once did i get the sense that they were trying to rush us out the door. it is really nice to find a place where you can enjoy a fine meal at a comfortable pace . . . the timing / pace of their service is impeccable.

for a first visit to elgaucho, everything went pretty much as expected. we went right at the opening (note: during the 5 p.m.-6 p.m. "power hour," food from the bar menu is half-price when you sit at the bar or in the piano lounge) and spent the first t