Due to demand from diners, Gaucho, the Argentine steak restaurant, is bringing back its Legacy menu for one month only. We tried it.
The menu ran throughout July to celebrate the brand’s 30th birthday and saw 20 restaurants across the UK cooking up iconic dishes from across Gaucho’s history, serving three courses for just £30.
So successful was it, in fact, that the menu is back for November, with a new roster of classic dishes from the vaults plus a few seasonal twists.
We already tried the Legacy menu the first time round, so needed no encouragement to go back to our local Gaucho’s in Swallow Street, Piccadilly, (the mothership) to try again
New arrivals include two starters from 2016 and 2014 respectively. Tiradito de Salmon, featuring fresh salmon served with tangy mango tiger’s milk, and Prawn Chicharron, crispy prawns served with a spicy, herby dip.
I had the prawns which were excellent, soft on top and crispy underneath, and that spicy herb dip was one to scoop up with the fingers, as the bread we ordered never actually arrived. S went for another classic starter, a humongous Argentinian traditional sausage with a sweet and spicy pepper confit. A great ‘snappy’ skin with rich meat inside, made this an impressive starter
You’ve got to have steak at Gaucho, that’s a given and they’ve brought back Grilled Picanha with Aji Molido from 2013. This Argentinian steak favourite is grilled just off rare and served with a smoky chilli sauce. Excellent.
We also has Loma A La Milanese fron. 2008, a flattened and breadcrumbed steak served with scorched lemon. It’s slightly odd as being so thin it can only be served well done, but as it’s so thin that doesn’t really matter. It’s a true blast from the past, cooking a la Milanese is something rarely seen these days. Bit of a delay on the chips which we feared had gone into the same black hole as the bread but after some prompting they did arrive.
Gaucho’s Dulce de Leche Pancakes is a classic, served with banana split ice cream and walnuts. Very nice. I had the Argentine cake, Coconut Tres Leches, made with three types of milk, served with pear sorbet and compressed pears. Also great,
And of course we drank Argentinian wine. I remember thirty years ago how Gaucho was the first big restaurant to seriously bring in quality Argeninian wines, and their cellar is still tremendously good.
It was all rather nostalgic, bringing back a bit of the good old days when lunch was allowed and was fun.
For those of you born too late, this is your chance to see how we ‘rolled’ back in the day. The rest of us can simply wipe away a small tear of happiness.
To experience Gaucho’s Legacy menu, available exclusively throughout November, book your table here.