Gaucho, London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and Edinburgh
Being given the task of overhauling a much-loved menu, replete with familiar classics that have kept customers coming back for decades is no simple challenge. A strong nerve and a deft hand are required if things are going to stay on course. Fortunately, Martin Williams, the incoming CEO who has ordered Gaucho’s bill of fare to be updated is blessed with both, and his team's menu tweaks are – happily – a thoroughgoing success.
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Cleverly, the update has preserved what was good about the old menu in sections fittingly titled “classics”, then added new dishes immediately below those in new sections labelled “nuevo”.
So what here is new? For starters, we order cured Patagonian prawns, which arrive in a neat row, shelled to the tail. Their meat is soft, nearly raw, but the curing process adds a delightful tang to the crustaceans.
Also new are the seared scallops, which arrive in their shells swimming in a powerful concoction of black pudding and chorizo with zingy orange butter and charred orange pieces. Utterly delicious.
On the mains menu there is a new pearl barley arrabbiata with grilled courgette and artichoke, as well as a grilled swordfish dish with beans and clams, to cater to the UK's growing vegan and pescatarian crowds respectively, but the main event at Gaucho will always be their steaks – and here the team’s touch has been light, staying true to the restaurant’s tried and tested forumula.
On The Week Portfolio’s recent visit to the Broadgate branch, we opted for both a lomo (fillet) and ancho (ribeye) cut. The lomo was as lean as you could possibly hope and cooked perfectly to order – a well executed rare, allowing the meat to express its subtle flavour. The ancho, with its marbling of fat, offered a more full-bodied experience. Both were entirely flawless.
Gaucho has had its share of ups and downs throughout its long history, but from the confidence of this first menu overhaul, and Williams's plans to run events featuring world-class chefs in all Gaucho’s restaurants, the grande dame of the UK steak scene is evidently in very capable hands.
Ask any gastronome to name their favourite steak restaurant, and it's likely that the answer will be Hawksmoor. Since 2006 the famous restaurant group has successfully expanded from its original site in Shoreditch to several locations across London and a further one in Manchester, with eyes on Edinburgh and New York in the coming years. The secret to its success has been its simplicity; from the beginning it has been committed to serving only the finest beef, sourced from cattle reared in Britain. By cultivating relationships with farmers, Hawksmoor can guarantee the high welfare of the animals, and the meat is carefully selected, butchered by hand and dry-aged for 35 days to improve flavour and tenderness. This ethical approach extends to all areas of its business, and it prides itself on its sustainability, working conditions and charitable programmes.
This acclaimed Brighton spot was born from a celebration of cooking over fire, from spiced lamb rack and whole plaice to its popular steaks. The latter comes in individual cuts or larger pieces of chateaubriand, porterhouse and bone-in prime rib to share, accompanied by equally decadent dripping chips with smoked salt, mash with bone marrow and truffle mac 'n' cheese. It has since expanded out to the capital, bringing the same high quality ethos to its riverbank location at Tower Bridge.
This much-loved Clerkenwell chophouse, which reopened in 2012, more than lives up to its name, offering inventive modern British cooking from its historic Grade II-listed surrounds. The compact menu is packed with dishes highlighting the best of the country's produce, from Norfolk quail with garlic and earthy morel mushrooms to vibrant garlic risotto with wild chervil, while it stays true to the location's origins by permanently offering a number of chops and steaks. For a satisfying meal, choose one of its high-quality sirloin, rump or rib-eye steaks with a side of its legendary confit potatoes fried in beef dripping.
In a true mix of international influences, Mash sees the Danish company bring its take on the American steakhouse tradition to a grand Art Deco building in the heart of London's Soho. And while other destinations may focus on the best of British, here its steaks are sourced from all over the world. Pick from prime Danish rib-eye, dry-aged for up to 90 days to tenderise the cut, NY Strip from Nebraska, or pricey A5-grande Japanese Kobe meat from the Hyogo region, or opt for its 'Mash World Tour Taste' to try a combination of the three to share, carved at your table.
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