Gaucho Covent Garden: First look at new restaurant promising all day drinking, dining and dancing
The multi-site Argentine steak specialists Gaucho has opened its first restaurant in more than a decade, in the heart of Covent Garden.
The new restaurant boasts its usual focus on finely sourced steaks, with Black-Angus breed beef from farms in Argentina a mainstay of the group. Mike Reid, acclaimed executive chef at Gaucho and co-presenter and judge in the upcoming Channel 4 and Netflix show Five Star Kitchen: Britain’s Next Great Chef, has created a brand new breakfast menu with strong Argentinean inflections to extend the restaurant offering into the early morning.
Dark dining rooms of Gaucho’s past have been swerved in favour of a lighter space with amber hues penetrating the restaurant. Aztec patterned upholstery replace the infamous Gaucho ‘hides’ and a small-but-chic marble topped bar seats four with prime placement for cocktail and people watching.
The menu will feature a range of new dishes, including seared scallops with ‘nduja butter and shrimp ceviche with picante rojo. Also set to feature alongside the steaks are mains of whole grilled sea bass and pork matambre (similar to a flank) with Malbec jam.
Aside from the new menu, this latest Gaucho is set to stay open till much later into the evenings, and indeed early morning, courtesy a new Latin bar tucked away beneath the dining room. The underground space is set to host tango, Latin DJ’s and dancing all till about 1:30am – or until the stiletto’s snap. The speakeasy style bar is said to be inspired by the tango halls of 1930’s Buenos Aries, with inventive cocktails like the El Niño; a rum, mango, gomme, lemon and coconut espuma creation.
This latest opening represents the twelfth London restaurant for the group (although the City branch is currently closed for a refit) and the nineteenth nationally. Sister brand M Restaurants, also owned by Martin Williams, operates two sites having closed the Victoria location earlier this year.
From June 2, 8-9 James Street, WC2E 8BT, gauchorestaurants.com
