Week Twenty Seven
Two places visited this week and both were steak restaurants. You'll be pleased to hear fans that this week also saw the return of The Financier after quite a hiatus. He took us to Gaucho and on the Friday night I went to L'Entrecote which is Chris Kroeger's favourite restaurant in London.
Special guests include: The Financier, Sonia, my brother (Joe), Chris Kroeger, Jack Bunnage, Al Rayner, Matt Dankis, Tom B Cornwell, Jonny Keeling, Breester, Maria Manwani, Julia Robertson, Tom Grimes and Tom Wright.
Special guests include: The Financier, Sonia, my brother (Joe), Chris Kroeger, Jack Bunnage, Al Rayner, Matt Dankis, Tom B Cornwell, Jonny Keeling, Breester, Maria Manwani, Julia Robertson, Tom Grimes and Tom Wright.
Summary of Gaucho
Name: Gaucho
Type: Argentinian Steak Restaurant
Location: 25 Swallow Street, London, W1B 4QR
Date Visited: 16/07/14
Price: Ask Dad
Rating: 4/5
Review
Now I probably don't need to be telling you all what Gaucho is as I am sure the majority of the readers have been before. It was my first time (obviously) and I must say it was a real delight. The weather was brilliant so Dad, Sonia, Joe (my brother) and I were able to sit outside. The outside dining area was really nice and set up properly. Too often at restaurants when you sit outside it isn't done well so you end up sitting on a slope of some kind with misfit chairs smaller than the table. Oh and the table is quite often uneven so you have to put your napkin under the leg to stop it wobbling.
Anyway this wasn't the case here. The table was good. The service was absolutely impeccable too, in fact I must say it was the best service and best waitress (are you meant to say Waiter these days?) I have had in London and certainly the best since I've started the blog. She was incredible. She brought all the variant steaks on the slate for us to choose from (always a good sign for a steak restaurant). She memorised all of our drinks without noting it down and could recite the history behind every wine on the wine list on cue. It was impressive I must say. For service 5/5.
The splendid outside area of Gaucho. (Taken from website)
Onto the steak and the rest of the food. Now the big question for me when having steak is what do you have with it. Do you go with béarnaise sauce or peppercorn sauce? It's a tough one. So tough for me that I have now decided to adopt the best option....both. I coat the whole steak in peppercorn sauce, obviously, and have the béarnaise sauce on the side of the plate. A bit like a dip you could say. Try it....the combo works beautifully.
Really good meal. Have I had better steaks in London? Yes. Have I had better service? No.
I do like the Gaucho and I'm sure I'll come back. You can see why everyone likes them. The decor of the restaurants is impressive too, which should be noted. It was good to finally go and try the piccadilly branch. I look forward to trying others.
Summary of L'Entrecote
Name: Le Relais de Venise, L'Entrecote
Type: Steak Restaurant
Location: 5 Throgmorton Street, Bank, London, EC2N 2AD
Date Visited: 18/07/14
Price: Bloody good
Rating: 4.55/5
Review
Onto steak restaurant number two for the week. Now Friday night had arrived and I was keen for a few drinks to unwind after a tough week (Oh god you work so hard Jack...I know I know!). When you're in this frame of mind then there is no better person than Chris Kroeger to call. Sure enough he answered and I went off to meet him and his compadres at Leadenhall Market.
All you big city slickers are probably hoping for a review on the Leadenhall Market. Alas not this week I am afraid as by the time I arrived, there was nobody left apart from Kroegs and the rest of his group. After having a few pints I was about to head off to Clapham to meet some other friends (you are soooo popular Jack) when Kroegs grabbed my shoulder and stated, "You must try this restaurant before you leave!' I informed him that I was fine but when he retorted 'If you give it worse than 4.5 I will give you a £100!" Suddenly I weirdly started to feel quite hungry coupled with feeling rather cynical too.
L'Entrecote....fair play you've kept Kroeger his £100. This restaurant doesn't mess about and has got the set up so right. You can't book but because the service is so quick you don't wait long. It's very simple - you sit down and have no choice on what you order. You either have your steak medium rare or rare. That's all you order apart from your drinks of course.
The gang at L'entrecote. Shoddy photography from the waiter.
First you get the starter in minutes after ordering. The starter is a salad with dressing. Simple but it works. Secondly you get your main, steak with chips (good thin fries cooked well...you know the kind) coated in a special sauce. Now a quick note about the sauce, no one knows whats in the sauce but what I can tell you is that it is sooooo good. Finger licking good. Back to the food and thirdly what do you get? Another portion of steak and chips coated in the special sauce. I'll say it again - simple but good. The steak is pretty damn good actually. Is it the best in London? Again no. But how much does this cost you in total? £20. Now thats value for money folks!
The house red comes to £15 and isn't bad. Bottled beers are nicely priced too, which is surprising considering its in Bank. It came to £34 each and we all left relatively tipsy and extremely full. Definitely worth a try if you haven't been. It is only open weekdays (I know other branches are) and there are a couple of them dotted around London. So clever, so efficient and so tasty. Word of the day: So
Special Shoutout
Winner: Prince of Wales (not Charles)
Chris Kroeger was close to getting the special shoutout and it may seem unfair that I am giving this award to a place rather than a person but Kroeger has already had the award before (See Week Eighteen). The reason for Prince of Wales winning this was that it showed great bouncebackability. If you cast your memory back to Week Seventeen where my phone got stolen cutting short my night at Prince of Wales in Brixton. Well with my phone fully secured I gave this place another try. It didn't disappoint. Great music, superb outside area, which is two tiered I discovered, and an overall cracking night. I recommend it.
The poorly lit dark photo above was taken outside the POW. Front row from left to right - Julia Robertson, Maria Manwani and Briony Jones (Breester). Back Row from left to right - Tom Wright, Tom Grimes and me.
Winner: Prince of Wales (not Charles)
The poorly lit dark photo above was taken outside the POW. Front row from left to right - Julia Robertson, Maria Manwani and Briony Jones (Breester). Back Row from left to right - Tom Wright, Tom Grimes and me.
Poem Advice
Argentianian steak at the Gaucho,
as The Financier returned
The waitress was incredible
Her tip more than earned
Cheap as chips your looking for
and also wanting steak
The go to L'Entrocote in central,
The place makes no mistake
That poem was a bit crap wasn't it.
Song of the Week
Favourite track at the moment.
Saint Motel - My Type
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyVPyKrx0Xo
Argentianian steak at the Gaucho,
as The Financier returned
The waitress was incredible
Her tip more than earned
Cheap as chips your looking for
and also wanting steak
The go to L'Entrocote in central,
The place makes no mistake
That poem was a bit crap wasn't it.
Song of the Week
Favourite track at the moment.
Saint Motel - My Type
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyVPyKrx0Xo
Thanks again as always folks and if you have any suggestions on what you would like included in the blog then please do let me know.
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