On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Category: Restaurants [Edit]
Neighborhood: Santa Monica
Loading...
Considering your options for non-greasy food on the 3rd Street Promenade, this place is one of your best bets.
I'm not into bar food AND I'm a really finicky eater so I appreciate the fact that no one on the wait staff has ever given me attitude about modifying anything on the menu. The garlic mashed potatoes are grrrrrreat and the meals always look and taste homemade. The portions aren't terribly large, but filling. I usually take my out-of-town guests here after some night shopping on the promenade and everyone seems to enjoy it... so I don't understand why there are so many bad reviews. In fact, I would assume a lot of people enjoy this place because there is always a wait.
BOTTOM LINE: It's not a place with a distinct taste nor do they have any dishes I sit at home craving, but it's two steps up from a Ruby Tuesdays and it's conveniently located. I'd eat here again.
Someone told me to go here for a good salad, so I did, but my salad was meh. Yah, I said it...meh. It had a funky taste and it gave me cramps. I liked the bread though, and the dipping sauce was bomb.
But I have to say, the Manager was very nice and helpful. Definitely get a big star for that. However, even with the good service, I have no real desire to go back.
Biggest regret eating here, not worth it at ALL in my opinion.
The meat was not seasoned at all and it was overdone when we clearly stated medium rare. How hard can it be to cook steak?!
I am clearly upset how this franchise disappoints me not once but twice. Never again. =(
*SMH!* -- Shakes My Head!!!
I don't get this place...Gaucho...who? Why did I step foot? IDK.
I ordered the friggin "Garlic Chicken" and let me tell you straight up this meal was hella nasty! No flavor...not even salt or pepper saved this dish...believe me, I've tried! Not once but 4 times and I rarely add that much salt and pepper! So bland and flavor less...not even a dog would touch it.
The waitress was a "ritard" meaning she didn't even give a freak about servicing us. Some fake ass chick who didnt even care about her job...but u know what poor tip equals one penny, yess I said it...please I'd rather give a homeless man that penny LOL. Never again will I enter this place!
I am not the ONLY person dropping a bad review...read other peoples reviews...we all on the same boat. Reminder: do not enter this restaurant unless you're dying of hunger without taste LOL. Sorry..said it. Get a chef with taste buds :)
Damn you Gaucho Grill... I wanted to love you so bad. As a UCSB alum I am rather partial to our lovely mascot the Gaucho (Argentinian cowboy). Every time I walk by this place I think about college and that makes me happy and also makes me want to drink out of a keg and party on the beach.
Had a decent lunch here. I ordered the Steak Salad which was an average steak salad, the meat was not of great quality even though the price doesn't reflect that. The ingredients in the salad were plentiful but average.
The chimichurri sauce is really good but it makes you eat more bread because you cant get enough of it. Thank god for the chimichurri since the bread was stale and needed an infusion of liquid to soften it before consumption.
You do not represent the Gaucho's gaucho grill. You should be renamed Trojan grill since you are average.
When I first started dating my boyfriend I came to Gaucho grill for a date at the promenade which I had never been to Santa Monica before... I knew he was trying to impress me because half my family is from Argentina...well we got there & my bf had the steak w. a side of salad & I had a steak salad w. blue cheese crumbles...ummm note to gaucho grill I don't remember any argentinean gauchos every putting blue cheese crumbles on anything or making their authentic ...they were old school hardcore AGs!!! also chimichurri was lacking flavor!!
so...BF's date = 5 stars
Gaucho Grill= 2 stars
PAN y VINO!!!***
The food was just alright. If asked where to eat in Santa Monica, I wouldn't recommend this place.
Had a generous portion of salmon. The flavor was pretty standard lemon butter. The fish was more moist than I expected. Had a huge serving of sauteed spinach, the rice was fluffy. Everything passed. But nothing was memorable.
Service was decent. The back half of the restaurant smelled like the bathrooms they were adjacent to.
I lunch at the Promenade fairly often. My office is at the north end, so why go anywhere else for food? The variety is great enough that I can have different things for two straight weeks.
This is a lunch time spot for me and a coworker. We always get the same thing: She gets the chorizo sandwich and a glass of wine, and I get the Salmon and vegetables and sangria (sometimes a glass of Pinot Grigio). Her sandwich is good, but I prefer the salmon. It's got this mustardy tangy sauce that makes my tastebuds dance. I'm not sure how "authentic" their food really is, but it's tasty enough to head to lunch for once in a while.
On another note, during lunch time the service is awful. We get seated and wait forever for waters or our wine, and sometimes they forget to bring us our check until I have to rudely wave my hands around to get someone's attention (which I HATE doing but hey, I have only an hour ok?). The kitchen is enclosed but the bar and computer are located within view of the tables, and I can see the staff just sitting around bullshitting instead of refilling our water or asking how things are. Tsk Tsk.
Never been done wrong here. Yes, the wait is pretty long but your at the Promenade so its gotta be expected. Always came in with groups of about 8+ and the staff seemed to always handle is pretty well.
Pretty good. We had the beef empanadas, the sausage appetizer, smoked pepper and steak sandwich and i had the breaded chicken (can't remember the specific names for any of these).
The empanadas were okay... the sausage and the chickpea salad it came with were VERY good. The sandwich was okay according to my friend, but I really liked the chicken. It wasn't anything special, but they were huge portions and after walking up and down the beach we were starving and didn't feel like eating at the neighboring places.
Had a perfectly decent dinner here during my stay in LA. On a weeknight, the place was positively deserted, which wasn't a good sign. But luckily, the meal turned out ok. The appetizer (empanada-esque type of thing) was quite good. Our entrees of salmon, chicken, and salmon salad were all quite good. My chicken entree, even though it was quite simple, (essentially a flattened chicken breast and a giant heap of onions) it was tasty. The sides were yummy too.
The place is big and the decor is nice and tasteful. Our server was just fine. All in all, a nice meal, nothing to rave about, but nothing to rag on either. Just nice. Nothing about it necessarily makes me want to go there again (nothing particularly memorable), but it was still a good meal.
Please visit Gaucho Grill if you want to wait 45 minutes for your food to arrive, only to find the meat barely cooked and likely to give you food poisoning (I definitely didn't order beef carpaccio!). The kitchen is obviously poorly managed if it takes that long to get food to the table when the restaurant is less than 1/2 full (and the food still sucked)! THE END. Never again.
I know I should of yelped it before my friend G decided to go here! Hehe. I didn't want her to think I was crazy so I kept to myself and didn't bust out Yelp! mobile.
We came here during Happy Hour after I got my hair did but their happy hour menu is kind of weak. Just 4 appetizers to choose from and drinks were about $5 and beer was $4.
-Calamari Fritti ($6)
-2 House Reds ($5 each)
-2 Milanesa with Mashed Potatos and Grilled Zuchinni - ($13 each)
-Calamari was delicious. Crisp batter. Aoili sauce was a bit watery but damn the calamari was good and plentiful. I would just get that next time
-Milanesa (chicken) was just a plain ol' battered flattened chicken breast. It was a bit dry but it wasn't terrible. It just wasnt' specatcular. Maybe I should of got it Napolean style with the cheese? Large grilled zuchinni slices were delicious. The mashed potatos were a bit dry but still good.
Service was excellent. I kind of felt bad for one of the guys as this girl was either asking for a table or getting a to-go order and she said "you could at least greet your customers with a smile." *OUCH*
It was otay, the calamari saved the day! Yay!
If I could give a negative rating I would.
So instead I will give it my famous SHAKE OF THE FIST!!
We wandered into Gaucho Grill on Sunday around 6pm to grab a bite to eat. Greeter was apathetic... threw some menus on the table and walked away. Bread and some dip was brought out to keep us busy. The restaurant was at about 75% capacity. Fast forward 15 minutes, no water, no waiter/waitress so we just got up and left.
Terrible. At least give us some water. Disorganized restaurant. I get better service at McDonalds.
Meh. This place is very whatever. The food is bland and the service is slow. I had an empanada and soup of the day, which was minestrone. The tomato base of the soup was damn near inedible. There were no herbs or basil to temper the punch, thereby making it more like watery tomato soup with some veggies thrown in as an after thought. Yick. The empanada arrived room temperature. Again, yick.
The bar is cool looking, but the drinks are whatever as well. Not terrible, not great. It's not worth a visit at all, especially since you'd have to deal with the promenade. If you are at the promenade, there are WAY better places. They are probably used to a lot of tourists, and their attitude reflects this. However, as a local and foodie, I can say that's a terrible image to project and bad for business.
Both times I went here - 9 years apart - this place has been lackluster. I will say, at least this time we saw a waiter. The time previous we saw no one and waited for a LONG time for our food. On a busy night that's ridiculous. Considering we were the only other couple in the joint, that's reeeeally ridiculous.
Pass.
When co-workers pay for your lunch because it's your last day at work...
I ain't complaining.
When they say we're getting steaks for lunch...
I ain't complaining.
When the food comes out a little slow...
I ain't complaining.
The service was decent and they kept my Arnold Palmer full.
I ain't complaining.
I also recommend the steak and eggs special.
I never get to go to lunch much; but today I had to say goodbye to my visiting sister and she had never been to my office. Therefore we came here.
It was way better than expected.
I had a ceasar salad which had delicious dressing
and my sister had a beautiful piece of salmon (she actually raved about it)
my daughter had a salad as well (manager's special) which was also heavenly.
It wasn't crowded and the service was good
come here so they don't close :)
Gaucho Grill had no line on a crazy, warm Saturday night. I was surprised that we got seated right away with no reservation, given the amount of people wandering around 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica on a Saturday evening.
I heard that the Argentinian Skirt steak was really good here, and that's what we were in the mood for!
Our waiter was busy---and not so attentive---but at least our food was decent. First we got white and wheat french bread with the chimichurri sauce---parsely in olive olive with a slight flavor. Not bad, but pretty light on the tastebuds. It tastes only like olive oil and not much else.
I got the skirt steak which was pretty awesome. Get it medium for the perfect taste. They give you at least 8 inches of meat and it's hammered out so it's not too thick. One cut and you have a chewy--but not too chewy piece of steak. A large side of mashed potatoes and zucchini comes with it.
My friends also got the skirt steak and the spicy chicken was okay. It's standard Americanized Argentinian food. Atmosphere at Gaucho Grill is contemporary casual. It's not bad---but kind of the place you would only go to if there are long lines everywhere else. Overall, not bad---especially since the Skirt steak is good---but I probably would go elsewhere next time.
Not a lot of great reviews here but I found the lunch specials to be affordable for what you got. I got a complete salmon meal which would easily go for twice as much somewhere else. The dinner menu seemed very expensive compared to other South American restaurants I've been to. So my vote goes towards the lunch specials!
Family, bf and I came here for dinner. My mustard chicken was yummy as usual. The salmon salad was tasty and so was the calamari. Bf's beef dish was ummm just a ok....Dinner was ok.
This was the first time I went to this small chain. For appetizers, we had the empanadas, which didn't really do anything--the fillings were different, but it was actually hard to distinguish the flavors. For my entree, I had the skirt steak, which was okay but a little overseasoned. The food wasn't horrible, but I wouldn't go back.
Every time I think of the name of this place I can't help but also think of the late comedian Groucho Marx.
Well I ate at this place on a night out in Santa Monica. A friend recommended it, so Gaucho Grill it was.
I'll get right to it - the food was okay. Not bad, not great. I had the griled salmon. The first thing I noticed was that the food presentation didn't seem to exceed what one might find at a Denny's. Okay, it's just a plate appearance, right? As long as the the food tastes good....well, like I said, it was decent, but could have been better. The fish seemed a bit bland, the rice was alright. The spinach was pretty good - and good thing too, as my friend noted "that's a lot of fucking spinach" about the serving size.
The restaurant has a nice ambiance, and the service wasn't bad. Maybe I just didn't get the right meal, but I'm a little "eh" on this place.
Here's the picture:
- A waiter, aloof, sets down menus to you and your friends. He leaves and doesn't come back for a long time.
- Bread comes your way, and it's ok, but it's not helping the fact that your order isn't going to arrive until that waiter comes back and takes your order.
- The waiter returns and gives a half-hearted apology for taking so long.
- Your friend's beer doesn't arrive until he asks when his beer is going to arrive.
- Your petite steak comes and it's tasty, but chewy.
- You leave and write a 2-star review on Yelp.
The end.
I wold give this place a zero star if I could. I walked in and sat there for 10 minutes without any service. Not even a "i'll be back with ur drink order or anything." Waitresses were standing around not even looking our way. We even yelled to one of the waiters for help and just got ignored.
The only good hardworking person in there is the hispanic guy that gave us bread. Don't waste your time with this place. Hope they get shut down. Time to call BBB!
1.5*
** the 1.5* is for the FOOD ONLY **
The decor was good, the lighting was good, the food was actually quite tasty for a chain, in the capital of all chain restaurants (3rd St. Promenade), the waiter was polite (enough) and it wasn't too loud and the patrons weren't too rowdy, mostly tourists, families, and local yuppies :)
HOWEVER, you may ask why this place received a 1.5 stars from me based on the above...
1) One bathroom for women!? Come on, in a location like this where there are a gajillion people, you have to realize as a CHAIN no less, that women go to the bathroom in groups, or have to drag their children in there with them. ONE Bathroom!? Jeez. I waited 15 minutes and then some to go pee, when I really only should have waited a couple mins, MAX. I was annoyed.
2) This place seems to spill and break more dishes than ANY other restaurant I've been to... and it seems like they don't really give a damn. This one waiter spilled olive oil for the bread on the floor and it took them FIVE minutes to clean it up! FIVE MINUTES!? That is such a damn hazard, and as a matter of fact, one girl, struttin her stuff in high ass wedge heels SLIPPED and fell on the spot where the oilive oil was because they didn't do a good job of mopping it up. Not only was she horribly embarassed, but more importantly she could have been seriously hurt. Lucky for this restaurant that she didn't sue them!
3) Cooks and waiters laughing at the girl slipping, and swearing so loudly (in an OPEN kitchen) that it makes me sound like a n00b. Seriously, why the hell would you laugh at someone that almost slipped and broke her neck?! And, why are you swearing so loud mothereffing c*nt and f*cking shit in front of patrons, and their children!?
The above, especially #2 and #3 to me, is a BIG mistake for a restaurant to have committed. They should have apologized to the girl and comp'ed her something, or even shown a little more care. That, and, swearing when its an open kitchen? With kids around? That's such bad form, and it made me feel like I was in some two bit unclassy restaurant, instead of the pseudo fancy Cheesecake factory-ish atmosphere that Gaucho's tries to do...
Good food but bad form and subpar service.... I hope management reads this and does something about it....
Unimpressive food and AWFUL service. A lot of local men hang out at the bar, flirting with the staff so if you get a female server she will constantly be distracted. Our waitress had to check back with us several times because she forgot our requests for (1) more bread, (2) more water, and (3) finally the check. The food took forever to be served.
Also, this place was recently renovated, but it just doesn't work for some reason. I miss the Gaucho Grill of the 90's. It was way better back in the day.
My mom always taught me to say something nice if I'm going to say anything at all--the ambience is nice.
The servers could be more attentive, the Argentine skirt steak could be more tender, but I helluva love the fresh French bread, and the olive oil dipping sauce.
The sangria is too fruity, and seems to lack alcohol, or my tolerance is just too high these days thanks to The Abbey.
But anyway, go and share a bottle of wine, and chow down on the bread. Forget the food.
The free bread and chimichurri sauce (olive oil, parsley, lemon, garlic, onion, red pepper) are perfect to start with, and the sauteed mushrooms are a sharable appetizer.
When eating there today, I had the Chicken Champignon which is basically chicken with mushrooms in a wine sauce. A very nice lunch with mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables, though next time I will ask them to go easier on the oil.
The Gaucho Grill seems to be the default restaurant on 3rd street when friends visit the area, but now that we work here we're going to branch out and experiment more.
This restaurant wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. The service was friendly enough, and the food was average. The presentation was nice, and I wouldn't mind returning to try some of their other menu items. Definitely A-OK in my book.
looks clean, has lunch specials, serves beef and potatoes - what's not to like? Oh yeah, the food isn't that great. Everything's just average at best. I only come because you get sick of some of the other food on the Promenade when you work around the area and have exhausted all possible restaurants within walking distance. Plus, it isn't that cheap - generally about $20 a person if you get a soda and after tax and tip (which actually seems the norm here in Santa Monica)
Will I be back? yes. Do I wish I was somewhere else eating better prepared dishes? Most of the time. Do I recommend? If you got nothing else, it'll do.
They don't seem to have very good reviews on yelp. I wonder why. My friend and I had a very pleasant experience here a month ago. I didn't order the burger, but it seemed delicious. The place was quite neatly decorated, and yet it was not too formal.
I loved my grilled salmon and spinach. The dressing was refreshing. The rice had a lovely texture. The spinach. OMG. They were very generous about it.
Service was not too bad. We were there early and it wasn't a very busy night. They didn't seem to have too many servers, however. I could imagine a fairly long wait on a busier night.
Unfortunately, the best part of my meal yesterday was the bread and chimichurri sauce. I can seriously eat that by itself all day long.
They have really great lunch specials and I usually get the fish and salad or their petite steak, but wanted to try something different. I ordered this beef appetizer - despite the waitress saying that it comes from the glands of a cow - ick! and Amy ordered this melted cheese dip with roma tomatoes on top. Took one bite of the beef gland and it kinda grossed me out... but devoured the salsa that came with it. The cheese dip was just that... a plate full of melted cheese which comes sizzling to your table. Of course, we had to ask for more bread... and of course more chimichurri sauce!
Amy's salmon salad came out and she was really pleased. My spinach ricotta ravioli, however, was lacking in flavor - the ravioli itself was good, but the sauce that accompanied it was so blah, I kept adding more salt and pepper to try to dress it up... to no avail. It was a pink sauce that either needed to be more tomato-y or more cheesy... it was really watery. I shoulda stuck to my usual dishes.
The food deserved probably a 2, but the fact the waitress removed the sh*tty beef appetizer from the bill without me even having to ask her to, just upped them a star. I guess the fact that the plate it was served on was still all full gave her a hint that it kinda sucked.
This is one of those places that you don't hate it but you don't love it either. But if you happen to be on 3rd St Promenade after watching a movie, this is a place you can easily settle for. I went with a party of 7 on a Friday night and the wait was about 10mins, not too bad. The service was fine, can't complain. The food was fine. I ordered Entraña a la Parrilla, which is a 10oz skirt steak in med. rare and that is exactly what I got. The seasoning of the steak was just ok, no wow factor there. Overall, this place just didn't really stand out to me.
I was here on Saturday night, I found the food rather flavorless and my friends chicken was over cooked. However, I have had a lot worse, so I will give it a 3 star.
What we wanted was to go to Houston's and eat a good steak. What we did was go to Gaucho Grill and eat the heel of a shoe. But we didn't have to wait an hour like we would have at Houstons, and I didn't have to wear heels like I would have at Houstons.
No reservation, yet we were seated within 10 minutes on what seemed to be a very busy Saturday night in Promenade land; i.e. a progressive strip of chains and slow moving herds of people. Don't get me wrong: love the Promenade. But it lacks...variety.
Anyways: boyfriend and I both order the special: filet with a sauteed mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes, and a veggie -- he had spinach and I had green beans. My steak was tough and chewy and flavorless, despite the enormous bowl of sauteed mushrooms served with it. The mashed potatoes were generic -- tasty but not outrageous -- and the green beans were a little limp and buttery. Really, the definition of three stars. I chewed it and swallowed it but didn't sit back and say, "yes, sweet Gods of food and drink. You delivered on this one."
After taking a walk up and down the Santa Monica Promenade, I decided the menu at the Gaucho Grill was the most interesting. Once I sat down inside, the plates being served looked spectacular and smelled great. I couldn't wait to order.
I opted to start with the proveleta, an iron skillet of provolone cheese, fresh tomatoes, and herbs. And for my entree I had the garlic chicken. Both were unusual dishes, huge portions, and full of flavor.
I sat at the bar and got great service on drinks and dinner and I would definitely visit again to try some of their other dishes.
i love their salmon
crispy yummy delicious
service could improve
The complaints about this place seem a little excessive. My own observations:
1) There was no lack of attentiveness from the waitstaff
2) The wait time to order and to receive food was not excessive
3) The food was fine; if anything, the portions were too large
4) There are no better options on 3rd St
5) The prices were reasonable
6) There was no attitude when two of us shared an appetizer and an entree and didn't order alcohol before we headed to a movie
The only downside was probably the bathroom, but no one else has complained about it here.
Hmm, I guess because the only other Argentine food I have had is empanadas and chimichurri, I don't have much to go on, but I have enjoyed my meals here.
I agree with everyone that the Chimichurri and bread is the highlight. I love this chimichurri compared to others becuase of all the oregano. I have tried a grilled vegetable platter with mashed potatoes that was very good and a new zealand fish dish with olives that was quite tasty. I admit, I sometimes just want the bread and chimi and get a salad. Then I am good to go.
I have never had a problem with the service and I find the atmosphere nice in a chic-y modern way.
The food here was probably good enough for 2.5 or 3 stars, but the service and the organization of the restaurant loses points. When we arrived, there was hardly anyone seated, but they asked us to wait in the bar area because they were having "problems with the computer system". I'm not sure why they couldn't use a pen and paper to figure out the bill, but it took about 30 minutes and they seated a few people before us that arrived after us.
The food was just okay. I had the Bife Al Ajo and it was overly salty and overly dry. The bread was the best part of the meal and that's never a good sign.
Sunday Brunch
Neighborhood: Santa Monica
$10 off Dinner
Neighborhood: Santa Monica
Neighborhood: Brentwood
Category: Latin American
Neighborhood: Santa Monica
Category: Mexican
Neighborhood: Santa Monica
Category: Restaurants
Neighborhood: Woodland Hills
Category: Restaurants
Neighborhood: Santa Monica
Category: Mexican
For the next 9 months our office is on the Santa…
