El Gaucho Bellevue

We have been going here for Birthdays and our anniversary for the past 5 years. We have never had a bad meal here. The steaks are always cooked perfectly! The staff is 5 star from the Valet to the wait staff. When we make reservations they do their research and always seat is at our favorite table and always make sure that we are very well taken care of. The atmosphere is warm and comfortable. The lighting is dim and cozy. It’s worth the $ and time.

El Gaucho in Bellevue is a large, elegant restaurant and bar with good food.
While the food is good, it is not extraordinary. It is very pricey, and if you are at a place in your life where dropping a few hundred on a meal doesn’t phase you, then this could be your place.
The service is professional and attentive, if not a bit sterile in their approach. Cocktails are in double (and triple) digits and are poured «on the light side.» Appetizers and entrees are good and prepared properly, but… there is something in the experience missing that would justify them being at this next higher level.

The food and service were outstanding! I have rarely been to a restaurant with such excellent service. The only down side is the restaurant is noisy, something I am sensitive about. Overall, I was very impressed and plan to go back.

I recently ate at El Gaucho’s Bellevue location for a work dinner. This restaurant is comprised of 2 floors and plenty of space.
We had a party of 10, and for the most part, our server was prompt and friendly. The food? Very, very good. Somehow El Gaucho managed to make brussels sprouts that actually tastes good; I’m impressed. For dinner, opted for the black cod as recommend by the server, and it was quite delicious. Many of my colleagues had the rib eye steak which resulted in numerous accolades. Only complaint was that the lobster mashed potatoes did not actually have any lobster. Perhaps there was a miscommunication with the kitchen.
El Gaucho is a lovely restaurant with top notch food which makes it an easy choice to celebrate life’s milestones like birthdays or anniversaries.

ABOVE AVERAGE BUT NOT THE BEST
(3.5 stars)
…the place was too dim for nice foodporn pictures…
With a tab exceeding to $ 337, I expected this place to blow me away but in reality it didn’t. Based on the hype my expectations might have been a little too high. It was above average steak but not the best.
CARDINAL RULE PINOT NOIR 2013 (Russian River Valley) — «light» red wine and a semi-​bold finish. Wasn’t something I’d pick again.
DeLILLE DOYENNE SIGNATURE SYRAH (Yakima Valley) — red wine with floral notes and a smooth finish. they didn’t have any Sangiovese wine on their menu so I had to pick something else. This was a nice wine that paired well with my steak and lobster. I’d definitely order this one again.
CREAMY CLAM CHOWDER — their clam chowder was lovely!!! It was hearty and tasty with nice chucks of potatoes and clams. The taste was very fresh and not dense or oily. Good stuff!
MASH POTATOES — the sides are shareable between a few people. It was very silky, buttery, and velvety.
ASPARAGUS — drizzled lemon beurre blanc. The asparagus sides were the thick kinds, not the skinny ones. There was very light and nice taste of lemon that lightly coats the asparagus giving it a little more flavor but nothing that fills the palette.
SURF AND TURF — 8 oz filet and ½ lb Maine lobster tail. This was on the special list which gives you the best of both worlds… meat and seafood. I had my filet mignon prepared medium. My steak was average tasting filet mignon, always good but it was just average. I felt the outer layer of my steak was a bit over cooked but the middle was tender and succulent. But that lobster though… oh my… it was SO delicious, fresh tasting and perfectly prepared.
BANANA BREAD PUDDING — crème anglaise. It was tiny but it was rich in flavor and very very soft. Each bite felt like I was bitting into a sweet pillow.
Will I be back? Not in a rush. I’ll be trying John Howie Steak down the street next visit.
Until the next review…

The good —
Excellent professional service from everyone.
Great ambience, formal, white table cloth, attractive interior, well lit, low noise, excellent meal pace.
Attractive presentations.
Not so good —
While the interior was attractive, the place is showing its age, worn carpets, worn banquet seats, worn table pads, hopefully there is a refreshing in the near future.
This was our second visit to El Gaucho Bellevue.
It is always a pleasure to be received by and tended to by professionals. We dine out often and too frequently are amazed at the less than competent level of service. Excellent service aside, there are a few things this restaurant needs to be notified of.
Filet Gaucho was charred on one side although cooked as ordered — should have sent it back.
Medallions Oscar was very good even though cooked beyond the medium ordered.
Baked potato was burnt on the under side — com’on it should be 100% edible.
The fruit, nut and cheese platter looked dull as though it had been recycled too many times.
Efeste Big Papa hasn’t been the same since Leighton left the winery, IMO. Yes I am a snob.
Gaucho Salad — very good, a little too much dressing for my taste.
Crab Cakes — Excellent
Sauté Crimini — Excellent
All dishes arrived at the table hot and attractive.
Yes, we can recommend this restaurant.
Filet Gaucho — $ 65
Medallions Oscar — $ 62
Crab Cake Appetizer — $ 17
Gaucho Salad — $ 12
Baked Potato — $ 7
Sauté Crimini — $ 12
Efeste Big Papa bottle — $ 130

Very formal. Upscale. Ambient the way I like it. Bring your love here for Valentines day. Huge bonus.

High expectations for this place especially because my husband and I are not impressed with the food or the service at Daniels. After parking I followed the signs to the lobby and then found two doors with a big 10 inch glass hole on a wooden door. At first I thought it looked like the entrance to the kitchen so you can see if anyone was coming out. Then the large door handles made me think it was actually the front door. I opened it and voila the from entrance. It was dark with some lighting. I’m not a fan but was ok with it.
We were quickly seated at our table. For a Thursday evening it was quite packed. Everything sounded good so we took a while to decide but finally settled on the Chateaubriand for two which was $ 129. We also ordered the scallop appetizer. The scallops came about 10 minutes later after I had two slices of their wonderful cheesy garlic bread. The scallops were perfectly cooked. Nice sear on the outside but cooked on the inside and the perfect amount of salt.
And then came the wait. I was so hungry waiting for the main course I had to eat another two pieces of bread. It was a good thing I did because it was another 45 –55 minutes before we saw dinner. The Chateaubriand was table side service so a table cart was set next to us. We sat there watching as other folks kept taking items from our cart and still our food did not arrive. The server came by and said our food should be out shortly. Then 20 minutes later came and said she would check on it again. Finally it came. There was a lot of food. We had our own baked potato, we split the entire bunch of asparagus or at least two thirds of what you get at the store. There were two well seasoned shiitake mushrooms in a red wine sauce, maybe? A firm red tomato cut in half and topped with melted cheese and salt. Wow!!! The meat was then sliced right in front of us.
It was dark in there like I said but I definitely could see our meat was rare. The redness definitely glistened through in the darkness. We both asked for medium but it came out quite red in the center. They had to take it back and cook it a little bit. While we waited for the meat, the vegetables and everything else was very well seasoned. Then the beef came back. It was still medium rare but much better than rare red meat. Oh my goodness the meat was so tender it practically melted in my mouth.
Everything from the scallop appetizer to the meat and the vegetables were perfectly seasoned. The food was excellent. Unfortunately we had filled up on the bread and couldn’t finished our food. I ate about half and had to take the rest home. It was still deliciously moist the next day.
Service was ok as I didn’t feel any warmth from our server. She was just there to do her job but did not seem happy. Obviously my disappointment with the time it took for our food to arrive. I wished someone would have said something and perhaps we could’ve ordered something else.
In the end the server took the scallops off the bill and offered to give us dessert on the house. We declined the dessert as we were both very full on a limited sugar diet so didn’t want it to go either. It wasn’t about the money as we were ready to spend that much but I think it was a matter of principle that she should have discounted the whole meal and not just the scallops. I wasn’t completely satisfied but I’ll live.
Oh I almost forgot about the after you pay the bill they give you a basket of fruit and nuts to munch on? Really wished they brought that out while I was starving waiting for my food.
The 4 star is obvious. Service overall is lacking. It’s sad that in the service industry we seldom find folks who are deserving of the tip they expect us to give.
Side note that leaving the parking garage was a nightmare. I had two other cars also go around in circles like I did. Signs were not clear and why an extra gate that opens automatically but we didn’t know we could get through.

We come here more than once in a while. Food is amazing, customer service is outstanding in our experience we had. This place have less choices on the menu for me than Daniels Broiler nevertheless we enjoy food here whatever we pick because it is very delicious!!!

I heard good things about this place, but I left somewhat disappointed. My work decided to have the holiday lunch there and our group was around 12 people. It took them a good 30 min to bring out appetizers and then an additional 20 min for the entries. Some of the people actually had to get the food packed because they had to get back for meetings. At a high end restaurant, it should never take 40 – 50 min to get there food, especially for the price your paying.
As for food, the food was good but not at the price point they were charging. We had the crab cakes and chowder which was good. I also ordered the pisco sour cocktail which was really good. For my main entry, I ordered the New York steak. The steak itself was just alright. I asked for medium rare, and I got a medium. There wasn’t anything special about it and I expected more at that price.

I have been here a couple of times, most of the times for a beer and a snack, as I work in the building, and it’s a convenient place to meander into with a gaggle of colleagues. The beer selection is not very large, but pretty decent, and the rotating tap usually has something worthwhile in it. The happy hour food is a pretty decent deal, while the actual dinner food is of high quality but steakhouse-​ish and pricey. Last time I had dinner though I had a superb dish from the temporary menu of a visiting chef, and while I don’t remember exactly what was in it, it involved pork belly and it was simply fantastic. I never had bad food here, it’s just expensive. It isn’t exactly my sort of atmosphere, but if you like steak houses and restaurants with an ambition to be fancy, you will find yourself at home. The staff is accordingly well-​dressed and a tad stiff, but still quite friendly and doing a good job. Tip: They like to park fancy cars in the driveway, so plenty of eye candy outside if you like fancy cars.

This place is awesome, by far my favorite for all the El Guachos and I’ve been to all of them here and in Oregon. Aqua is great but misses on food temp and steak preparedness happens far too often. El Guacho Bellevue never misses and I love every waitstaff that has ever worked with us, very happy and will continue to go back!

Great ambience and delicious steak dinner! And they have the best roasted Brussels spouts side dish. Best I’ve ever had!

Came here for a work lunch and had the 6 oz flat iron steak for $ 22. The steak unfortunately wasn’t medium rare like I had asked, so I didn’t enjoy it that much. The fries were perfect though, thick and crispy. I enjoyed the black truffle aioli as well and it definitely helped the steak be more flavorful. The string beans were good, nothing special.
The service was efficient, attentive and helpful. But I would be wary about coming here for a quality steak. The burger my colleagues ordered looked great, so perhaps I’ll order that next time.

We came for happy hour to try their burger and we weren’t disappointed! It was very juicy and delicious. We also ordered the tenderloin and mixed greens and it was ok. The tenderloin was a little too salty and mixed greens were on the sweeter side.
Service was good though, kept our water refilled and making sure we had everything we needed. Price for happy hour was decent and reasonable as well. I would definitely come baxk

My boyfriend and I came here tonight for a date night and this was our first time here. We normally go to Ruth Chris and have never gone anywhere else bc the steak there is always made to perfection. But we got a gift card to El Gaucho so we decided to try this place out.
I am truly impressed with this place. Especially with their customer service. We had reservations at 6:15PM and got there at 5:45PM and we didn’t have to wait at all. We were greeted immediately the moment we walked in and we were able to get seated right away as well even though we were about 30mins early. While the lady that was walked us to our table, she placed the table cloth onto our lap and informed us that our waiter would be with us shortly. As well as trying to make short conversation with us.
Our waiter arrived a few minutes after the hostess left and the entire night she was very helpful and so sweet! It was our first time so she was very helpful in helping us choose items from the menu. She checked on us a few times which was wonderful bc normally high end restaurants rarely ever check on you but this place was just absolutely wonderful.
They also give you complimentary garlic bread which was pretty good but I prefer bread and butter.
We ended up getting the filet mignon (medium) and mash potatoes. It was cooked to perfection and although the mash potatoes didn’t have any graving or dressing, it was still good. The filet was cooked very well although it was a little bit pink then I would have liked BUT it was still really good.
After we were done with our meal, we were given a complimentary snack plate. This was filled with nuts, Apple, crackers and cheese.
As for dessert, we ordered the cheesecake. And it was absolutely delicious. Most places like Six Seven restaurant don’t have good desserts including their cheesecake, but El Gaucho has really good cheesecake.
There are a few reviews that have said that it’s too dark to read the menu, but to be honest it wasn’t really dark at all. The lights were perfectly dim enough for us to be able to read the menu without having to use a flash light.
Also, in other reviews many have said that it is loud. And I will say, it is quite pretty loud than most restaurants. But I was still able to hear my boyfriend so it wasn’t extremely loud.
Overall, the food here is absolutely amazing. Customer service is everything to me and this place exceeded my expectations of what customer service should be. I am truly, truly impressed with this company. We will definitely be returning!

Steak was delicious!!. Service was excellent. I’d recommend skipping the showy fiery desserts they make à la table. A wonderful presentation, but not quite worth the money.
Ambiance and piano are lovely. Please wear proper attire-it’s called having good manners.
Highly recommend.

Located in the Microsoft building, the restaurant is a grand establishment that can seat many guests. Pianist stays playing around 6pm. I’m a sucker for good food and piano, so this place hits the spot.
Onion rings: perfectly cooked. Loved them.
Burger: juicy and comes with bacon. Yum. Fries are also cooked perfectly. Ate them all.
Caesar salad: made to order. Very good, but it’s meant for two and can be pricy.

Went during lunch. Excellent food… wicked shrimp live up to their name definitely spicy! Crab cakes were phenomenal. Mostly crab very little filling.
The halibut was like butta and the carmelized succotash was amazing. When the sides are good, you know your in for a treat. Tried my fiancé’s rib chop, excellent tenderness and flavor. The mac n cheese was great. The coastal cheddar has a nice bite but not overpowering. Not sure how but we created room for dessert. The bread pudding was delightful and so was the apple tart.
Shout out to Jeffery who was attentive and personable as a waiter. Recommend requesting him or Adriane during lunch. By the way try vivreau water, its like «drinking from a glacier».

My friend’s birthday dinner of 25 guests took placed on March 14, 2015 in the Pepper Bridge private dining room. Sad to say, the experience was disappointing. I’ll begin with the pros since it is shorter…
PROS:
Ambiance:
Very classic atmosphere. Low lights, romantic and formal settings for each table. Excellent for special occasions.
Food:
We were started off with cheesy garlic bread. The bread was good but I wish it would have been toasted. Our meals included garlic mashed potato and asparagus. The mashed potatoes were delicious, melts in your mouth with tons of garlic butter. The asparagus were a bit overcooked. My husband ordered the French Rib Chop (medium-​rare). He very much enjoyed his meal. He stated that his steak was cooked perfect, seasoned very well with the right amount of marbling.
We were given complimentary fruit, nut and cheese platters which were satisfying. Desert included a small slice of traditional cheesecake with strawberry coulis and chocolate ganache. The two difference taste buds from both the deserts balanced harmoniously.
CONS:
Food: I had the French onion soup as a starter. The broth was tasty, however, after the first few bites the bread had soaked up all the broth. I ordered the 8 oz filet. It was cooked nicely but lacked in flavor. A1 sauce had to be used (which I never use at high end steak restaurants). Maybe it was a hit or miss in big parties.
Communication: A contract was given since we were a large party. Small selection of steaks were preselected by my friend. Of course that’s understandable serving a large group. When we had arrived, the preselected menu was placed on each place setting. Two starter salads, four steak selections, one seafood selection and two deserts (mentioned earlier) were listed on the menu. Everyone (including the guest of honor who had been on contact with the restaurant) were confused on if the salads and deserts came with the meal. We had asked but none of the servers seemed to be 100% positive as well.
Prices were also not stated on our menu. To find that out, we had to ask for a restaurant menu. Even so, my friend had shown me the contract and the prices were slightly a little higher than the restaurant’s. Again, that was understandable as well. My friend pulled up the contract from his phone and passed it around to each person. This part could have been avoided.
Service:
This is the main reason I am rating this 2 stars. The food itself was about 3.5. The overall was between 1 – 2 stars but since we had a large party, I am giving them the benefit of a doubt. Most of the waiters were pleasant but our main waiter was HORRIBLE (yes, capital letters). I cannot emphasize how inattentive, unprofessional and unfriendly he was. I never got around to asking his name knowing that I would be wanting to speak with the manager after dinner service.
From the beginning, he never smiled or greeted us. When placing our food orders, some of the guests asked him about the prices, he paused for a few seconds, stared blankly at the guests and then pulled out a piece of paper with all the prices written on them. He looked rather annoyed that he had to repeat his answer more than once.
Once changing out our plates and flatware he had inattentively grazed one of the guests’ ear with a fork. I don’t know if he was aware of this action but he did not apologize.
Upon serving the coffee, he had spilled cream on the table and it had splattered on two of the seats. The two sitting on those seats had left to use the restroom and one of them came back as our waiter was in the middle of cleaning the tables. As he sat on the seat, cream got on part of his pants and all over this hands. He mentioned that to our waiter and he careless said nothing. He just continued cleaning the area and walked away. No apology. I understand that accidents do happened and sometimes we have no control over things. However, given the circumstances, I felt like he should have at least warned the guest or apologized.
A couple of us spoke to the manager that night and explained our experiences with our waiter. The manager nodded his head and basically just said «okay» to every statement we made. He said he would put what we had told him «in the notes». His tone of voice seemed like he didn’t believe what had happened. Then he exclaimed that he asked the guest of honor if everything was good and that my friend stated that everything was excellent. The birthday boy was attending to all his guests so he did not experience the service as much as we did. I felt like nothing got resolved and we were being thrown with «well he told me this, he told me that».
I don’t know if it would have had a better experience with a smaller group. I don’t know if I would want to give this place a second chance after the manager’s lack of response to our experience.