Gaucho Grill

I’m going to start this by saying I have never left a one star review for any business. This will be my first (and hopefully last).
It was my birthday and I wanted to have a nice dinner with a small group of friends before setting out to the bars. I made a reservation for six Friday around noon and it was confirmed (confirmation no. 2 063 657 791). I show up at 7:50pm with my full group, I check-​in with the hostess. She tells me the reservation is for four (it’s not) and to give her a minute. After waiting outside, for a couple minutes she comes over to us. She tells us that the big table we requested is currently occupied and that she doesn’t know when it will be open. I asked her what is her estimate, my group wasn’t in a hurry. She then tells me it will be a while and that there is other restaurants around that we can go to (if I wanted to go somewhere else, I wouldn’t have made a reservation there). I turn around and tell my group what the situation is, and say «there’s an Italian place next door». She rudely interjects «yes, there is — you should go there» and walks away, doesn’t come back at all. Luckily Pizzicotto next door accommodated us and we were able to have a nice dinner.
I fully understand that things do no go as planned, but there is a better way of handling it. Unlike how the hostess treated us.

Hubby and I found ourselves in Brentwood by way of Groupon. It was Saturday around 3ish so the place was somewhat empty. We sat where we wanted and others that came in after us did too. However, did notice that the others that came after us got service right away while we had to wait. I did my usual which is check in through this mechanism and got a $ 7 or less appetizer. The waiter finally made his way to our temporary seating and I asked him that if I could use the Unilocal with the Groupon and he said, yea. Cool, we thought. We ordered the skirt steak, which is the house special and it was really good, cooked to our request. The appetizer was the cazuela de mariscos and it was perfect for two to share. The sangria tasted muy bueno without too much ice. All and all, we enjoyed the meal. In the end, the waiter rescinded his offer about the $ 7 off and we had to pay full price for it. Management and it’s staff need to get their process in place before telling their customer’s one thing and then another. That’s all folks.

Excellent!!! Great food and service. The manager Gaston is so cool. and Argentinian. So if you want to try 100% Argentinian food, this is the best place (I’m from Argentina as well). Chimichurri, parrillada, pollo al carbón, empanadas, flan con Dulce de Leche… Awesome! Muy rico todo! Volveremos!

Great food great services. The manager Gaston was awesome! I would definitely recommend it, specially as an Argentinian myself. Thumbs up!

You should definitely try this place for Dine LA. Their food is high-​quality and the portions give you bang for your buck! The atmosphere is wonderful and the staff is gracious! We went for lunch and had the asparagus and celery root soup. Fantastic you wouldn’t think that those two things would be so good together but I was pleasantly surprised!

Attempted to have lunch there. They had lunch specials and the restaurant was busy. We placed our order, but realized after waiting 20 minutes that we needed to be at an appointment in the South Bay in 40 minutes. Waited another 10 minutes for the food, but it didn’t come. Had to bag it at the last minute to take with us, but unfortunately they didn’t put knives or forks in the takeout bag. No condiments. So our lunch just sat in the car and we had to throw it away at the end of the day.
Good food. Just didn’t get lucky that day!

I really enjoyed the ambience of this cozy small restaurant. I truly enjoyed the wine of course and the empanadas were fantastic. Crispy and flaky in the outside and so wonderfully warm and tasty. I ordered one beef and one chicken. they both tasted great. however, the chicken that I ordered was extremely overcooked. it was a chicken breast that was too dry and that sauce wasn’t good at all. it didn’t have flavor, seemed to come out of a can, not to mention their vegetables soggy and overcooked, the masked potatoes were delicious and quite creamy other than that, I was a bit disappointed.

This text box is serving as a space saver for the wonderful culinary experience that is to be had at Gaucho Grill. Amazingly mouth watering, melt-​in-​your-​mouth steaks guarantee a second visit. To be continued.

We are extremely disappointed. We have been going to this restaurant including the Santa Monica and Long Beach locations occasionally for years and the hostess Gabriella turned us away this evening for not having a reservation. Unbelievable! She told us «the restaurant is fully booked and to come back some other time.» When I ask her to speak to the manager, she said «He is not available. He is too busy to talk to customers right now.»
I am very curious as to what type of restaurant depends their business on reservations (a probable opportunity) versus turning away a walk-​in customer (a real opportunity) in this day and age? At the time when the hostess turned us away, there was a group of only 5 – 6 people waiting for their table. The least she should have done is give us an option of a longer wait for not having «a reservation» — a choice that would not make us feel completely unwelcome and rejected for driving accross the town including spending time looking for a parking space which is a premium in Brentwood, California.
Thanks to Gabriella, we will be scratching this place off our restaurants list for good. Adiós, Gaucho Grill!

Awesome food, full of flavor, awesome service. Awesome environment! Not sure why it has 3 stars. Very happy with the experience.

I write this with a heavy heart because I truly wanted my meal to be a good one at this place.
Wife took me here for my birthday and I have to say that the food was disappointing… partially.
Let’s start with the service:
* Walked in on a Thursday (Jan 14, 2016) at 8:00pm and the place was maybe ¼ full at best. Bad sign.
* Greeted promptly and given the choice to sit anywhere we liked. OK.
* Server was attentive since the place was dead, but I was OK with that as well.
Ordered the Chorizo sausage and spinach and cheese empanada, which were both OK-​ish.
Main course was rib eye steak (Rare) with portobello mushrooms and wife had burger (Medium). Sides for me were mashed potatoes and salad. Mashed potatoes were really good and the side salad was well, a side salad, but I liked the dressing. Wife had fries, which were good as well.
Meats were cooked very well to order, however, here is where things went South… the quality of the steak I got was half the size of a regular steak (Lengthwise) sub-​par and very sinewy! The mushrooms were under-​cooked :/​and had a super strong taste of some wine or other they used to sauce them, which was not given enough time to reduce. So basically I got a steak slathered in under-​cooked mushrooms in a over-​powering sauce that wet my steak and made it soggy. All things being equal I know should have said something, but didn’t want to spoil the mood.
So overall I have to say that although the service was good (Given the place was empty) the food was not worth the $ 75 we paid for dinner.
My experience reminds me of a joke my dad used to tell: A guy finishes his meal in a restaurant and asks the waiter to speak with the owner. Owner comes by and introduces himself to patron. Patron hugs and kisses the owner to which the owner asks why. Patron says I wanted to say goodbye, because this is the last time you will ever see me again!
I’m sorry but you guys really let me down!

Ok I’m confused I don’t get all the hate on Unilocal.We enjoyed Gaucho Grill 3.5 stars.
It’s a nice little, kind of romantic, well appointed, reasonably priced neighborhood restaurant serving Argentine food in the heart of Brentwood…
Maybe i’m biased as my office is across the street and I used to live in Brentwood. But again we enjoyed our meal. First of all the warm sliced baguette with the chimichurri sauce is hypnotic and truly addicting. We started with The Argentine specialties as an appetizer which was good more of a sampler featuring the mushrooms, empanada’s and grilled spicy chorizo.
Followed by the rib eye and grilled salmon both came with roasted potatoes and grilled veggies. Again they were good not great but a solid good. The steak tender flavorful and a good portion. The salmon cooked perfectly tender moist and also flavorful. We split the Flan for dessert which was really good.
The restaurant is warm, inviting and comfortable with a bit of romance in the air with dim lighting and throw pillows. We came in early 5:30PM over the new years weekend and the place was a ghost town. Service was sadly abysmal otherwise 4stars… The waitress nice but clueless, just lost literally and figuratively. We were her only table and she disappeared for long stretches. Drinks sat empty, bread and chimichurri empty, we asked that the food be served as individual courses which she still doesn’t get. It took an act of god and divine intervention to first be able to order dessert and then to actually get it served during this millennium…
Aside from the service it was a good reasonably priced meal in Brentwood. Mind you those things tend to be mutually exclusive of one another… Being that my office is nearby I have obviously been in for lunch and enjoy it. Like I said good but not great yet clearly fresh, flavorful and very comfortable. Is it a go too or destination place no but without question a viable option in well heeled restaurant rich Brentwood area yes!
.

Second time I’ve been here and the same things happen:
— don’t get change back for our bill
— slow service
— don’t ask me how I like my meat cooked if you can’t deliver
— no boxes for our food when asked or even taken to be boxed up
Will not be back again

Had a xmas eve dinner pre-​fix it was 3 course and was only 29 dollar ! Wow had a nice steak and appetizer and desert. Great service happy to find this place open during the xmas days. Thank you for opening

Maybe it’s because we were seriously starving having not eaten nearly the entire day but dinner at Gaucho was so yummy.
We started with Empanadas. They came out extremely quickly, which was so appreciated since we were very hungry. We got one beef and one spinach and cheese. (I checked in which got us one empanada on the house.) I particularly dug the beef. They also brought out warm bread and chimichurri and I got the soup of the day (white bean.) The bread and chimichurri was delish, the soup was okay but not my favorite part of the meal.
For entrees we split the Chimichurri burger and the gnocchi with bolognese. The burger was incredible. Definitely one of the best burgers I’ve had in LA. Nice big patty cooked perfectly medium rare, and the bun was my favorite kind. Soft, and not too bready. Great cheese… I will come back just for this burger. The gnocchi was not as mind-​blowing. The sauce was incredible but the gnocchi themselves seemed too doughy, it’s possible they were slightly undercooked. Still we ate everything so it’s not as though they were terrible.
For dessert we had some cappuccino and the Dulce de leche crepes. Those things were soooooooooo good. Get them. They flambé the top so you get a little crunch like crème brûlée. They were seriously incredible.
And our waiter was wonderful. Great service. Super friendly. And named… GASTON! Who’s named Gaston?!? This lovely man from Buenos Aires that’s who. Carry on Gaston. Thanks for a lovely meal.

I love their lunch specials and service is always friendly. I enjoy eating the Dijon chicken — super juicy!

Delicious food and some of the best service I’ve had in a while. It’s a cute atmosphere that would be great for a date night. I highly recommend it.

Had a wonderful dinner celebrating my birthday at Gaucho Grill last night! Looked up on Unilocal,and got the popular skirt steak, and I lathered it with the famous Chimichurri sauce. The steak was a bit chewy and not as flavorful as I had expected, but the Chimichurri definitely took it to the top. I was quite impressed with the roasted potatoes – nicely crisped on the outside and very well seasoned.
My friend had the grilled salmon, and the sauce was really tangy and garlicky just the way I like it. His grilled vegetables looked great, too.
For dessert, I had the Panqueque con Dulce de leche (traditional Argentine crêpe filled with super rich home made dulce de Leche. It was sinfully decadent!
Service was superb, thanks to our server, Carrie! Restaurant got pretty busy late, but superwoman Carrie took great care of our meals and didn’t neglect to refill my water glass all night. She was courteous and friendly, absolutely customer-​oriented!
The manager was also accommodating when we couldn’t checked into Unilocal at the restaurant. He still gave us the free appetizer. The spinach and cheese empanadas are to die for – TWO THUMBS UP!!!

Gaucho Grill is a great mid-​ranged dining option on San Vicente. Argentinian is a nice change of pace from the plethora of Italian restaurants on the street and it is a bit more casual and less pricey than nearby places.
The food here is good. Not exceptional, but safe and good for the price range. The filet mignon is tender and flavorful and I like that it comes with two sauces. The rosemary roasted potatoes are savory and perfectly roasted so they are crisp on the outside and tender and moist on the inside. Most plates come with a generous side of grilled veggies or a side salad. It’s plain and conventional, but tasty enough and safe. They also have pasta and seafood. I had the sea bass once and was not too impressed.
Being an Argentinian joint, I had high expectations for the empanadas. They definitely did not disappoint! My favorite is the spinach and cheese. The sangria on the other hand, while tasty, is super weak. Three glasses later and I still wasn’t buzzing.
Service is acceptable. Not exceptional or attentive, but adequate and efficient. They do take reservations, but it’s rarely necessary.
Metered parking on San Vicente or valet.

Oh dear!
For a steakhouse, their steak quality was incredibly poor. I got a lunch steak sandwich and could not bite through the sandwich because of the grissel. They also brought the steak sandwich out at the wrong temperature BOTH times. The pasta that my sister and mother shared was akin to frozen pasta that you can get at Olive Garden. I would recommend the Italian joint down the way.