Name: Gaucho Hampstead
Telephone: 020 7431 8222
Price range: £50 - £79
Rating: 8

SquareMeal Review of Gaucho Hampstead

Bronze Award

Lucky north Londoners don’t have to travel far for prime Argentinian steak – Gaucho Hampstead is every bit as accomplished as its central London brethren. The chain’s reputation has been carved from its impeccable beef, offered in a range of weights and cuts: from juicy rib-eyes to the most tender of fillets. The meat is so good, it’s hard to fathom why anyone would want anything else, but the menu is an exhaustive read featuring ceviches and empanadas to start and spatchcocked chicken or slow-cooked lamb to follow. Look out for desserts featuring dulce de leche; they’re bound to be a treat. Also of note are the sultry cowhide interiors, cool and confident service, and the far-reaching wine list including a ‘fine and rare’ section to match the best of the meat.

Good to know

Average Price

££££ - £50 - £79

Cuisines

Argentinian, Steak

Ambience

Fun, Lively

Food Occasions

Bottomless brunch

Alfresco And Views

Outside seating

Special Features

Dog friendly

Perfect for

Group dining [8+]

Food Hygiene Rating

About

Gaucho’s Hampstead location is a source of joy for north Londoners looking for a respite of Argentinian steak indulgence in the quaint neighbourhood. Just around the corner from Hampstead underground station; this restaurant is wonderfully situated close to the beautiful green forested expanse of the heath, and everything else that the charming village has to offer. The mainline rail station is also nearby, making this a super easy restaurant to get to, from public transportation links.

Come to Gaucho for any and all occasions, from special birthday steak treats to casual Sunday family outings for a sumptuous roast dinner. The restaurant features a stunning courtyard terrace replete with a traditional Asado fire pit, which is used all year round. The terrace can be booked out as an event space to comfortable fit up to 40 people. You can look forward to delicious barbeques in the summer or warm up by the fire in the winter, as you feast on hearty prime cuts of beef.

There are several menus to choose on depending on your mood, from the classic a la carte options to sharing platters for the whole table. You can expect well-sourced Argentinian, free range premium Black Angus meats from the Pampas province. The whole experience feels wonderfully authentic from the starters of buttery, crumbly beef empanadas and fresh ceviches to the great selection of meats.

The chateaubriand or the Gaucho sampler is superb for sharing, or for when you can’t make your mind up and want a bit of everything. This modern take on the traditional Argentinian way of enjoying life, is rather refreshing. Polish off the indulgent dining affair with a dulce de leche inspired dessert. The wine list is also impressively one of the largest collections of Argentinian booze outside of the country or you can bring your own, with no corkage fee on Mondays.

Location

64 Heath Street, Hampstead, London, NW3 1DN

020 7431 8222 020 7431 8222

Website

Opening Times

All day

Mon 11:30-23:00

Tue 11:30-23:00

Wed 11:30-23:00

Thu 11:30-00:00

Fri 11:30-00:00

Sat 11:30-00:00

Sun 12:00-23:00

Reviews

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10 Reviews

Food/Drink

Service

Atmosphere

Value

Simon A

20 August 2024 - Verified Diner

Food & Drink 5

Service 5

Atmosphere 4

Value 3.5

Nice place

Great service as ever, particularly the Italian girl who greeted us. Good food, good wine, prices have gone up since I was last there, but I'd still come back.

Trisha B

03 September 2023 - Verified Diner

Food & Drink 5

Service 5

Atmosphere 5

Value 5

Clive G

15 June 2017

If you want a melt in your mouth steak, perfectly cooked, this is the place to go.

Anon

31 May 2016

Formerly my favourite steak restaurant in London before I visited New Street Grill. Ambiance is great and the food is great but lets itself down by feeling too cramped - which is a common problem I have with most Gaucho restaurants. It feels a bit cramped.

Chris V

13 May 2016

Dark interior but gorgeous steak. Delicious Argentinian starters as well. Impressive South American wine list, but a bit confusing due to different lists.

Lynn W

01 November 2015

Food & Drink 4

Service 5

Atmosphere 4

Value 4

Great steaks and wines

After the latest Bond film, we wanted somewhere a bit glamorous - there aren't many of those in Hampstead, but Gaucho with its glossy black decor and chandeliers comes pretty close. Cheerful staff helped us to choose a fab Atamisque - a monster malbec from Mendoza which took us back to our trip to Buenos Aires - and we started with a couple of empanadas - spinach, and ham and mozzarella, with fresh tomato salsa. These were followed by a delicious tender chateaubriand to share, with béarnaise sauce, fat chips, humitas saltena and green beans on the side. And dessert had to be dulce de leche cheesecake. A very enjoyable dinner, but if there is one thing we'd like to see done better, the steak was cooked a bit more than we ordered. It was still good but we overheard the table next to us saying the same thing, so next time we would ask for a stage less of "doneness".

Kelly F

13 May 2015

Food & Drink 4

Service 4

Atmosphere 4

Value 3

Good, but not as good as Regent Street

Having dined at both locations, you would do better to spend your money at the Regent Street location, that is, if you are looking for food quality. However, if you're more interested in cocktails, the patio and sunshine, Heath Street it is. During a recent visit, 4 out of 4 steaks ordered were overcooked by any standard interpretation of medium rare and on another occasion the usually great empanadas tasted a bit off. The selection of ceviche appetisers is wonderful and refreshing with a cocktail on the very pleasant patio however. And the staff are more attentive at Heath street, perhaps owing to the less intense atmosphere.

Sarah L

09 February 2014

Food & Drink 5

Service 5

Atmosphere 5

Value 5

Superb

We had a really lovely meal, the service was excellent and the food delicious. They had a lovely range of wines from budget to stella prices and by selecting one of their many house wines we managed to keep the dinner to a reasonable price. I would recommend this restaurant highly. (PS: Our Square Meal booking although confirmed by Square Meal was not actually made by with the restaurant and they did not have our booking registered. Luckily and all due credit to them them fitted us in even though the restaurant was fully booked and very busy that evening. Disappointed with Square Meal)

Anatoly E

26 October 2013

Food & Drink 4

Service 1.5

Atmosphere 4

Value 2

Greedy staff, nice steaks

Date: 25/10/13 Time, 21:10 Table: 65 As Gaucho in Hampstead is the only place where you can get a well-sized decent stake, I want this lament to reach to the owners/managers. As a local, and despite heavily inflated price, I want this place to keep going and not to go bust because of a minor problem of undermanaged staff. The steak was good, the wine was acceptable. The bill was delivered OK. But, when I paid well above the bill amount (20%+) in hope to get the change and then leave the tips, the circus started. I have dutifully waited for the change to arrive for 20 minutes. Then I put up a show of building coin pyramids. This still did not help. After the neighboring table got their bill, paid and left, I decided to leave, too. I am certain the waiting staff at Gaucho Hampstead are well aware of the basic and commonly accepted etiquette of bringing the exact amount of change to the customer for the customer to decide on the tips. When a waiter decides to hold back the money, this borders with petty extortion. Not nice. I am sure that Gaucho will find ways to deal with this unacceptable practice.

William H

14 February 2012

Food & Drink 4.5

Service 2.5

Atmosphere 3

Value 3

I have been a North London resident for several years now and have thus seen every reincarnation of this Gaucho restaurant. Out goes the industrial theme to be replaced by dim chandeliers and soft electro music. The overall effect is like being thrown into an aspirational US television series. Aside from the atmosphere, the food is genuinely delicious. The steak is fantastic and the main-course portions are large. The starters are equally delicious but you'll be disappointed if you are expecting more than a couple of mouthfulls (and at approx. £10 a starter it's hard not to feel cheated). The service can be sluggish at times but the staff are friendly and knowledgable. Overall then, very good food, a bizarre atmosphere and a hefty bill to make you wonder if it was all worth it (but I think I will be going back).