El Gaucho - Bellevue

El Gaucho, for more than 20 years I have heard it's possibly the area's best Steakhouse. Back then, the Bellevue location did not exist. This was my first trip to any location and despite the impressive design and interior, I left anything but satisfied or impressed. I'm not a steak guy, but love a good burger and who better to grind or ground better beef than a steakhouse. Jak's makes a tasty burger and so does John Howie, but the absolute best is The Met. Unfortunately, El Gaucho came in dead last. The burger had a slightly smoky flavor, but the patty was not juicy or particularly juicy. My fries were also room temp and limp. How are you the city's best and you can't even serve a hot plate, especially after more than a 30-minute wait after ordering. The insult to injury was the bill. 20% was added to the tab. Based on the slow service and less than hot plate, I would not have offered 20%. Also, if you are upscale, how in the hell are you reaching in my pocket for additional money. Do people really make a habit of coming to high end places and not tipping?Good news is the experience was so poor, I wouldn't consider coming back. We should have just crossed the bridge to the Met, but thought we were overdue to check this place out.

*An elegant steakhouse downtown with prices that match the standards*SummaryI went to El gaucho for the first time to celebrate Valentine's Day. Interestingly, I've lived in the area for a decade and never knew this place existed. I'm very happy we went.FoodElegance comes with a price. We ordered two steaks, a ribeye and a NY strip, as well as mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts. The sides were cooked to perfection, and honestly I would come here just for the Brussels sprouts. My steak temperature medium but honestly felt a little tougher than I expected. I recommend going no higher than a medium rare. ServiceOur server was kind, attentive, and quick. I really appreciated the conversation, and it wasn't annoying or overbearing. AmbianceThis is a great place for date night, but due to the price, it's probably a once a year kind of thing. Additionally, we were sitting next to a large group who had kids who were horsing around near the table. I, as well as the table behind us were somewhat annoyed by this. I would have appreciated this group (and any group for that matter), being put somewhere else. Outside of that I really enjoyed the style of the clientele, the dim lights, and the two story setup of the restaurant. There was also a piano player that was playing 90's and 00's hits. It was the perfect touch for dinner.All in all, I give El Gaucho a 4/5 would recommend!

My first time here with friends for a birthday celebration and I must say, compared to the location in Tacoma this is such a step above. Got to know all the waitstaff from the host to lead host to the GM to the Senior Captain to the bartender. Service was exemplary and everyone was so personable. Loved the octopus appetizer and my filet mignon. Ordered brussel sprouts with pancetta and those were to die for but I have to admit the mushrooms we're tasteless. Also, the cream spinach I thought was a little heavy-handed on the parmesan. Drink was excellent, thank you very much Shawn and the chocolate bourbon cake with bourbon caramel, vanilla bean ice cream, candied pecans was a great ending!

Great spot for happy hour or dinner, and I recently enjoyed some appetizers and King Salmon entree. The goat cheese croquette and crab cakes were very good, tenderloin bites were a bit dry though usually it is pretty tasty. Salmon was great, with a bit of chimichurri on top. Their steaks are normally excellent, though maybe not quite as good as The Met. I also recommend their spicy wicked shrimp, one of my favorites.

Food was generally not worth in our experience, except for the desserts--will be back for dessert because they don't let you use a gift card during SRW (who knew)?It took us about 10 min to wait for our reserved table to be ready.The service was great and pleasant, thanks Ben! Very attentive and checked in regularly throughout the meal. The ambiance was nice, we were next to the pianist. We felt our food experience, especially for the price, was pretty mid. For all the pomp and ambiance, we've had better experiences for half the price or less in the area (RIP John Howie lunch hours). The desserts are def worth every penny tho--there's a real person working magic in the pastry kitchen back there!The stars are for the service and dessert and food that fed us but didn't impress us.

We went for happy hour and had one of the best burgers I have ever eaten. It was cooked exactly as requested, medium rare and was fantastic. The service was excellent and the ambiance on their outdoor patio was very nice. Free parking, great prices, service and food made our experience memorable.

Food was really good. My husband and I were celebrating our 9th yr anniversary. We had the scallops which were delicious! We didn't want to eat too much so we split the El Gaucho special. We were going to feed each other from one plate but our server convinced us it was not a problem for them to split the plate. When our main entree came it came on a cutting board and split and served at table side. For dessert we had the lemon pie. I kind of wanted the banana foster but I think just for the show. Since the table next to us ordered it, I got to see the show and didn't have to order it myself. lol. Everything was delicious and cooked to perfection. We were full. Thanks for the family complimentary ate Mec!

Amazing food and great cocktails Service is top notch!The only thing I didn't absolutely love was the dessert. I think they need a new pastry chef. Banana foster was way too sweet.

Private dining at its best. I love El Gaucho Bellevue for the food, the ambiance, for the ease of valet, and for the excellent service. I have hosted multiple private dining events in the past year at El Gaucho Bellevue and they consistently go the extra mile to make each event super special. Shout out to Taylor for being a CLASS Act!

As always we had a beautiful setting on the patio, fantastic food, and wonderful service. El Gaucho is the standard that other restaurants need to meet in my estimation. I recommend it to everyone.