#1. District 1, Le Loi Street El Gaucho Steakhouse Review
El Gaucho is a famous steakhouse with 4 branches in Ho Chi Minh City alone(Le Loi / Hai Ba Trung in District 1, Thao Dien in District 2, and Phu My Hung in District 7). Among the dozens of steak restaurants in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, everything about this restaurant, including reputation, quality of steak, service, and price, is overwhelming compared to other restaurants.
There is a dining table, kitchen, and butcher corner on the first floor, and a spacious hall for dining on the second and third floors. At the butcher corner, they sell vacuum-packed, aged, raw steak meat, and it's cheaper than eating it at a restaurant, so it might be a good idea to cook your own steak at home on a special day.
I visited alone for dinner on a Tuesday evening and took a seat at the bar table on the first floor. When I visit alone, I personally prefer a bar table because I can talk to the staffs, so I'm less bored, and no matter how busy it is, they take action faster than the table guests.
As soon as I sat down, they immediately gave me three snacks. From the left, it consisted of pickled olives, pickled assorted vegetables, and stir-fried peanuts. It's a good to kill some time before the bread and steak come out and also good as a wine snack.
Since red wine is a must with steak, I ordered a glass of Lapostolle Grand Selection Cabernet Sauvignon. It's an inexpensive Chile wine, and although it doesn't have much depth, it's still good enough to enjoy with steak at an affordable price.
The wine was served and bread was served immediately afterward. A hot baguette, grilled garlic, pickled paprika in olive oil, and garlic butter were placed on a round wooden cutting board. It was good as a side dish with wine, and it was also good to fill up your stomach while waiting for the steak.
After eating bread and drinking wine and waiting a little longer, the WAGYU RIB EYE 350g, BLUE CHEESE SAUCE, and CREAMED SPINACH I ordered came out. The staff personally placed the steak on a large hot plate.
The 350g Australian Wagyu Ribeye Steak, which boasted an overwhelming appearance in the center of a large plate, exceeded my expectations. At El Gaucho, there are no garnishes or sauces that come with ordering steak. Salt and pepper are provided on the table.
I ordered it medium rare, but the cooking was a little uneven and it came out somewhere between rare and medium rare. I thought for a moment about asking for it to be grilled a little longer again, but I just ate it anyway because the meat was tender and tasty. Because it was a busy day with a lot of customers.
It is enough just salt and pepper for the steak, but can enjoy it even more by ordering additional sauce. There are a variety of sauces available, including chimichurri, pepper, wild mushroom, BBQ, Bearnaise, red wine, blue cheese, horseradish, and truffle, but I chose the blue cheese sauce as my favorite.
I cut the steak into bite-sized pieces and dipped it deeply into the sauce. The combination of the blue cheese sauce, which has a unique, creamy aroma, and a rich, salty taste with a deep umami flavor, and the steak, which is oily but soft and flavorful, was truly outstanding.
I ordered Creamed Spinach on the side. When I usually eat steak, I often order French fries, mashed potatoes, and salad as sides, but creamed spinach is also attractive. Finely chopped spinach was mixed in a cream sauce and baked in the oven. It has a nutty smell and a great visual appearance.
The finely chopped spinach had a soft texture, and even though it was covered in cream sauce, it was not greasy and had a savory and salty taste that was great to eat with steak. But it is too much for me, so could not eat all with the steak.
After the meal, a small glass of caramel vodka, chilled from the freezer, is served as an after-dinner drink. It doesn't seem to be strong due to the caramel scent and sweet taste, but it has a higher alcohol content than it looks, so you will get drunk after drinking two or three glasses. It was a wonderful after-dinner drink that really helped rinse my greasy mouth after a meal.
#2. El Gaucho Steakhouse Menu
El Gaucho Steakhouse is one of the best steak restaurants in downtown Ho Chi Minh City. Of course, the price is quite high, but if you visit during lunch time and order a steak, it comes with a salad and French fries, and you can choose one sauce. Also on the first Tuesday of every month, all steaks are offered at a 50% discount, so if you visit at the right time, you can enjoy El Gaucho's steaks at a slightly cheaper price.
I visited alone on a Tuesday evening and ordered the meal below.
WAGYU RIB EYE 350g: 2,390,000VND 50% -> 1,195,000VND
CREAMED SPINACH: 290,000VND
BLUE CHEESE SAUCE: 130,000VND
LAPOSTOLLE CABERNET(GLASS): 200,000VND x 2 EA = 400,000VND
Including general VAT of 8% and liquor VAT of 10%, the amount came to 2,184,200VND. Even though I visited on the first Tuesday of September and got a 50% discount on the steak, the price was still high. As expensive as it is, it is definitely worth it. There are many other steakhouses, but if you want to taste real steak in Ho Chi Minh City, I strongly recommend visiting El Gaucho Steakhouse.
#3. El Gaucho Steakhouse Hours and Location
El Gaucho is a famous steakhouse with 4 branches in Ho Chi Minh City alone(Le Loi / Hai Ba Trung in District 1, Thao Dien in District 2, and Phu My Hung in District 7). The place I visited that day was the Le Loi street branch across from Takashimaya department store. For detailed location, click the Check Location button below to check on Google Maps.
Address: 66 Đ. Lê Lợi, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh
Website: https://vn.elgaucho.asia/
Phone: 0971542227
Hours: 11:00 ~ 23:00
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