Seattle Restaurant Review | El Gaucho Pampas Room

If you've been reading my other reviews you have probably begun to think that I don't have a negative bone in my body. This is actually not true. At each of the other places I've been, I've just generally had a good time. However, this time I cannot hold back. Believe it or not, I'm giving a negative review of El Gaucho Restaurant. Why negative? Read on to find out why.

El Gaucho is an interesting restaurant in and of itself. It bills itself as private dining, so to go you need to get a reservation. They have several different rooms you can dine in, namely: the 410 Room; the Grill Room; the Wine Cellar; the Pampas Room; and the Bolas Lounge. The setting is supposed to be a swanky 1940's ish type of vibe - meaning it is dark and there is old stuff on the walls (it actually is pretty inviting). We ate in the Pampas room, so my review will be limited to the Pampas Room of El Gaucho in Seattle, Washington.

We had occasion to visit El Gaucho because of a great holiday - New Years Eve. We went with several friends, had a reservation for 8:00 p.m., and were looking forward to having a great time. When we first showed up the place was great. The ambiance was good, the bartender poured me a Captain and Sprite so stiff I thought he put Coke in it, and everthing was going great. Then we met our waitress.

I don't know what her name was, but from the very beginning she was hard to deal with. And there really was nothing good to report about her. Her demeanor was not good (she was telling us what to do all night - even the order we'd order our food in), her service was not good (we went up to the bar to get drinks at least twice during dinner - when we'd try to order from her she would tell us to wait and then never come back), and overall she was just unhelpful. I don't think there is any doubt that her poor service had a profound effect on my impression of the restaurant. But wait, it gets better!

After we sat down, we ordered food. I got the steak sword (they flambe the meat on a sword - it's pretty cool) and my wife got salmon. They were both okay. We also ordered asparagus - it never came! And thirty minutes later when we'd asked where it was for the fourth time, we found out it wasn't coming. And then we were charged for it! The waitress actually said to us, "you ordered it, so you have to pay for it." Unbelievable.

And we didn't have the only food problems. Another couple had to send all of their food back (and I know it must have been bad because they never do that), and they never got anything back! And the length of time it took to get the food was unbelievable. I realize it's New Years and some slack needs to be given, but we sat down for dinner at 8:00, and when we left at 11:30 (to meet the in-laws down the street at the Waterfront (a great restaurant, by the way), the waitress was just taking orders for dessert!

There were a couple of high points, though. First, as I said before, there was no scrimping on the drinks. Also, if you do go eat there, get the lobster mashed potatoes. They are amazing. And the company was amazing!

I'm hoping it was just the service that made our dining experience one to forget. Our bill ended up being about $100 a person, no small chunk of change. If you are going to spend that, I'd recommend going somewhere else. It's not worth taking the chance of getting our waitress!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Have you been here too? Don't let me be the only one to review this great Seattle hot spot. Let everyone know what you thought by leaving a comment.