Gaucho, an Argentinian steakhouse located in the LHT Tower, is well known in Hong Kong for their steaks and ceviches, but how about their brunch?
Usually, when we (my friends and I) do go all-out for a free flow champagne brunch, we somehow more often than not, end up at Zuma. The culprit for that decision is mostly from a lack of research and suggestions, so when Gaucho offered a chance to check out the new brunch menu, it couldn’t have come at a better time. Plus, who can resist the cow hide chairs and décor?
There are 3 different price levels for the brunch: $600 HKD for the Bebida (free flow selected wine beer, cocktails, spirits and Champagne; $450 HKD for the Refresco (soft drinks and selected non-alcoholic cocktails and $350 HKD for the Pcaro (Brunch only). The brunch is valid from 12pm to 3:30pm, and for $250 HKD per person, you can get a drinks extension for an additional hour of any of the beverage package drinks from 3:30-4:30pm.
More restaurants are opting to do a semi-buffet, whereby the starters and desserts are all-you-can-eat with one main chosen. Gaucho is no different though they have elected to plate each of the dishes instead of buffet-style to ensure freshness and quality of their food. We particularly liked this because that meant 1) better Instagram photos 2) food that is fresh to order and 3) more quality chat time as there isn’t the usual steady stream of people leaving the table to get food.
Starters
So, what’s in the brunch menu? Well, for starters (literally)…
Here’s the bread with the chimichurri sauce. Loved the chimichurri sauce!
We had the Bloody Mary and champagne to start off the brunch.
Here are the mini empanadas. The beef ones contained hand diced beef, red peppers, Spanish onion and aji molido while the humita ones had creamed corn with chive. I thought these were good, but I’m not a huge pastry person so I was definitely more excited about the seafood options.
Here are the braised beef back ribs in all its glory. These were tasty and the hoisin sauce definitely gives it that Asian flair.
The watermelon salad was a pleasant surprise as it really was very refreshing and was the perfect palate cleanser after the braised beef back ribs. The sweetness of the watermelon was paired perfectly with the chilli and mint.
The sea bass ceviche was our favourite out of the starters, which makes sense since Gaucho is known for their ceviches. The grilled corn added a nice crunch, and the jalapeno and wasabi added a kick to the dish to balance out the sea bass and the tartness of the grapefruit.
The sesame oil taste was slightly overpowering in the tuna ceviche though the tuna was cut to perfect bite size pieces and it was evident that the tuna was very fresh and had a really creamy texture.
As someone that loves multiple small dishes as opposed to one main, I thought the starters were perfect and great value for money given the quality of the food. Nevertheless, it’s onto the main course (so full already)!
Mains
The choices to choose from included a rib eye steak, a sirloin steak, boneless grilled chicken, oven-baked sea bass and a risotto.
We opted for the rib eye steak basted in chimichurri sauce and the boneless grilled chicken. The mains were massive and initially there were concerns that the chicken may be dry, but the first bite into it reassured us it was cooked to perfection. It was absolutely tender and juicy and the roasted lemon and garlic added just the perfect touch to it.
For the steak, we ordered medium rare, but since it took us so long to take photos of it, it was medium by the time we cut into it. This was completely our fault so lesson learned. If you want to take photos of your food, perhaps cut it first to prevent it from further cooking when it arrives. We thought the steak had decent flavour and marbling but could be just a tad more tender.
Desserts
Onto the desserts and honestly at this point, we thought we were going to be rolled out of the restaurant afterwards given how full we were.
The desserts to share were the mango and passion fruit mess, dulce de leche cheesecake and the chocolate brownie. As a chocolate fiend, the chocolate brownie quickly was deemed the favourite; however, the dulce de leche was executed very well as well, with a very rich caramel taste with a tasty graham cracker crust.
Overall, this was a very decent, intimate and enjoyable brunch and we thought it was good value. If you’re looking for a new brunch spot, Gaucho should definitely be a contender.
Booking:
Where: 5/F LHT Tower, 31 Queen’s Road Central
Price: $600 with free-flow Veuve Clicquot and selected house beverages, $450 with free-flow soft drinks, $350 for food only, Kids 4-12 $100, under 4s free.
Book: 2386 8090 or
Interested in exploring more off-the-beaten path neighbourhoods? Join Virginia’s Off the Eaten Path Food Tour that leads you through Whampoa devouring all her favourite local eats in a progressive meal. At each food stop, you’ll be able to taste a flavour of Cantonese cuisine – bitter, spicy, salty, sour and sweet – and all the whilst learning about the local restaurants, their stories and the neighbourhood.
Virginia is a tour guide by day at Humid with a Chance of Fishballs Tours, creative blogger by night at The Smoo Diaries and avid traveller by weekend. Virginia is a proud Vancouverite now in Hong Kong exploring all corners of Asia. She’s currently discovering her Asian roots – one flight, one noodle and one Canto slang at a time. *slurp*
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