Gaucho Grill

Where: 19 Swallow St Picadilly W1B 4DJ
Website: www.gaucho-grill.com

A very good friend from Sydney had her last night in London tonight, and after spending 3 months in Italy (lucky Jo!) the vote was that there was to be no European on the menu. Enter Gaucho Grill, Argentinian restaurant extraordinaire.

Having had no idea what to expect (I half thought it might be Mexican) and finding it down a little alley off Piccadilly (19 Swallow St), I was pleasantly surprised to find a really really gorgeous interior. With chandeliers, very sexy dim lighting and a funky fold-out menu, my first reaction was 'ooooooh'.

There were loads of options on the menu, but when eating Argentinian, the only rule can be that it must be steak. And lots of it - they had 6 different cuts (each with 3 different size options), another 6 potential sauces plus a smorgasboard of sides. The bife de cuadrilo (medium rare of course) with porcini and truffle sauce was soooo good! As were the grilled mushrooms (mushrooms are great in London!) The dulce con leche cheesecake was lovely as well - less sugary than the real thing (which is good, as it is unbelievably sweet).

Good range of Argentinian wines as well, Dave chose a good red that perfectly complemented our steaks. Mmmmmm.

Jo and Dave have also left me with parting tips for good food in London - watch this space, I mean to check out Melati for Malaysian, Flat White (a cafe run by a Kiwi for us ANZers missing just that - a flat white!) and Wasabi for hand rolled sushi.

Carpe Diem

What did people do without blogs and the Internet? Maybe that's why everyone thinks food in London is so bad, they didn't have the ability to research it before! Anyway, a recent trip to Salzburg I decided to use my new favourite blog(www.deliciousdays.com) to guide our food decisions and was very impressed with how well it turned out!

The cafe suggestion of Cafe Balzac for brunch was great - a good stop before heading off for a Sound of Music tour well fortified with truffle pasta and great bruschettas and of course, kuche and strudel (cakes galore)!



But it really was the dinner that blew us away. It was at a restaurant called Carpe Diem - who incidentally also produce lovely 'adult' soft drinks. The decor was nice - great outdoor furniture and that warm wood panelling, dim lighting, funky flowers setting on the inside. And of course - great bathrooms with Alpine water that Anthony couldn't get enough of :)

The premise behind Carpe Diem is that everything should be served in a cone. That means everything - not just icecream but beef tartar, yellowfin tuna tataki and even lamb burgers.

We started with a few drinks (great options for non-alcoholic drinks too especially the raspberry smile that Trish ordered again and again :) and decided to a la carte our way through the menu.

The first course was great - Anthony's beef tartar was so inspiring that in the end all four of us ordered a version of it! His was the most decadent as it included some beluga caviar. We just kept ordering the food - mushrooms, tamarind icecream, venison and duck stew, lamb burgers, chicken wings, st jacques scallops with beluga caviar - and it was all unbelievably good! And at 40 euros each, I'd even go so far as to say it was really good value! Sure, it's not cheap (it's funny that we fly Ryanair, sleep in a hostel and then eat at Carpe Diem) but for what you get it's pretty bloody good.

I would definitely definitely recommend it for anyone who loves some fine innovative food who happens to be in Salzburg.