The Humble Gourmand

The Gaucho Grill
Palms Resort
Gulf Road, Salwa
Kuwait City, Kuwait
+962 2 24 24 24

Email: gauchopalms@alshaya.com (no Website)

Cuisine: Argentinian Steakhouse

Appetizers KD2.5-5.9 (US$9-$22), entrees KD4.9-13.5 ($18-$50), desserts KD1.5-1.95 ($5.50-$7)

Alcohol: No alcohol is allowed in Kuwait, but Gaucho offers fantastic "mocktails" for less than US$15

If you’re traveling in the Middle East and your stomach has had enough fabulous hummus and halloumi cheese to open its own Lebanese restaurant, take yourself immediately to The Gaucho Grill, in the Salwa neighborhood of Kuwait City. It’s definitely in the “expense account” price range, but the incredibly flavorful steaks and equally delicious sides are well worth settling for your hotel’s continental breakfast in order to make up for the outlay of cash (Kuwaiti dinar, in these parts).

The restaurant is located within the Palms Resort in a neighborhood filled with over-the-top mansions and four-star hotels. Gaucho’s interior fits in with the ritzy surroundings, boasting super-modern chrome and cowhide chairs, an exterior sheet waterfall, and a top-of-the-line open kitchen that allows you to watch the servers prepare and grill your steak on a flashing flame grill.

Gaucho offers four main cuts of beef: cuadril (rump), chorizo (sirloin), lomo (filet), and ancho (ribeye). All steaks are cut to order, salted, and doused with a delightfully tangy Argentinian chimmichurri sauce that is also served at the table for dipping. In addition to the classic cuts, Gaucho offers a “churrasco” cut of chorizo, lomo, and ancho, which involves marinating and spiral-cutting the steak so it retains the intense chimchurri flavor. The thinness of the spiral cut allows the chef to flash-grill the meat, retaining maximum juiciness.

The first time I visited Gaucho I had the cuadril medium-rare (at the expert server’s suggestion) and fell in love with rump, a cut I had never tried before. I’ve since had them in South Africa and D.C., and none compare to Gaucho’s. Though leaner than my usual favorite (ribeye), the cuadril had a much more intense beef flavor heightened by the mushroom sauce the server suggested on the side. I have to admit, the steak was so good that I only used a few forkfuls of the sauce.

On my most recent visit, I went for the ancho and skipped the sauces as the rich ribeye center and crispy marbled fat were too intense to pair with bérnaise or pepper sauce. Each of my dining companions (all of whom were of the men-who-eat-steak variety) agreed that this was one of the best steaks they’d ever had – including those eaten at some of the world’s fanciest steakhouses.

Your table will definitely want to grab a basket of the fat or thin hand-cut chips (fries), which are perfectly fried and salted, along with the some of the most plump and juicy grilled mushrooms I’ve ever tried. The mushrooms were so meaty they almost qualified as a light, vegetarian steak, and they’re large enough for one skewer to split between four people. Skip the grilled asparagus with aioli — it was a bit limp — and the broccoli and braised cabbage, overly peppered to the point of being unappetizing. The buttery tomato sauce on the sautéed green beans with cherry tomatoes more than made up for the other sub-par green vegetables, though, and made me feel less guilty about consuming such copious amounts of beef.

My rule for dining out while traveling for business is easy — always order the chocolate. As such, I had no choice but to order the chocolate fondant, a mini-chocolate sponge bundt cake filled with light, creamy molten chocolate and served with vanilla ice cream melting down through the holes in a crunchy hazelnut waffle cookie. A fancy version of the molten chocolate cakes you often find at Applebee’s or TGI Friday’s, it was the perfect ending to the meal in the way that only warm, smushy chocolate can be.

1. escott

   July 2 5:45 p.m. 1

   I love how when you read this review there's an ad for "meet single arabs online!" :)