Gaucho Newcastle Pre Theatre Menu Review
I love the theatre and when I can, I love to make a bit more of an afternoon or evening of it and where possible try and get a lovely little pre theatre dining in before the show. There are a variety of places that you can go with some being listed in our top 10 choices here. However one on the list that you should consider is Gaucho Newcastle and I was fortunate enough to be invited down to try it the pre theatre menu out.
Gaucho Newcastle is a high end premium steak restaurant situated on Market Lane literally next door to the Newcastle Theatre Royal. While I will hear some say it’s expensive, the pre and post theatre menu offers an opportunity to dine here for a very reasonable price and an opportunity to experience the opulence you might not consider otherwise.
It was also my first opportunity to see the new Market Street entrance also, which once inside just opens up the whole restaurant and lets the light in making the restaurant feel so much better, this also allowed them to insert more tables also into the venue. Compared to my previous visit the venue was light and brighter and better for it and can imagine later in the evening provides a nice view when darker.
The menu consists of three staters, five mains and three desserts to choose from. Priced at £27 for two courses and £30 for three and is available between Monday – Friday 12pm – 6.30pm and 9.30pm – 10.30pm. But not available on Bank Holidays.
Myself and fellow writer Stephen chose for starters the Mini Argentine Sausage plate (Morcilla and chorizo selection,picante rojo, lemon aioli) and the Beetroot Ceviche, (Heritage beetroots, mango nectar dressing, red onion, chilli, coriander, nasturti). For me personally the beetroot isn’t something I’d try normally try but was I hugely impressed with the fresh flavours and kick of the chilli that fed into the aftertaste just made it even more delightful.
For main Stephen went for a Fillet Steak Salad (Watercress and herb salad, pea, spring onion, broad bean, yoghurt sauce) and complimented the portion size he received and I myself was tempted by the Churrasco Cuadril 250G Rump Spiral cut, marinated in garlic, parsley and olive oil accompanied by chips and chimichuri sauce. I genuinely believe on my visits here the steak is fantastic and again this proved to be the case. Cooked medium as requested, as with all the food it is of the highest quality.
We finished off the meal with a Chocolate Volcano with Pistachio ice cream and the Affogato which Stephen described as a delicious bowl of creamy ice cream served with a shot of wonderfully fragrant espresso and a crunchy nutty biscuit.
Our reservation was for 6pm and through our own fault eventually sat about 6.10pm for the meal. If you do consider this for a 7.30pm theatre show be aware we literally made it by a couple of minutes to the theatre. So allow yourself enough time to really enjoy this without rushing. The evening we visited appeared to be quiet with a few surrounding tables being served but far from capacity.
Our host for the evening was Camilla and she was really friendly, informative and attentive. Going through the wine menu with us to make recommendations based on her knowledge and extensive training to help us make a choice. For what we were eating the Argentinian Malbec was the go to but as the wine menu shows there are many to choose from! Camilla helped us and we went for her own personal choice and recommendation, which as hoped paired excellently with the meal.
The menu is priced well for what you get, remember this is Gaucho so it’s about the whole experience. The ambiance, the experience, the service and the fantastic food. So for £60 for a three course meal for two people it was well worth it. Please bear in mind this excludes drinks.
I genuinely love this restaurant, from the decor, service and food. Having an offer to hang my coat when I entered, it’s the small touches that add to the experience.
If I was going to be picky and this is just a personal bugbear it would be with regard to the discretionary 12.5 % service charge that is added to bills. Now I fully expect it as part of a meal order by all means, it’s just not something I expect when ordering my own drink at the bar. While it is discretionary I also never asked for it to be removed. However, I didn’t let this change my opinion or thoughts on Gaucho. This restaurant knows its market, and provides to it well. Definitely somewhere to consider for a pre theatre meal in my opinion.