Unbelievably disappointing
I wouldn’t normally take the time and effort to get in touch with a restaurant after a disappointing experience as normally I cut my losses and never go back to the venue again.
I went to the Chiswick branch last night full of excitement and anticipation in devouring a deliciously, juicy rare steak and chips. My friend and I shared a starter and then each ordered the Churrasco de Lomo which is supposed to be a filet steak which has been marinated for 24hrs. I was practically salivating when I placed the order with the waitress only to find that my mouth dropped for all the wrong reasons when it finally arrived in front of me. The steak wasn’t cooked rare, the garlic was raw and the meat (supposedly filet) was tough, sinewy and incredibly hard to cut. A filet is supposed to be light, full of flavour, tender and a low fat cut of meat. The steak we had last night was the exact opposite and I had to use a lot of elbow power in order to cut the meat – even in most average pubs that serve filet steaks, I haven’t had to saw away at the meat like I did last night.
When I provided my feedback to the waitress she went away and I heard nothing from her again. I would have expected that the waitress would have informed the restaurant manager and the chef regarding a customer’s feedback, and it would have been courtesy for the manager to come over and discuss with the customer in question. I received no feedback and in fact the only real feedback I got from the waitress was when she queried why my friend and I weren’t going to pay the discretionary service charge. I asked her if she passed on my feedback/comments on the steak and she mumbled that she had.
I’m half-Brazilian and a complete carnivore and have also visited Argentina and have many Argentinian friends that love nothing more than a glorious asado with various cuts of meat. I also regularly dine out at Gaucho in the City and in Richmond and even if you’re ordering a sirloin, rump or flank steak they are always tender – as for their filet steaks …you could actually use a butter knife to cut the tender meat. On their website Buenos Aires Steak House state they only use top suppliers of beef – I was wondering if they regularly implement monitoring and quality control of both their suppliers and also of the chefs that are cooking the steaks in their restaurant?
Admittedly, I did eat the steak but in fairness I had worked an 11 hour day and would have eaten anything as I was ravenous. On the plus side, I’m glad that I did finally get to sample the cuisine in their restaurant as now I know where to avoid in the future.