January is notoriously tough for the hospitality industry, with restaurants desperate to get diners through their doors. Everyone has a take on how to beat the post-Christmas lull, whether it be Tom Kerridge with his two-Michelin-starred The Hand and Flowers serving two courses for £25 (or three for £32.50); Beefeater pricing a range of weekday mains at just £8; or Mowgli’s 600-calorie tiffin for £15. Yet among the flurry of January deals, one offer stands out - Gaucho’s £10 menu, a remarkably cheap price point for an upmarket chain.
Running across the group’s 20 restaurants, Gaucho’s £10 menu comprises a choice between chunky minestrone soup and mushrooms on toast to start, followed by three main course options - grilled chicken paillard with green salad, confit tomatoes and a chimichurri sauce; pan-fried haddock with spicy tomato, caper sauce and basil; and a vegetarian offering of breaded aubergine with mozzarella, confit tomato sauce, tomatoes, rocket salad and chimichurri sauce. There is the option to add sides - including green vegetables with lemon gremolata, chips, and mashed potato - for £5 each.
There’s little doubt that this offer ticks the value for money box – it’s hard to see how the group can be making much if any margin on its dishes – and it hasn’t scrimped on portions. On a visit to Gaucho’s Swallow Street restaurant to sample the menu, portions were well judged, and the food was of good quality (we ordered mushrooms on toast; grilled chicken with a side of greens), but the overall experience left a strange taste in the mouth.
First, the choice of dishes for the menu seems odd. Although the main menu at Gaucho branches beyond steak, the budget menu makes no reference to the red meat and thus feels unrepresentative of the chain’s core offer. While Gaucho has worked hard to move beyond simply being regarded as a steakhouse, steak and Argentinian beef still feature heavily as part of its marketing. As a result, anyone choosing the £10 menu does not get a fair reflection of what Gaucho has to offer.
By contrast, rival steakhouse Hawksmoor’s January deals - offering steak and sides for £19 and martinis for £10 - reflects succinctly what the restaurant is best known for. Not only does this appeal to returning customers but also gives new diners an accurate sense of what Hawksmoor has to offer, increasing the likelihood of repeat visits at full price. The same cannot be said of Gaucho’s approach.
By not leaning into what it is best known for, Gaucho’s menu looks to be more of a missed opportunity than a money spinner
Then there’s the delivery itself. When booking the meal, Gaucho’s website and Instagram advertised the deal but gave no indication that a specific request was needed during the booking process. At the table, when requesting the menu - which wasn’t offered automatically - it was explained that it should have been requested in advance. While the staff were polite and quickly supplied it, the confusion highlighted a flaw in how the deal is communicated and also hinted to the fact that the menu might not be something the restaurant wanted everyone to order. If a restaurant is going to take the bold stance of creating a £10 menu then the least it can do is make it readily available, even if it does hit the bottom line.
Furthermore, on our visit on 8 January the restaurant was still decked out for Christmas, with baubles and lights on the entrance arch, a large tree in the reception, wreaths along the stairs, and small trees in the dining room. With the Christmas period starting earlier and earlier in the year, once the new year ticks over and the new deals come into play, any trappings of the festive season that remain just appear lazy.
Gaucho’s £10 menu therefore raises questions about the purpose of such deals. While low pricing can drive short-term footfall in a quiet month, its success depends on how well (and enthusiastically) it is delivered and how it aligns with the wider experience and brand identity. If communication, atmosphere and the menu feel disconnected, the offer risks misrepresenting the restaurant for the following 11 months (and longer).
A two-course meal for a tenner may be a headline grabber, but by not leaning into what it is best known for, Gaucho’s menu looks to be more of a missed opportunity than a money spinner.
