Reviewing a CHEAP vs EXPENSIVE STEAK! Gaucho or Wetherspoons? 

Wetherspoons can be hit and miss. By giving these two steaks a draw you have actually handed Wetherspoons a complete victory. Imagine a £40 steak only grabbing a draw against an £11 steak. Well done Wetherspoons. Great review Gary. 👍

I've only eaten at Gaucho in the O2, you are given a time limit of 90mins. With slow service was informed "would you like to see the desert menu but you only have 10 mins left". After spending alot of money, shoddy way to be treated. Never again. Great video Gary.

Hands down Wetherspoons did it for me. Loved the thick sauce & that they gave you an actual Steak Knife. Hard to see the value difference of basically 4 times the price at Gauchos though I guess it all comes down to if one is trying to impress someone or is celebrating a special occasion. Cheers Gary.

Gary is killing it at the moment. Love the content. My girlfriend says "you're always watching that man" 😂

My local Wetherspoon's for many years. I don't see how a rather sparse meal costing damn near 4 times as much can possibly be seen as good value in comparison, no matter how good it might taste. Wetherspoon's all the way! 😁

Gary , I think the cheaper meal that came with all the sides looked better to me, and price wise was the one I’d go for . The most expensive did look nice but the price was very high for what you got there , can’t fault either steaks though and they were the star of the show. Another great review ! Thanks Gary🙏🏼❤️👏🤩

All in all, a very fair revue of two steaks. As a Canadian, I find it strange that Gaucho's present their steak unadorned, unlike this side of the pond where it invariably comes fully dressed. Wearherspoons, on the other hand, presented their steak as a full meal, something I would expect to find here. I am sure the Gauchos steak was tasty, but as you point out, it's very lonely. Lovely revue and very helpful. Thank you.

I think Wetherspoons is a bargain especially when visiting London. Yes we do go to brick lane for curry and eat other fancy places, but with the kids Wetherspoons is very affordable and decent. It’s so refreshing to watch a channel ( yours ) that doesn’t bash Wetherspoons. Thank you for a great review sir

I have to say, that I have never had a bad meal in any of the Wetherspoons pubs I have been to. The chain always offers good value for money and never pretends to be something it isn't.

I've just started watching and I'm addicted love love love these reviews 😊

Not sure about the expensive steak, bit of an odd colour! But the chips looked delicious! The Wetherspoons did look worth the money👍

Always enjoy your reviews Gary. The Gaucho’s meal could at least have had a handful of mixed leaves or rocket on it for £40. The Weatherspoons meal looked very good for the money, no restaurant could serve that meal for that price.

Great review Gary, I'm actually a food reviewer myself altho more on Instagram (14k+ followers). By far the Wetherspoons takes it for me, the Gaucho one I get the feeling it's almost like the chef was a bit lazy in not cooking the peppercorn sauce to the right consistency - it only takes a minute more with some starch. And the steak coming out like that, he/she doesn't even need to cook anything, even a sprig of a herb could be a garnish. Whereas the Wetherspoons steak, as you mentioned with the presentation, everything look neat on the plate is a chef that takes some pride in their cooking. In this day and age, unfortunately with restaurants closing they are relying on repeat business & I think Gaucho's really need to buck their ideas up.

Good call that Gary. Value is subjective isnt it. Both options have their place it just depends on what your looking for & how deep your pockets are. Great to see the budget option was of a comparable standard, great feather in the cap for Wetherspoons.

I never thought I say this,but the Wetherspoons steak looked better and cooked to perfection…. The Gauchos steak looked a strange colour and very lonely…..🎩’s off to the chef in Spoons!! Is ‘The Ivy ‘coming soon pal?

That was a really interesting comparison Gary. Just a few observations of the Goucho steak. It looked to me like it had been reverse seared, i.e., cooked in the oven then seared afterwards to get the bar marks. That would explain the pale appearance and rare center. I could be mistaken but it looked a bit cold in the middle. I'm sure it was a high quality piece of meat but they didn't make the best of it. Another great video Gary 👍

The more expensive steak looked nice but I think that dish was lacking a bit of garnish, some mushrooms would have been great, lots and lots of them 😀

I am constantly amazed at the quality and the prices of Wetherspoons meals. How they can achieve such a high standard no matter which Wetherspoons restaurant you go to is again, amazing. Plus the service is first class and the staff so friendly and help-full is a credit to management. Always my first choice for my wife and I for a special night out in a restaurant along with reasonable prices.

Super reviews - really entertaining, enjoyable and informative 👍👍 Video structure is great and you even have a catchphrase or two! 🤣🤣 We’d probably take our kids to ‘Spoons! Purely due to the end cost. Another super video 🥳

I was really impressed with my rump steak at Wetherspoons, my local in Bingley, W.Yorks. I was honestly surprised as my expectations were probably not that high and the price usually reflects the quality, but it was cooked perfectly. Cheers for another great video 🙂 (I've just subscribed as well)

Love the video Gary. I especially enjoy your "comparisons" and the debate afterwards. For me price rules so Witherspoon's takes the glory. Especially after Gauchos watered your sauce down. I enjoy Witherspoon's steaks especially on their "steak nights" when they are even cheaper. A wonderful video as always and congrats on 25k.

Great review Gary 👍 But British/Irish beef over Argentinian should aways win on the environmental impact of the food we eat. Wetherspoon's just pipped it at the post for me on that basis 🤓

For me the steak looked a bit anemic. Goucho looks like a nice location and good decor but I would have been disappointed with the food not matching my expectation. I’m thinking the Spoons steak being half tough half tender maybe defrosted. Thanks for guiding us Gary 👍🏻

I don't know, I think I would have felt cheated at Gaucho's no matter how good the steak was by itself. The chips looked a bit thin and scraggly, and the sauce did a good imitation of ditch water. Lastly, every chef knows that you need to have a good visual balance on the plate - it needed green, even inexpensive green would have been much better than none at all. If you'd gone there and had a meal for two with drinks the bill would have been over 100 quid. Whereas, you could have gone to Wetherspoons with a wife and four kids, had a more wholesome meal, and still had 30 quid left over out of a hundred.

It’s Wetherspoons all the way for me, mate. I thought the Gaucho steak was trying to be a little too ‘clever’ and ‘artsy’ by being presented in that Spartan way. Just give me honest simple grub at a reasonable price! Cheers, mate.

All the chains have their meat delivered from big food companies. You can go in on a monday and its fantastic and go in on Tuesday and get shoe leather. Its toss the coin time with steak at a chain pub...I know..I drink at one!!🤣🍺..another great review!!

Hi Gary, I was surprised at Wetherspoons it looked quite nice, I suspect the person cooking that steak cooked it straight from the chiller and didn't allow extra time for that coldness during the cooking process. Great review as always, until the next time, take care Gary

Really enjoyed the video. Was pleasantly surprised with your review of the Wetherspoons steak, it would make me want to give it a bash now. Loving the channel, well done Gary 🙌

great review thanks Gary,always look forward to your videos,

I only just discovered this channel as a suggestion based on my other feeds. Watched 3 or 4 videos and expected Gary to have at least several hundred thousand subs. Great content, very amused so I'll be subscribing to get those numbers up!

I suppose it comes down to how much importance is placed on the steak element of the meal. If someone wants a quality cut that is cooked to perfection and doesn't mind about the sides, they can go upmarket. I will say the 'Spoons meal looked nicer overall though, even the poor, discarded, blessed mushroom! Interesting comparison there and I don't mind it being a score draw.

Just discovered your channel… love the straightforward and unpretentious reviews!

My wife & I were very surprised on our UK holiday this year to find that every time we wanted to order a steak anywhere it never came with any vegetables as they do in pubs over here. In Adelaide pubs here will give you a choice of vegetables or salad. Restaurants generally will add vegetables/salads as an "extra" to the ordered meal. We so missed our vegies that we often cooked ourselves (when we had access to a kitchen) and bought plenty of veg from supermarket. I must say that the steak you had at Wetherspoons was much better than the one we had there. Ours was very thin with no sauce and just a handful of peas. Also, we never came across a sauce other than peppercorn. Over here you usually have a choice of gravy, dianne sauce & mushroom sauce. We found Wetherspoons to be OK if you were (a) on a budget & (b) You couldn't find anywhere else. Having said that, the Gaucho steak was so lonely it will be on First Dates next week ! The Wetherspoons meal looked nicer on a visual scale. Price wise, I would still take the Wetherspoons steak meal as I felt it was better value for money and still nice to eat.

Hello started watching your videos recently. Enjoying them very much. Think I’ve seen you in Maidstone Sainsbury’s today, was it you?

Wetherspoons, is the one for me.Gaucho’s stake look bit thicker, but looked very anaemic and yes, the peppercorn sauce was not thick enough Gary 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

You might as well buy one at the supermarket and cook it at home - it probably beats Wetherspoons for quality and Gaucho on price if done right.

I had the same gourmet steak meal in Wetherspoons a few weeks ago. I was very impressed, the steak was cooked perfectly (medium rare) and tasted great. I found my peppercorn not warm enough though. For the money, I'd pick Wetherspoons. I don't eat steak that often and wouldn't feel comfortable paying almost four times the amount for something so similar.

The expensive steak looked far superior as did the chips but I would have expected at least a big grilled field mushroom or tomato and onion rings for that price and that sauce did look poor.

Taking everything into consideration it's spoons for me on this one. Another really good video mate👍🇮🇪

Hi again Gary ! Thanks for the review, steak is one of my favourite dishes. I must say, even though I couldn't taste these two, I was still disappointed more by Gaucho's offering. From how thin the peppercorn sauce looked, to even the rather pinkish complection of their beef. I'm sure for a similar price you could have found something better. But then I couldn't "taste". For me at least, a good pc sauce can lift the other items. Have a great evening. Dan

Hi Gary and Mr Cameraman, I really enjoyed this comparison vlog as i do them all. I must admit for me on this one i had no trouble choosing the winner. Weatherspoon's gave you a lot for your money, and i personally think there steak was good, and took as much cutting as the Gaucho's one did. I find it very hard to criticise Weatherspoon's meal, as it came with a drink, there was a lots on the plate, and that peppercorn sauce was very good, as was the steak, and at just £11 wow !! As for Gauchos, i agree with most of what you said on there meal, it was missing a vegetable or a good green salad, and the peppercorn sauce looked like they had try to make it them selves and failed. Overasly i could not taste ether steak but they looked quite similar to me, to which i do not think in anyway shape or form the Gauchos one was worth the extra £30, especially with no drink included. Four people fed and watered at Weatherspoon's at £44, or one at Gauchos for £40, Weatherspoon's wins hands down for me. Chris.

Great video. If you ate both on the same day then very well done 😉. Gaucho looked expensive for what it is. At that price, the chips should be perfect. And £3.50 for peppercorn sauce- crazy. And completely agree, they should chuck on some rocket or watercress to add some greenery.

We liked the Wetherspoon's meal, it was a decent plate of food, onion rings, garnish and peas as well as the steak and chips at a bargain price. While the Gauchos meal for us looked a bit spartan, expensive with not much on the plate; at least the steak was tasty. All the best from Tania and Chirpy!

I think I'd stick with spoons, that second steak looked more rare than medium rare with no crust on it whatsoever. For the price, it looked sad 😅 that peppercorn sauce looked dreadful too.

Why don't they serve this good quality steak that you ate at the Groucho with some fine green beans? It would have made a huge difference. Not only your tastebuds, but also your eyes want to feast on what is on the plate. Thank you for taking us along. As always, much appreciated.

Great video as always. It is interesting your take on mushrooms - shows we are all different (which is good). A glorious food mix for me is fried mushrooms and onions in garlic butter with black pepper. I think that steak at Wetherspoons was cooked perfectly (medium rare), I do not always see this. / Value - Wetherspoons !

Thanks Gary for another cracking review , take care 👍👍

Spoons for me Gary Mate, a nice salad with the steak 🥩 would have been nice with it, but that’s only my opinion, keep em coming mate, love your videos 👍👍👍👍👍

Hi Gary, Love your content and subscribed a few weeks ago. I can't believe that I'm addicted to your channel, even though I now live in Spain! Your reviews are always well balanced and your on camera presence is perfect. Some of your videos make me wish I hadn't moved! Keep up the great work mate, Mike Tilley

Good evening Gary, well I was surprised with spoons as that looked a well cooked steak and when considering cost Goucho was over the top for me withthose chips at 6 quid and a peppercorn sauce that honestly looked like thin gravy, I would expect a sensational experience for 39 quid, the steak was clearly perfectly cooked. I would have preferred the spoons one in honesty and what's all this 'peas are peas' it's supposed to be chips,you know the rules🤣cheers✌️🍻

For a reasonably priced and very tasty steak i recommend 1160 Bar and Grill in London. Added bonus, its only an hour drive to Paris which has some great places to grab a cocktail and a stroll down by the river. *London and Paris Ontario. Flight and accommodations extra. Cheers from Canada

Steak videos !!!! Fantastic. I think the cheap one looked really nice. At that price too! Good steak and traditional British trimmings. Just as I like it. That is outstanding overall. Its an 7 elevated to an 8 because of the superb value. I have recommended Gauchos as the one I use in the o2 is really good but it's very expensive. £6 for chips is outrageous to be honest but I suppose I'm old fashioned. That steak looked rare to me and a bit tough when being cut. In Gauchos I always go for medium/well as it always comes up a bit rare. I'm missing the peas and onion rings lol. It's an 8 for me. Seems a bit pricey but not totally obscene. Even though I'm a Gauchos fan, I would have to say, the Wetherspoons did look a better meal but an inferior steak. Excellent comparative review as always. Gary, do me a favour, try a Pizza Hut sit down restaurant please. They used to be excellent but are not what they were. I would value your opinion.

Hi Gary. We live in Adelaide. Loving the channel 😊 On this occasion I have to disagree with judges verdict. Four times the price for a meal with far less elements and no drink does not stack up, no matter how good the steak , and it looked raw in places. Even though the steak is the star of the dish, surely it’s the meal overall that counts. In the instance you had to build your meal in individual ingredients paying extra for each element and then stuck a service charge on for good luck! Also what is it with this ridiculous “Service charge” that is now in place, particularly in the South of the UK? Keep up the good work.

Based on this review Gary I would rather the presentation and affordabillity of Whetherspoons. The whole plate looked far more appetising. Perhaps you are becoming so famous now all the restaurants are dishing up their best for you. You'll have to start going incognito. Another very enjoyable episode.

Gary would it be worth adding the time from when ordered to when it arrived at your table ? Just a thought. Keep safe.

Absolutely love a spoons, crazy cheap beer prices aswell as the bargain food. I always order a steak or mixed grill, never had to send one back, never will.

I had a lovely steak at spoons once cooked to mouthwatering perfection then went back same place 6 months later it was so chewy but you cant deny value for money

Wetherspoon for me,as just a family day out, we're my children drink so much juice,even with a grand in my tail pocket, the other place didn't appeal to me...

First thing I do is 'like' these videos, because they're never a let down!

That was rare borderiing on blue

Great review Gary and I’d agree with you on the ratings, definitely a score draw. Price-wise, Wetherspoons came out on top with the garnish and the peppercorn sauce. Gaucho’s steak looked a more tender steak but like you said the peppercorn sauce was thin and lacked garnish. A fair result. Many thanks for sharing with us and see you on your next video 👍👍👍

I'm from the Canadian Prairies, and invite you all here to try a proper steak😉

Good review of both restaurants. When ordering steaks in English restaurants, can I order a steak well done? I was just wondering. All the steaks you show are either med rare or rare.

Mushrooms.😋Food of the Gods Gary!😃 Another great review.👍🏻

Great Video! Also Wetherspoons do great Fish and Chips. I am going to try a Steak at my local Wetherspoon soon, at the Whalebone, at Downham Market. Xx

Hi Gary boy very good videos and you are doing great job and having fun making some brilliant videos superstar Ali Walsall west midlands england junction 10 m6 Walsall churckery when are you coming to Walsall

The William Webb Ellis (or Sorting Room as I know it) is pretty good for lunch. Not so much fun in the evenings on a Friday and Saturday!

You should have ordered peas, tomatoes , mushroom & a drink to make it fair. It would have been 5 times the price if not 6!

Another banger, Gary. Need more of these head to head videos.

Frozen chips are a no from me. Chips from the other place looked gorgeous. Went out on Sunday to a great Irish pub, real chips, delicious. Has to be Wetherspoons for me, onions rings,peas, tomato, apart from the frozen chips it was excellent value, and 4 times cheaper. The other had no garnish on it. Great show again Gary, cheering us all up on a cold wet night.

Very interesting comparison. As mentioned in one of the the latest videos, I would love to try an authentic Argentinian steak, but like many with only modest funds, if I found myself eating that Weatherspoon's steak on a Saturday lunchtime with a cheeky pint i would be very happy chappy for the price.

The cheaper meal looked more appealing

Great review Gary very fair to be honest I went to Gaucho years ago and was blown away by the quality but I think you have done a good job with what they gave you

Nothing wrong with Wetherspoons! 😊 I've always enjoyed their steak, particularly back when they did a rump steak, which was delicious. Sadly they're closing most of their Irish pubs 😢 Last time I was in London I had a steak at the Knights Templar Wetherspoons, which is a really nice one. Have a great weekend mate and thanks for the video!

I'm not really a Steak eater myself, Although its nice to see how the different places represent and score, If I were to choose on looks alone, it would definitely be Weatherspoon's winning this one, The cost of the Gaucho was far too expensive, Especially the sauce at £3.50!! for such a small portion , As always, fantastic genuine review and score Gary i like that you are not afraid to give lower scores. :)

I have to say, I think Wetherspoons seemed to win by a nose. The reason you first thought the peppercorn sauce didn’t have peppercorns was because the sauce was so thin it couldn’t support the peppers so they sat on the bottom. The ‘posh’ hand cut chips really didn’t look any more than run of the mill fries. Yes, I bet the steak was much better, but how disheartening to see it arrive all alone and looking miserable on an otherwise empty plate? 4x better? Even 2x better? Not for me, but then I haven’t tried them!

Agreed with you. I don't know why so many steak houses think It's OK to serve a lonely steak on a plate? A bit of garnish would not kill their bottom line.

Hi Gary - have you retired and this is your hobby? Love the videos

5 or 6 years ago pretty much everything on the Gaucho menu was heavenly, I could have died happy after every meal, though thankfully I didn’t. But now they are a shadow of their former glory. I know the wider chain had financial problems, but now we almost never eat there. The last medium-rare steak I had at Gaucho wasn’t even rare inside, it was positively raw (or bleu if you want to be fancy about it.) Bring back the previous steaks/chefs! Very fair review, it’s a sad state of affairs when Gaucho can’t blow Wetherspoons clear out of the water even when factoring in the price.

Hi Gary I tried a Gaucho years back and found the steak very nice albeit a bit pricey. How does it compare to Miller and Carter’s?

I am not British (I am from Hong-Kong) and have subscribed to your channel because I find entertainment value to it. I like the way you talk, your overall attitude, the jazzy music in your videos is very cool and as a foreigner, it's quite cool for me to see how it is in your part of the world. I have a prediction: assuming you are not already, this kind of fantastically unhealthy food at your age (loaded in slow carbs and saturated fat, zero minerals, zero fiber etc), at that kind of frequency, WILL make you diabetic in less than a year. Take care of yourself 👍.

love your videos gary my god this made me hungry really did. as all youre videos do

Never had a bad steak at Gaucho. I know I’m paying a premium but when we go there it’s a treat and doesn’t happen very often. But I am impressed with the Spoons steak - for the money it’s a good option for a quick bite

Great review as always Gary, I would go for the Wetherspoons steak dish, A nice steak and garnish at a good price.

You are spot on Gary with your scoring, Wetherspoons can be hit and miss depending on who is in the kitchen at the time, but Gaucho should be spot on every time for the price they charge, and that pepper sauce looked awful. For a cheap night out with a meal with friends, Wetherspoons is a good option, but a quality night out with the wife is always somewhere special, just need to find that special place where we live.

There are pricey posh restaurants in nz that charge 20-40 pound for a meal but that's prime aged fillet steak,and no add ons or surcharge.

Had same in spoons but no peas in stock! Almost £17 with cider. Medium WD Steak didn’t seem overly flavourful. Chips were lukewarm. Hit n miss to level of outcome.

Great review Gary. Couldn’t agree with you more. Forty quid for a plate of unappealing food. Spoons looked quality. Cheers and thanks matey.

I knew you were going to say ‘peas are peas’ Gary! Do like your comparison videos and was surprised on 2 fronts on this one. Weatherspoons steak meal looked a lot better than normal but I was a little disappointed with Gauchos. Expected better from them. I wonder what you would have given them out of ten? For me looked about a seven. No greenery and the steak not cooked as well I would have expected either

The price of dining out has reached a point where I have now gone completely the other way and avoid fine dining and had my first Wetherspoons meal last week. 12 months ago I wouldn’t be seen dead in there but soaring prices, poor service and it being so hard to get tables in London has led me to Spoons. I too was impressed with it. I has a steak washed down with a fantastic IPA.

Would have liked a bit of salad or peas to lighten up the Gaucho meal a bit (included in the price of the steak). £6 for chips and £4 for peppercorn sauce seems a bit steep as well. I would choose the Wetherspoons meal for a casual social with some nice food, and maybe Gauchos for more of a special occasion steak experience. I think your scoring is spot on Gary. Neither were perfect, but both were perfectly acceptable. Thanks for another great review.

The sauce in Gaucho was really thin and a strange colour. The fries looked very bitty as well. The Wetherspoon one looked really good.

Another true and honest review I think the Wetherspoons meal looked the better of the two in my opinion. I think a good vet could of got the steak at Gaucho's running about a field again with not too many problems.

You certainly gave it a go, to me personally I think spoons shaded it, but you were the one sampling there delights so I take your final decision a draw, nice one Gary looking forward to the next one, cheers mate.

Same Gary, not a fan of spoons. I been to Gaucho up central and it was really nice though. I feel like this location just aint that bothered.

The Weatherspoons sauce is claggy powdered sauce, don't get me wrong I love thick powdered gravy in a roast or with mashed potato, but proper sauce should be that thin. Gaucho's sauce looked more to my tastes. Great video.

As I think I have said before,most quality steakhouses just give you a steak on a plate,do I think that is okay,no I don’t,I think most people would like to see something on the plate.In my experience Argentinian steakhouses usually do chimichurri sauce,so perhaps that’s why their peppercorn sauce wasn’t up to your standards.I am enjoying your reviews,so nice to see what is available in my home country.

Love a well cooked steak, with a baked potato and sourcream/chives, a nice full salad dressed well, and some crispy Italian bread ! That is it.! LOVE, USA

I have to say, looking at the Whetherspoon steak you got, I think you got lucky there with how they cooked it. I always order medium rare also and I can count on the fingers of one hand how many times I've actually received a medium rare rather than a medium in Whetherspoon. In Gaucho you can be guaranteed you'll get a true medium rare (or whatever you ask for) every time. So that's something that needs to be considered when comparing the two establishments. Also I have to say, purely personally I was cringing when you poured the sauce over the steak. I'm a purist when it comes to steaks, never use any sauce, for me it totally ruins a good steak to put a sauce on it.

Excellent steak comparison I have only ever eaten once at weather spoons myself but overall good value for money