Seattle’s original El Gaucho was part speak-easy and part Hunt’s breakfast club. That was 1953 and it was run by Jim Ward. By 1985 that era had come to end. Paul Mackay wasn’t satisfied with that so he reopened El Gaucho in 1996 with a simple truth: Guest first mentality, genuine, passionate, hospitable, caring, supportive and engaged. Mackay wanted it to be more romantic, We’ve created what people dreamed the past was and amplified it for today’s guest. The restaurant would go on to become a Seattle institution. El Gaucho Bellevue opened its doors November 24, 2008.

The people who pass through El Gaucho’s doors are looking for more than just a place to eat. People come to El Gaucho because each visit is a night to remember. Each meal becomes a story to share with their friends and family. Soon, those friends will also visit El Gaucho and have stories of their own to share.

El Gaucho sets the stage where each new generation plays out the pivotal moments in their lives—prom dinners, engagements, IPO parties, and silver anniversaries. People come to El Gaucho because they know the experience will be one they remember forever, an interlude of indulgence and gratification, to be equaled only when they next pass through El Gaucho’s doors.

El Gaucho is more than a restaurant. It is a place where a story is told with sustenance and light and texture, and above all, people. It is a story so well told that people want to experience it over and over again.

El Gaucho has a theater-like ambiance; making each guest the center of attention and making them feel like a star. An aura of excitement swirls around the motions in the restaurant: flames and sizzling sounds appear choreographed as steaks are perfectly grilled, game birds turn on a rotisserie, and fresh wild salmon filets are broiled to perfection. An open charcoal grill serves as the focal point, where chefs put on a floor show for diners each night. Our guests receive personal attention as the details of their experience are carefully and expertly executed. This has become the hallmark of El Gaucho. A place where the water glass never goes below an inch and every lady is escorted to ladies room.

Amidst the action and buzz, the ambiance remains calm and unhurried. Live piano music plays softly in the adjacent open bar, as carts silently glide across the carpet to eager guests awaiting tableside preparations of Caesar, Chateaubriand, flaming swords, and Bananas Foster flambé.