Edinburgh’s city centre dining scene continues to change as Gaucho rides into St Andrew Square.

From Wahaca to The Ivy, new national and multi-national restaurant groups have transformed the streets on and around St Andrew Square in the last year or so.

The latest to throw its cowboy hat in the ring is Gaucho. Taking its name from South american cowboys, or gauchos, the Argentinean steak restaurant is to open a flagship restaurant and bar on the square. The plan is to officially open the doors in mid-November.

We are told that ‘4a St Andrew Square will be transformed into a sophisticated yet welcoming dining destination for business lunches, intimate evening dining, private dining and special events.’

Gaucho beef board

The business is known for presenting diners with the Gaucho beef board, a selection of signature prime cuts, including lomo, ancho and cuadril.

Edinburgh guests will also be offered specially created fusion dishes – such as haggis empanadas – made using locally sourced Scottish produce.

The launch of the Edinburgh restaurant will also see Chef Director – Jamie Robertson – return to his roots.

Born and raised in Bonnyrigg, Robertson worked alongside celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver, before joining Gaucho in 2012.

Commenting on the new Edinburgh restaurant, Chef Director, Jamie Robertson, said:

‘Being from Bonnyrigg, this is something of a homecoming for me. I’m enjoying the opportunity to create exclusive dishes that celebrate and fuse the provenance of Argentinean beef with Scotland’s enviable natural larder.

‘If there’s one thing Scots know, it’s good beef, so I’m looking forward to bringing Gaucho’s world-famous menu back to a home crowd.’

Gaucho: grass-fed Aberdeen Angus

All the beef used in the restaurants is imported from Argentina. Their free-to-roam, grass-fed Aberdeen Angus beef  comes directly from 45 specially chosen farms known as ‘estancias’.

The first Gaucho in the UK opened in a basement site at 25 Swallow Street, Piccadilly in January 1994.

Twenty-three years later, the restaurant group has grown to sixteen sites. There are twelve in London, one each in Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham plus one in Edinburgh.

The company has also opened restaurants in Dubai and Hong Kong.

Older readers may recall that Edinburgh is not the first Gaucho restaurant in Scotland. The company opened a branch on Glasgow Renfield Street in 1999. It closed in 2001.

When it closed, The Herald reported that ‘the £14 steaks never quite caught on and business suffered further amid the BSE and foot-and-mouth crises, and an export ban on Argentine beef’.

By today’s prices, the idea of a £14 steak seems very generous.

The 5pm Dining blog wishes Gaucho every success.