GAÚCHO

If you’re a meat lover, this is the best place in Kyoto for amazing REAL MEAT. The seasoning and preparation of the meat is authentic. Quality meat and vegetables. The staff are so friendly and genuinely care about your experience. I’ve been there twice already and they remembered me. It’s also at the perfect location in Gion. Great value for money.

Review from a Brazilian who is very critical of food: The restaurant is really perfect, the meats are cooked to perfection, excellent quality, the side dishes are great (although since I went at the last hour I missed one or two items like fried banana or feijoada), and the drinks are perfect and strong! In short, the highlight for me was the exceptional service, very efficient and extremely friendly and helpful with everyone in the restaurant; secondly, the exceptional desserts (I almost cried when I saw they had maria-mole); and thirdly, the exceptional ambiance with great background music. In short, highly recommended, 10 out of 10!

I’ve never had Brazilian BBQ before so I was looking forward to eating here. Gaucho didn’t disappoint. If you compare this place to a standard yakiniku restaurant then you will be very satisfied. They had a good variety of meats. There is a salad bar where you can get your own veggies and salad. They have rice too with some curry or gravy that is probably just meant to season the rice instead of drown the rice in like curries usually are in Japan. They have a dessert fridge that has a few nice options. I went on a weeknight so there weren’t many people there. I had amazing service. The woman who was working there is probably one of the most beautiful Japanese women I have ever seen. She was very nice. She seemed relieved that I spoke Japanese so I’m not sure how good her English is but I’m sure she can get by. The owners son took care of me for the most part. He was super nice. He’s from Australia so he speaks perfect English. The meats were all cooked super well. As you can see by the picture that the beef wasn’t overcooked which I was happy about. Some of the other pictures show beef that is way too well-done for my tastes. The spiced chicken and sausage were especially bright. Whenever I get chicken at yakiniku, it is always bland. It’s such an afterthought but at Gaucho it was fantastic. I do wish they had some options to dip or season the meats. I’m not sure if Brazil does it but I would have loved an Argentinian chimichurri or something to add a bit of variety to the meats. The salad bar was basic but satisfying. I didn’t even have a salad as you can tell by the picture but I was happy to just put some greens on my plate to break up the endless procession of meat. I had a couple of beers. I would suggest getting the nomihodai if you are going to have more than two. The glasses are pretty small so two beers didn’t get me very far. I had a nice coffee jelly and a marshmallow covered in coconut for dessert. It was a nice bonus to the meal. I was full well before my time was up. I will warn again that this was mostly due to it being a weekday and there not being many customers inside. I’d be interested to see how things go on a busy night. I was very lucky, they treated me very well and kept me loaded up with meats. I will definitely be going back to this restaurant and you should try it too if you are inclined.

If you're willing to splurge a bit and want to eat real meat not the fatty delicate Japanese wagyu but real meat and actually use your jaw and chew a lot this is the spot for you. Jokes aside the meat was super juicy the salad bar and side dishes as well as the flan/grilled pineapple were my absolute favorites. The waiters are also super friendly and the atmosphere of the restaurant was bustling and very exciting to be surrounded by.

We had an amazing experience at this Brazilian restaurant in Kyoto! The meat was absolutely delicious: perfectly grilled, juicy, and full of flavor. You can really taste the quality and care that goes into the preparation. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, and everyone on the staff was incredibly friendly and attentive. It felt like a little slice of Brazil right in the heart of Japan. Highly recommended for anyone craving authentic Brazilian BBQ and a great dining experience!