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Corned beef is a more common St. Patrick’s Day meal than steak, but 25 years ago, the Pacific Northwest steakhouse franchise El Gaucho served just that at the Portland location’s station at the Benson Hotel. While it won’t be open on St. Patrick’s Day this year due to the holiday falling on the restaurant’s off-day, El Gaucho’s staff put together a Y2K throwback to that first night in the year 2000, available for the rest of March.
“Our Portland location was opened with the luck of the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day in 2000, and since then we have created countless memories with our team, guests and community, and we are so grateful to continue celebrating in the heart of downtown Portland,” said Chad Mackay, CEO of El Gaucho’s parent company, Fire & Vine Hospitality, in a statement. Chad Mackay is the son of the restaurant’s founder, Paul Mackay.
Along with cocktails that first appeared on its original menu, El Gaucho is serving oysters Rockefeller ($32 per half dozen) and a seafood-topped salad ($24) with lobster thermidor ($137) and a slice of El Gaucho Jubilee cake ($17) for dessert. Spendy? Sure. But each bite harks back to Pacific Northwest history (and The New York Times reports that we don’t have a problem spending to dine out).
El Gaucho first opened in Seattle in 1953. Paul Mackay worked in his youth for the original company, which closed in 1985. The new company under Mackay opened its first location in 1996. Along with Portland, Vancouver and two Seattle locations, El Gaucho also operates in Tacoma and Bellevue.
The elder Mackay, who retired in 2014, was honored at a pre-anniversary event on Saturday, March 1, alongside Ezequiel “Balan” Puc Balan and Mariano De Orbegoso, who have worked at El Gaucho since opening night. Balan, now a pantry chef, started as a dishwasher, while De Orbegoso has consistently played guitar. A March 12 Facebook post on the restaurant’s official page called De Orbegoso “part of the heart and soul of El Gaucho.”
“My dad said that he picked the Benson Hotel location because it was a ‘good-looking joint,’ and that remains true today, and our commitment to the City of Roses will continue for years to come,” Chad Mackay said.
GO: El Gaucho, 319 SW Broadway, 503-227-8794, elgaucho.com. 4:30–10:30 pm Tuesday–Thursday, 4:30–11 pm Friday–Saturday.