Cologne: Steakhouse El Gaucho celebrates its 50th anniversary in the Corona crisis

Cologne –

It is one of the most famous places in town. The “El Gaucho”, Cologne’s first steak house, is well known to every meat lover in Cologne.

Of course, the eternal gold mine at Barbarossaplatz is currently closed because of the lockdown and has to struggle. And so unfortunately the 50th anniversary cannot be adequately celebrated this week.

• Cologne meat temple El Gaucho is 50 years old
• Carlos Santilian opened in 1971 on Barbarossaplatz
• To this day it’s a favorite spot for celebrities like Maradona, Messi and Co.

“Of course we’re a little sad. Because we would have liked to have really celebrated and toasted the old days and the next with our friends and regulars ”, says Jorge Santilian, who with his brother Tomas has inherited the legacy of his famous father Carlos.

Kölner Gastro: “El Gaucho” since 1971 a brand

“Don Carlos” – to this day the employees speak reverently about the former boss who died in 2014 to great regret. A real one of a kind old school. A soul of man and thoroughbred restaurateur, who made the house what it is to this day.

Of course, also crazy about football, as it should be for an Argentine, he came to the counter almost every day as an 80-year-old in a poncho and enjoyed the guests as a real gaucho. Not infrequently in tow a typical local guitar combo.

Weiberfastnacht 1962, as a very young man, Carlos from South America arrived in the cathedral city as a singer to stay.

After initially trying his luck with a disco, he and a friend opened the steak house on Barbarossaplatz in 1971 – at that time it was something completely new for Cologne.

“Even on the first few days, people were queuing up here,” recalls his son Tomas.

It was no different until the lockdown. Virtually nothing worked without a reservation. Because the smoky restaurant with the famous steaks from the charcoal grill has always drawn celebrities and business people under its spell.

“El Gaucho” in Cologne had many star guests

Whether Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona, Michael Schumacher, Thomas Gottschalk, Lukas Podolski or the Geissens, they have all been to El Gaucho and had their delicacies served by the original waiters such as jester Nuno Pedro or Curly-headed Pablo Strauss.

The photo wall in the restaurant resembles a “Who’s Who” of the Cologne, but also celebrity world elite. Anyone who was self-conscious and came from outside must have visited El Gaucho before.

A few years ago, the restaurant with the famous charcoal grill moved from Barbarossaplatz not far to Zülpicher Straße. This did not detract from the popularity.

Corona drains the nerves and strength of everyone involved. But the El Gaucho, the owners assure, still exists. And it should stay that way for a long time, ideally for the next 50 years.

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