This restaurant is quite good. The ambience is extremely high end with pleasant music and lighting that is appropriate and classy. The appetizers are fantastic and I highly recommend the empanadas. If you get one of each type and cut them in two or three then everyone at your table can try one each and it is a great experience. In addition, the bread is quite tasty and the two items they give you to put on it included an oil and bean mixture which tastes fantastic as well as a second spread which was very toothsome as well. i've been to the restaurant several times and this time I tried the steak. They have steaks of very different sizes so if you're on a diet or have a small appetite you can get one size and if you're in a more indulgent mood you could order one of the larger sizes. What's really great is that you can order five different sauces and each sauce is quite unique from the blue cheese sauce to the poblano sauce. The sides are also quite good and I particularly enjoyed the mashed potatoes which have less milk and more potato than you might expect, in a good way, and also they apply just the right amount of cheese on top. The asparagus is served with almonds and lightly sautéed and taste fantastic. There are some reasons I would not necessarily give this not quite five stars. One reason, is the food does tend to be a bit on the pricey side. I am from New York, and the prices were a little high even for the New York area. In addition, I thought it was a little chintzy to charge for the sauces for your steak. Finally, I think that they could put together some sharing plates that included pictures of the various appetizers and sized for different size parties. read more

this place has incredible food, awesome ambiance, great steak, & i loved the wine would definitely go back again.

So we were visiting from New York, and due to covid didn't have a wide variety of restos. Luckily we came across this beautiful spot and omg! The best. Owner was super cool, waitresses were kind and attentive. Food was AhMazing! Lunch special steak was so good we came back twice. Def will come again! read more

Garufa - Amazing steak! - Argentine Near Me - El Paso, Texas

Food was bit above average. Service was below average. Had a salad and left fork used for salad in salad plate. waiter took plate and fork. When main course was served no fork. Had 2nd glass of wine and was brought to table with wind spilled on bottom of glass. Service not that attentive. read more

Benjamin's service and engagement with clients is exceptional. Food- phenomenal! Would highly recommend for any occasion!

Perfect steakhouse, ambiance and service was exceptional. Waiter was highly knowledgeable regarding wine menu as well as dinner menu, which he offered delicious opinions towards appetizers and entree ideas. Will definitely recommend to colleagues and friends alike to enjoy this delectable little treat! read more

Good food overall service a little slow but seems like that is everywhere these days. Good environment had live music as well

Superb food and amazing staff. My wife and I had a wonderful time. We can't wait to go back. Live Jazz 7pm to 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays. read more

Garufa - 14oz Sirloin - Argentine Near Me - El Paso, Texas

I've been to this restaurant a bunch of times for dinner, but today was my first lunch experience. They have a special lunch menu, but you can order from the main menu. The lunch menu has 5 main course options, soup or salad, a dessert option, and a drink. Though it's not a ton of options, you can't beat the $15 price. It's a great deal. I ordered the spaghetti; it was decent. My only issue is that despite the restaurant being pretty dead, it took forever to place our order. We did have a party of about 20. I overheard the waitress mention they were unexpectedly short-handed for lunch. Overall a good experience though. I'll definitely be back, but maybe with a smaller group. read more

Steaks and empanadas were delicious. Drinks and service were awesome as well. Highly recommend it. Benjamin was outstanding as our server.

My gf and I had Garufa's New Years eve four course event meal. Its worth noting that this was my first time fully dining in at Garufas. Previously I had just had a couple of good (but very expensive) apps and drinks at the bar. The overall price had largely steered me away from going back. I suppose this updated review is equally nuanced so take from it what you will as its not the typical dining experience. With that in mind, the food we had was excellent but very pricey. The meals were 110 dollars each. No complimentary drinks or wine pairings. Truthfully, I think this cost would have been fine with a few pairings and I believe it was overpriced without any such pairings. Nonetheless, the food offerings were delicious. We got complimentary bread and dipping sauces which were excellent. We had the choice of two appetizers, crab cake and choice of empanada. We got one of each. Both were quite good. The empandas were thick but very fresh and nicely textured. The crab cake was perfectly cooked and flavorful. We both got the only salad option a New York salad. It was good but nothing particularly fancy. For our entrees, I ordered the Chilean Seabass (with asparagus and couscous) and she got the filet. The sides were all excellent and perfectly cooked. I particularly enjoyed the soft couscous. Her filet was wonderfully cooked and perfectly seasoned. The Chilean seabass was a THICK piece of fish that I really enjoyed. For desserts, we got the chocolate cake and the apple streudel. The cake was excellent. I wont use the word that everyone hates, but it was that, not dry not too wet. The streduel was very disappointing though. We weren't sure what it was when it came out. We thought they brought the wrong dish. It was a gelatinous cake slice versus a apple filled pastry. It didn't taste bad but we didn't have much of it as the texture and flavor just weren't really there. Our server was excellent throughout the evening and we absolutely loved the guitarist that was playing that evening (accounting for the 10 dollar difference from the 5pm dinner menu). Ultimately, if you want to good food in an intimate setting then Garufas should do very nicely. But expect to pay alot. We walked out after two drinks a piece and the two 110 meals spending $360. While we normally tip 20 percent anyways we were both surprised (after being told by table next to us) that they automatically included a 20 percent gratuity regardless of size of table. read more

This place was super cute for date night! There was a saxophone player which made the night romantic. I loved how there were vegetarian options at this "Steakhouse". We started off with the complimentary bread, an empanada and a Greek Salad. I wasn't a huge fan of the dipping sauces that came with the bread. I ordered a Shrimp Alfredo for the main; the shrimp were delectable, the pasta itself was alright. TBH I would've had better Alfredo at Olive Garden. My husband said his steak was delicious. For dessert, we ordered the flambé cake because it looked cool. I think they use a bit of alcohol to start the fire; my first bite was not that good as it tasted like alcohol. Overall, this place is cute and fancy for date night! read more

Garufa - Flambé chocolate cake - Argentine Near Me - El Paso, Texas

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My friend picked me up one day and told me to dress casual and be ready by xx o clock. Being up for surprises, i was all for it. This is the location we ended up going to. Let me tell you how underdressed i felt. The tables were set with fancy plates, glasses, etc. The waiters were all dressed up very nice, the menu was surprising as well! We had the tomato with cheese baked on top of it, we went months ago so I cannot recall the name of it. So simple and delicious. The steak meals were pretty expensive, but very tasty! There were several spreads to try on top of it, if you want something to go with your meal, you have to order it separately. This is probably a given, but I'm not used to fancy places. Would recommend to others! read more

A real diamond . My son bought us to this place the Lomo dear lord it's like heaven en vino tinto I highly recommend it . To be honest I never knew about this place and my hubby and I will be coming back !!!!! Wonderful service very friendly everything was perfect . My husband was impressed and to get a smile from him is allot Amazing recommend this place to everyone a hidden gem read more

F'n delicious! As my good friend Tony would say. Ribeye. Rare +. Fried shrimp thing. Cream spinach. Amazing.

I love this place the ambiance is great. Perfect date night spot or to celebrate a special occasion and also great to come to unwind with great drinks and food. Been here several times the steaks are great with good service. I always forget I am in El Paso when I come remind me of a restaurant in a bigger city with jazz music playing in the background. A must visit while on the west side of el paso. read more

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It has been years since I posted a restaurant review but my experience at Garufa last night compels me to do so now. I am a businessman from Houston, and I fly into El Paso for 3 days every week to work with one of our clients. The colleague who accompanied me this week is new to El Paso and isn't familiar with many restaurants here. I had eaten at Garufa some time ago and I enjoyed the food so, even though we are staying on the east side of the city and the restaurant is on the far west side, I suggested we go there. At about 6:20 p.m. I phoned the restaurant to make reservations for 2 at 7:15. The gentleman I spoke with advised me that while he could make the reservations, they really weren't necessary since it was a Monday night and as they weren't going to be very busy, we could just walk in. I told him that would be fine and would remove any pressure to get to the restaurant at a specific time. I asked him what time they close, and he responded 9 p.m. We arrived at Garufa at 7:30 and were greeted at the door by a young man. I requested a table for 2. He asked if we had reservations. I advised him no and told him that I spoke with one of his co-workers about an hour before who said we wouldn't need them. He told us that because we didn't have reservation, the restaurant was closed. I repeated conversation I had had earlier that evening on the phone, word-for-word. He repeated that the restaurant was closed but said he would speak with his manager. We waited for a few minutes and an older gentleman came up to us and identified himself as the manager. He asked what we wanted, and I requested a table for 2 and reiterated my earlier phone conversation in detail. He remained adamant that because we didn't have reservations, the restaurant was closed. He then pointed into the dining room, which was about half full, and said that he was expecting 2 large parties and wouldn't be able to seat us. This didn't make any sense because both men had indicated if we had reservations, they would be able to seat us!!! Additionally, we were standing right next to the bar that had only 2 customers sitting there, with plenty of room to seat us but he didn't even offer that! Overall, the manager was rude and not accommodating at all. The conversation had gotten a little tense and it was obvious that we weren't going to be seated, so my colleague and I left. We drove all the way back to the east side of town and we went to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. There we had 2 awesome steaks, delivered with impeccable service, all without reservations. I will never go back to Garufa and, if anyone asks me about the restaurant, I will tell them they will have a better evening with better service if they just go to McDonald's. The manager at Garufa badly needs training in manners and customer service. read more

Carne EmpanadaLomo ArgentinoFilet Mignon atmosphere was excellent as there was an accomplished guitarist food excellent

Great steakhouse, with great service as well. Love their chimichirri sauce. I put it on pretty much everything.

Best restaurant, hands down, that I have ever eaten at. There's not one single thing that I've tasted that could be improved!! The bread and the green sauce is Devine, all the empanadas are to die for, the salads are fresh and well dressed and the rib eye with the caramelized onions are cooked and seasoned perfectly. The service and live music is fantastic! If you're in El Paso, you MUST come to Garufa's!! read more

The Lomo pibe was great: enough for two people at 14 ounces: company was very good ambience was awesome: highly recommend it for a date or just to feel special: the empanadas of meat and spinach were awesome as well: great desserts as well as: a must for out of towners read more

Garufa - Nice relaxing ambience - Argentine Near Me - El Paso, Texas

We have been wanting to try Garufa an Argentinian restaurant ever since it opened up on the Westside in the former location of Swenson's Ice Cream factory. It was different and hey who does not want different food? After a morning of clearing out stuff in storage we thought..hey this is a good day to make up for the burnt calories by indulging in an Argentinian food fest for lunch. So we make our way to Garufa ..truthfully with semi low expectations since we had been warned about lousy service and at times okay food. The first thing we noticed in the restaurant was that this was completely redone with nice wood floors, paneling on the walls and some nice art. This could have been a restaurant in any other urban hip city. There was an odd smell kinda of gasoline in the air..but we figured it was just new paint. We were greeted and seated by a friendly hostess who also handed us menus. We glanced over the menus and thought "my these people are v...er....y proud of their food (translation...pricey)". But hey what the heck. ..the menu of course listed a bunch of interesting looking empanadas, some salads (beware these are not necessarily salads with greens), the requisite beef cuts and this being lunch some sandwiches. I ordered waters, a glass of wine (which was a generous pour), and food. We ordered one each of Spinach and feta, Roquefort, pecan and celery and a traditional meat empanada. My wife ordered the Marcelo salad (pears, celery, blue cheese, pecans with a light vinaigrette) and I ordered the New York strip with a side salad. The waitress was very pleasant, took our orders and left..and then came back with a basket of bread (room temp) and three small bowls of Chimichurri, salsa rojo and a white bean mixture. All three sauces were great..except I thought the white beans were under seasoned...but along with the Chimuchurri (an outstanding traditional version with parsley, garlic, red pepper flakes, olive oil and some vinegar) or the salsa rojo (nicely flavored with flavors of cumin, tomato, oregano and possibly some aji). While we were chitchatting about this that and other, our empanadas arrived. Now these were things of beauty, just beautifully puffy and brown and they looked and tasted fabulous. The spinach was very fresh tasting (It was frozen but warmed) with just the right amount of feta to add a touch of salt, the Roquefort empanada was heaven in a fried form with a perfect pastry (not to thick...not too think) with the nuts adding a different texture and the celery adding just a bit of crunch to the entire mixture. This was the perfect combination of rich, creamy, tangy, nutty ..crunchy goodness. This is rich folks..don't go overboard and order 2! This was so rich that my wife ordered a glass to a crisp Reisling to help cut the fattiness. My meat empanada was no slouch with perfectly browned tender ground meat with touches of cumin and pepper and olives adding saltiness to the mixture. While we were still basking in the glow of the empanadas, our main courses arrived. The Marcelo's salad was a great accompaniment to my wifes empanadas (the only small quibble...and it is a small quibble is that there seems to be an over abundance of pecans in everything...it would not suck to have say walnuts in the salad....but it is a small quibble) and was dressed perfectly to provide an acidic foil to the pear, blue cheese, celery and nut combination. My steak came out looking great with the requisite grill marks and the side salad on the same place. My issue with having the salad on the same plate as the steak is that (a) the salad wilts with the residual heat of the steak and (b) the dressing on the salad pools on the bottom of the plate and fights to impart its own acidity to the steak...which is NOT a good think. I mean who really wants to eat steak dunked in vinegar on purpose? No really? Anyway...the steak was perfectly medium and very tender and yes I quibble about the vinegar and dressing now, but I did consume every bite of the steak. At this point we have contemplated going and buying a lottery ticket ...and of course decided to take our gluttony further by ordering a dessert....our claim to holding ourselves back was to share one. Our waitress recommended we order the Alfajor which was layers of flakey pastry with the by now we realized pre-requisite pecans and caramel. This was just a right sized portion (could be eaten in 4 bites) and was outstanding! The pastry was flaky, tender and crunchy with the caramel providing a stick to your ribs quality that is desired in every dessert. This was a perfect finish to a gluttonous lunch and we hurried home lest we fall into a food coma during the drive to take a good digestive nap. We will give this a shot for dinner after taking a small loan out to pay for it..but if the lunch was any indication...the dinner ought to be great! read more

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Just left Garuda and was shocked at the low quality of their meat. We ordered a rib eye and got something that did not resemble a rib eye. Sorry to see such a good restaurant go down hill. read more

I am a fan of Argentine asado, and looked forward to taking my wife to this restaurant for her birthday dinner last Friday. I like the restaurant, and plan to return, but let me describe my rating. Atmosphere and ambience: five stars. Service by the waiter (Richard), and hospitality by the manager (Sam): five stars. Service by the reception: two stars. They lost our reservation and, as a result, didn't remember that this was my wife's birthday dinner. Cocktails and wine selection, including by the glass: four stars. We had excellent martinis, an apple and pear martini for my wife, and a Chopin martini for me, as well as two of our favorite wines, a Nickel & Nickel merlot, and a Veuve Clicquot champagne. Appetizers: carne empanada - five stars, mollejas - two stars. I love sweetbreads, and mollejas is one of my favorite preparations. They should be cooked with indirect heat on the grill, and basted with butter while cooking. This method ensures they are tender, creamy and richly delicious. Our mollejas at Garufa were grilled directly over the fire. They were a little charred and dry, served with lime halves. Our waiter offered avocado and tortillas with the mollejas, saying this is the Mexican style. I gather this dish was prepared in a Mexican style, not an Argentine style. Main course: my wife's filet - five stars, my aged rib eye - two stars. Richard pitched both of these dishes to us, explaining their kitchen makes their demi-glace from scratch. The filet was excellent, served on a bed of mashed potatoes, with crispy fried onions on top and the demi-glace around it. My rib eye was gristle-y, not as tender as I expected, and the sauce, which was supposed to be the same demi-glace, was watered down. The mushrooms and asparagus I ordered for my steak were good. Dessert: the chocolate cake - three stars. The cake was good, not superb. This was supposed to be the crowning moment of the evening, when they were to serve their signature chocolate cake with a lit candle. When Richard asked about dessert, I realized the full extent of the screw-up on our lost reservation. I took him aside, and explained the arrangements, including the bottle of champagne. He recovered nicely, and brought the cake as well as the champagne. All in all, I would say our waiter was excellent, as was our wine selection, and our food was inconsistent. The atmosphere is terrific. read more

Loved eating at the bar, especially with my free Yelp check-in martini (cucumber recommended by another Yelper was perfect). I enjoyed the flakey, fresh empanadas; the Carne was STUFFED full of ground beef and the bartender recommended the spinach, which was larger and scrumptious. I also ordered the Palta Salad which had a little too much dressing for my taste, but probably normal for others. The combination of Hearts of Palm & apples was divine. The atmosphere was quiet and romantic, but I felt perfectly comfortable dining alone in the bar. read more

Garufa - Palta Salad, generous bread basket with toppings, perfect Cucumber Martini (free with Yelp check-in) - Argentine Near Me - El Paso, Texas

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This restaurant is known for their quality steaks. Don't go to this place expecting the best burger or shrimp pasta--get the steaks!! They are simply fabulous. Any chance my husband gets we go here. Expect to pay $$$, but it's worth it, especially for a special occasion. This is typical for an upscale restaurant that you don't get sides with your meal but have to order them. The empanadas are wonderful, especially the manchego cheese!! It has a very modern ambiance which is rare in el paso. Some el pasoians may not be exposed to places like this but this is typical for an upscale restaurant. Don't go here for anything BUT the steaks!!! My opinion--much better than cattleman!! read more

The atmosphere is great! The restaurant is beautiful and the live music is a nice touch. The service was very good, and our server was attentive and helpful. So why only three stars? The food was just okay. I had to send my mashed potatoes back because they were cold. When they came back warm, they were flavorful, but not whipped and creamy. They were more the consistency of grits, which I found odd. The sautéed vegetables tasted too heavily of rosemary. The tenderloin beef I had was somewhat tough but cooked decently enough. My husband's ribeye that he ordered medium was slightly bloody. My biggest gripe is that Garufa is selling Choice beef at Prime beef prices. I don't mind spending money at that price point for a delicious, buttery Prime beef steak, but you could tell that this beef was not that. Bottom line: I think this place would be lovely for cocktails or wine and nibbling on their empanadas, which were very tasty. But I would skip the steaks. read more

I had a couple of issues with this place. First, after having reservations we requested to be seated upstairs. They could not accomodate this request because upstairs (a loft style floor plan) was reserved for "private reservations" only. We were not informed at the time of making reservations that if you wanted to sit upstairs you would have to request a "private reseration." It didn't at all seem private, the only difference was that the tables were upstairs. I was confused but I shrugged it off and we were seated. Moving on to the food-- The Tuna carpaccio came out room temp and was not very good. I ordered the "special," rack of lamb, which was bland and had a tasteless sauce. Also had the spinach and manchego empanadas and the beef empanadas (both so-so). Overall I was not impressed and the food was extremely over priced. One star for attentive service. read more

The empanadas were really good, service was excellent. We had the vacio (flank steak), and it was great!!! (But this place is a little too pricey for empanadas and flank steak!!) read more

I believe this is my first five star rating for an El Paso restaurant. Although I enjoyed the Garufa in Juarez a little more, I think they have crossed the border into El Paso rather well: service is excellent (very Juarez-like), and the steaks are fantastic. The atmosphere is fun. A lot of people fit into this small space, with both a downstairs and upstairs. The main floor has a lot of tables crammed into the space, and the bar up against one side. It is lively and just feels like a great place to be. Good cocktails, ample wine list. I don't know of any other place in El Paso that serves grilled sweetbreads (not Pan Dulce), so they get my vote on that. My son's comment the other day: this is the best steak I've ever had. We both had Filete Pibe (small filet mignon). Also the hearts of palm and avocado salad (Palta salad) was very good. One note: they don't seem to have enough chairs, so watching the waiters hustle chairs around to suit the number of diners is pretty entertaining. Reservations are a must. This place is hot right now and the novelty does not appear to be wearing off. read more

We waited 15 minutes in the lobby before being acknowledged, after that our server was pretty rude to us.

Oh those empanadas! Enough said. They were fresh, tasty and of great size. Service was very good and the venue overall looks fantastic. Definitively returning. read more

Was here this week on business - I have to say, the decor is amazing. VERY nicely done and the dining room is set beautifully. The waitstaff were generally attentive, but not WOW - I think it's because there was a table of 8 or 9 that got all the attention. The drinks were good - I had a green apple martini that was pretty nice. Then - the meal.... I ordered the aged ribeye medium with sauteed vegetables. Ummm - if that was aged, I'm a toddler. And the veggies were bleh. I have had MUCH better at Longhorn Steakhouse or Outback. I won't be returning when I am back in El Paso on business. I'll stick with Landry's. read more

Brought my gf now fiancé here for date night. Highly recommend for a special night out. I had the rack of lamb and it was tender and cooked to perfection. If your looking for something different and on the fancier end, I suggest this restaurant. Great ambiance and our server was very attentive too read more

Have come here many times in the past. Tonight, we came off my recommendation for a friends businesses meeting and by far, the worst; terrible experience. Thanks for embarrassing me in front of my family Garufa read more

This is hands down the best place on the West Side of El Paso to get a great steak! I would be lying to say anything negative about my experience at this fine dining restaurant. Service was excellent! I was left feeling as if I was on a cruise and the staff was there to accommodate my every wish. If you like steak, you must try the 28 day old aged ribeye. My only regret, I was unable to try everything on the menu. I will be back so there is a chance for me to still try it all! Lastly, this is a great date place. The atmosphere is romantic which includes live music (at the perfect level of loudness so conversation is still enjoyable), the décor it beautiful, food truly exceeds expectations, and the wine list goes on for days! I hope you have a great experience as we have had! read more

Great ambience, attentive waiters/waitresses, excellent food. Steak was cooke perfectly and my wife loved the salmon. read more

Garufa - Ribeye - Argentine Near Me - El Paso, Texas

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I went here for lunch with a client. Their lunch special is a soup/salad, entree, and dessert for under $20. I had their chicken soup, skirt steak, and flan. Each had great taste. If you're on the fence about going here for an expensive dinner, check it out for lunch. It's a great place for a date. read more

Wonderful restaurant! The service was great. I was disappointed with how the meat was cooked. We all asked for it to be medium rare. Al of our meat dishes came out rare, quite rare. We thought it may have been due to 6 being in our party. I haven't returned though my husband has more times for business dinner meetings. He realized one has to order the meat one level higher than what you prefer. This is good to know when eating here. read more

A little pricey but perfect for a special occasion or date night. Took my daughter here for her bday & it was a nice experience. Food and service was really good! Will definitely come back. read more