caraffa restaurant

very well priced for the wonderful atmosphere, authentic italian hostess and delicious menu. best 4 cheese gnocchi in pretoria. one of pretoria's best kept secrets.

caraffa is simply the best restaurant. the atmosphere is incredible. all of the staff are so friendly and attentive. the ambience from the live piano is very romantic. the food and dessert were delicious. melt in your mouth type.

my husband and i were blown away and we cannot wait until we can visit again.

incredible service, delicious food and very generous portion size. this beautiful restaurant is worth every visit. it is very popular so make sure that you book. the rib eye was amazing, but the meatball pasta was even better.

absolutely yum.

old world charm meets you inside this italian stalwart. excellent attentive service and food is always good. do try the t bone steak 🥩 prepared in the wood burning pizza 🍕 oven with garlic and olive oil 🤗😋

my favorite italian restaurant in pretoria! lovely atmosphere, even better food and personel that want you to have an enjoyable evening. really is a hiddem gem.

the starter chicken livers are overcooked and cold with not a peri peri taste. main course the t-bone cooked in the pizza oven - the garlic burnt and raw. tarimisu in a glass what italian restaurant is this serving a tarimisu like a drink in a glass. the worst italian restaurant i ever been to.

we had an early booking on a saturday as the restaurant was fully booked the rest of the night. for drinks we ordered a prosecco as an aperitif, unfortunately we could only order this as a small bottle, not a glass.
shared a carpacio, taste was nice, but it was a bit cold and ‘watery’ because of the dressing.
as main we enjoyed the saltimbocca and the salmon champagne. both were very nice. as desert we had the home made creme brûlée and the pear with mascarpone. great choice.
the patron is quite present and dominant, which can sometimes be a bit annoying.

i attended a celebratory dinner at caraffa, and i have some mixed feelings about it.

firstly, the positives: the extensive wine list and knowledgeable staff. there seems to be quite a few meals of the day which is always nice to see. i had a starting dish with absolutely delicious clams with a chili, wine and tomato sauce. the carpaccio was also quite good, with delicious and fresh meat. the desserts are also lovely - both the pana cotta and the crème brûlée were of a perfect consistency. a live pianist performed which helped lift the ambience.

there were, however, quite a few cons. the restaurant feels dingy and out of date. there seem to be too few servers for the amount of tables, slowing down service considerably. the main course i had was a total let-down. the ravioli had an extraordinarily bland meat filling that was vastly under-seasoned, and had a badly balanced cream and parmesan sauce. there was nothing to break the cloying creaminess, leaving me feeling rather nauseous afterwards. luckily, the kingklip my boyfriend ordered was better.

the dinginess of the atmosphere and the main i had at caraffa left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. the positive aspects of the establishment redeem it somewhat, but for the price asked, i doubt i will be hurrying back.

although the vegetarian selection of pasta is limited, what we had was well made, fresh and delicious. we had the spinach and ricotta panzerotti - mel had the butter and sage sauce and i had the arabiatta sauce with it. both absolutely yummy. pasta and filling were fresh and the portions were generous (but i still cleaned my plate). as for the atmosphere... we didn't have a reservation but we were seated immediately despite it being a busy saturday night. the management and staff are attentive and friendly and the environment is warm and cosy. just sitting and listening to the buzzing chatter of all the patrons i get a sense of pure happiness. the perfect roundup for our meal was dessert. mel's chocolate mousse was 'silky, smooth, delicious' (her words). i had the night's special - poached pear and mascarpone cheese... what a beautiful dish especially on this rainy evening. cinnamon toned and soft poached pear and gorgeously smooth mascarpone... i had to send compliments to the chef! and josh was just lovely- making sure we were well attended... i definitely recommend!

my father has been going to this restaurant for the past 40 years - it has definitely stood the test of time! classic italian food with pleasant ambiance. service is very friendly and the owners are always around. i recommend the clams and stuffed mushrooms as antipasti. for main course i reccomend the pizza (always great), pasta (ravioli is divine), veal and steaks - the side veg however disappoints. desserts are alright. currently serving divine poached pairs + marscapone which is not on the menu but definitely worth asking for.

well prepared tasty food. mussel starter, creamy and pizza oven baked, both delicious. steaks great, almond sole perfectly cooked, rack of lamb was great. pizza base very thin and crispy. staff attentive and friendly. lively atmosphere, great for families with older children

i didn't take many photos, simply because of the low mood lighting. not that there's anything wrong with romantic mood lighting at all! because that is exactly what i will recommend caraffa for, a chilled night out. no cellphones needed.

a lovely, traditional italian restaurant has got a certain old school charm. the service is excellent, from the moment we walked in, until we left. really exceptional. a fantastic wine list, and impressive menu with all the dishes you would expect - pizza, pasta, veal, italian kisses.

we ordered fresh oysters as a starter - divine! i had the gnocchi 4 formaggi. so rich and decadent - in stark contrast with another italian restaurant we visited a couple of weeks ago.

we will definitely be back!

absolutely love the food at caraffa. from the melanzane to the créme brûlée and everything in between pure deliciousness. i'm a huge fan of the salmone pasta and also enjoy the saltimbocca. the food is consistently great and the quality also brilliant. worth every penny. the owners are always around and you can see they are hands on as it shows in they're success. highly recommendable. definitely phone ahead to book a table as it seems everyone wants to experience real italian flavors right here in pretoria. enjoy!

wanted to treat friends to a great evening at a trusted favorite i would normally have no hesitation to recommend.

first time for my friends. celebrating our children attending matric farewell as a special milestone for all of us.

thought it was just a slight mishap when the starter focaccia bread of my guest did not arrive when the rest of us received our entrees, but it was confirmed that we were in for a difficult evening when both of our main's, two t-bone pizza oven prepared steaks, had to be returned. owner took order, but griller either did not get the message or just got it wrong. medium to rare ordered steaks arrived well done.

incredulously, exactly the same steaks were returned to us, but this time, very well done. somehow, waiter though we were complaining that it was too "bloody" when there was no pink juice to start off with when we received it the first time? never checked the order with the owner.

ok, so by the time that our wives had finished their mains, we received the replacement steaks. first cut we saw the nice pink juices and eagerly tried to tuck in, famished at this time.

owner arrived and tried to educate us as to how the "normal order" of "medium to rare" should rather have been "rare" as we (?) had to allow for cooking time from the pizza oven to the table??? forgetting for a moment that the steak arrived well done in the first place. he also indicated that he forgot to tell us when we ordered with him, that the pizza oven was quite hot and cooks the steak faster than normal and could therefore influence the order...

sadly, after he left, i could probably get two more bites out of the rest of a sizable tbone... the rest of the steak consisted largely out of sinew and fat. my friend did not fare any better with his replacement steak.

said so to the waiter when he collected the plates. next thing the owner plonks a bottle of liqueur on the table with 4 glasses and while pouring, says: "sometimes you have a bad meal and just have to drink something to feel better"

had to ask twice for him to please not pour me a drink (as i do not drink alcohol for medical reasons). not saying anything or apologizing for a ruined evening, he walked away with his liqueur, never to be seen again.

when the bill arrives, low and behold it contains a full charge for the two steaks. no discount on our bill and no apology.

friends will never go there again. we will also be very hesitant to do so. so disappointing as this has always been a high quality and value for money, although pricey, italian restaurant in pretoria.

i understand that you sometimes get a bad batch of meat from the supplier or the staff get orders wrong etc. it is always the way that the issues are dealt with that either brings you back and continue recommendations. or the way is just so disappointing and detracting that you have no other option than to accept that the owner does not "own" problems anymore but regard clients as replaceable and dispensable.

good service, stats says we tell 6 people, bad service, we tell 13. good luck on working those odds with your attitude and the current economic climate.

eventually tried this landmark last night and i was really impressed! had the osso bucco on the daily specials menu, delicious! asked for polenta as a side and it lacked flavour and the consistency was not creamy at all. they swapped it for me for gnocchi and it was delicious! service is great and ambience top notch! very inviting atmosphere, feels like you are having dinner at someone's house, lemoncello also great way to finish the night!