lucky rodrigo

when lucky rodrigo first opened i couldn't wait to get there. my first experience was great. good food at a reasonable price, great atmosphere and friendly staff. unfortunately that has all changed. theservicefrom the waiters is unbearably slow. the manager isn't very helpful and can be rude at times. the atmosphere is still great though. my suggestion would be to ignore the fact that they have a kitchen and think of lucky rodrigo as a bar because then you'll have a great time.

came across this cafe scrolling the zomato app, in fairness this was our second choice, not a fan of waiting in lines in restaurants. greeted by pleasant happy go lucky waiter - ironically his name is happy. the music and ambiance was relaxing and cozy. decided to indulge in the burger specials on this visit. my partner who's order was demanding needless to say came out perfect, still amazingservicehappy. chicken burger arrived for my partner which was just perfect in its size accompanied by a mountain of fries and a very pleasing creamy jalapeno dipping sauce. the burger in her words was yummy. i had the big hamburger with bacon and cheese which was juicy and crispy bacon is always a hit. all in all an enjoyable evening.

great little hidden gem in the heart of pretoria , very hip and happening scene , friendly and efficientserviceand lovely food options . i’d definitely recommend a drink and some lunch here .

after numerous visits and holding back on a proper review - probably waiting for a miracle - i have decided to cast my vote and admit that this is not my kind of watering hole.  the restaurant is always packed (which is probably a good thing), and the waiting staff are always running around with drinks in hand (which is probably a good thing)...but the student-nightlife-vibe is not something i want to run into when going out for drinks after work.  the eccentric plants outside and the buzz makes for a comfortable atmosphere, but the meals have been average, and even more so theservice- management is no-shows and everyone is squeezing past each other to get to the ill-maintained bathrooms.  let's leave it at a "student jol" and rate it for what it is.  great job at providing the students with an alternative to the far-gone days of hatfield square.

utterly disappointed with my experience at luckys. i called and booked a table for 13 people *3 days* in advance. specifically asked to be seated outside along the alley. was cheerfully told that was perfect and they'd see me friday 7pm. upon punctual arrival, we were first seated at a table apparently not for us only to find out my booking had not been successfully taken down on their side. they then decided to uproot us from the exact table i called so early to book for, and moved us into the back bar area. i specifically did not want that area because it was so loud we couldn't even hold a conversation. clearly we had no other options so all 13 of us then moved into the bar hoping the food andservicewould save the night. lol, what a joke that was. the food was cold when it arrived and theservicewas zero to none. i will never have a dinner with mates at luckys again. i am quite a regular at luckys and yes, i understand the vibe is chilled and laid back which is exactly why i wanted to go there for dinner, but the utter lack of professionalism and tentativeness was truly appalling. you can do better than this luckys. just because you have a pub and grill feel doesn't mean you need to have a pub and grill attitude. some attention to detail and attention towards giving your customer theservicethey're paying good money for is seriously lacking and seriously needed. from now on, i will be taking my business elsewhere.

my girlfriend and i have been coming to lucky rodrigo for the past two years, dutifully making the trek across the jukskei every time we get the urge. theserviceis fine, you don't get frustrated which is only ever a good thing when it comes to service. the interior decor is cool, very suburban grannies house. as the day begins to wind down, it generally turns into a "spot". 

the food is amazing, we've had every variant of their burgers and few of the smaller meals like the jalapeno and feta spring rolls (poppers!). the meat is particularly delectable, soft and tasty. their alcohol section is quite small, especially the beers but for a place that seems to pride itself on being unpretentious i suppose limited options are part of their mo. 

luv it!

an absolute gem withserviceto match. must admit i go very often and theservicei get is amazing. it can get very full and a newbie to this venue might not get the same service. this place has an interesting charm to it. menu is small but great. makes it easy to make a decision. if you want they go the extra mile and you can order from the menu next door which is fantastic. prices are very reasonable and value for money. drinks are also not overpriced and for me this is the best value for money venue in pretoria. it's down to earth and trendy. i'm basing my rating more on a pub like experience so please keep that in mind. if you looking for fine dining this is not the place.

we stopped off there for a sneaky drink... the place has charm and is good for a night on the town. theservicewas good and the food tasty but the place can be a lot more

flavoursome food, large portions and craft beer makes this a winning spot. theserviceleaves much to be desired but the staff are always friendly. i have been frequenting lucky's for a couple years and have admittedly ordered only a few things off the menu but they are just so damn good i can't move away!

after having moved to joburg i still crave a luckys veggie burger. lactase pills in hand my mom and i went for lunch and i had my craving more than satisfied. they also let you have half salad and half chips/onion rings and being super indecisive at the best of times this suits me well. seriously one of the best veggie burgers in terms of flavouring and size. my mom had the chicken, bacon and cheese sandwich and raved about it but could only finish half the portion.

always a fun spot where you can run into long lost friends and have a rowdy friday night.

we actually stopped by lucky rodrigo for a drink while we waited for another restaurant in the area to open for lunch.  was really pleasantly surprised!  a comfortable, laid back vibe, lovely decor, not too hecticly busy (lunch), the food and drinks are very affordable.  so we stayed a bit longer to share a 'starter'.... and then we stayed for lunch!  theservicewas a little slow, but we will definitely be back, thank you!

this is a bit of a hipster dive bar - has a bit of a dated and dirty feel and often theserviceleaves a lot to be desired but the vibe is great and the burgers are on point. give the vegetarian one a try - it will surprise you! i would recommend steering clear of the wings which tend to be overly salty. the food is well priced and generally pretty good. thankfully the fun vibe tends to make up for the shoddy service.

lucky rodrigo was spectacular. it is really for any sort of crowd and has such a lovely vibe. theservicewas good, the food was absolutely incredible, one of the best fillet steaks i've had. would definitely recommend lucky's for a great vibe and incredible food.

it's cool -serviceisn't always great but the food usually is great. i like the deck outside always has an awesome vibe. i'll always go back to lucky's

let me tell y'all something: lucky rodrigo is the truth! it's unpretentious & attracts like-minded folk who are just down for a good ol' (rowdy) time at their favorite pub. i was there on a saturday night and the actual roofed premise comprises a very small area and so it can get loud (but not congested). outside seating (on the deck) or along the corridor is perhaps preferable on warmer nights to avoid the noise inside. however, it's a pub, so this is expected. theservicewe received was non-intrusive but attentive. i could tell that our server was pretty busy but he'd regularly check on us, displaying a gracious and humble attitude. he twice went out of his way to assist with requests that we had and that made us feel welcome and valued. they have a wide selection of craft beers and local wines at super reasonable prices. their menu is short and sweet too, which helps some of us who tend to suffer from indecision. we ordered the lucky basket & i gotta say we did good! everything on that basket was phenomenal. the onion rings were firm and crisp (and they didn't use old oil to fry them) and the potato chips had been freshly cut too. just absolutely delicious. the chicken wings had been basted in a tasty zingy sauce with a heavy reliance on cumin. very unusual and different to the regular bbq or sweet/sour sauces they use for wings but oh so good!!! the jalapeño spring rolls??? oh. my. word! orgasmic! with the cheese forming long twirly strands as you bite into it and pull the roll away from your mouth. the cheese itself was super flavorful and at its best stage of maturity i should gather. make sure to dip the rolls in the accompanying sweet & sour sauce. it too is yummmmmy!!!! i don't know whether it's the bottle kind or not, but either way it was to die for. the haloumi sticks were also enjoyable except that they may have been fried a tad too long as they were a little chewy. overall, i can't take away anything from this place. it's fantastic for what it is. they do have various heating devices for the outside seating too so don't feel you can't go there on a winter night. keep it up lucky rodrigo!

when lucky rodrigo's opened i think most pretorians felt quite lucky as we so desperately needed restaurants serving decent food and that had a bit of character.

i love the innovative use of space and what use to be a dingy old corridor on the side of the building is now the most sought after spot in the restaurant.

i can recommend the burgers, obviously, and the dirty rodrigo footlong is also a hit. i was obsessed with their onion rings and to wash it all down with a craft beer from their wide selection was true heaven. unfortunately as of late the quality has appeared to have gone slightly backwards the onion rings aren't what they used to be and even the crowd that is being pulled makes it feel like a common old bar after 8:30 on a weekend.servicenaturally takes a back seat with over crowding.

not being in its infant stages anymore i'm sure this is something that will solve itself out over time i just fear that the success measured in turn over by all the booze sold might kill what my taste buds enjoyed in the first place.

give them a try but leave before it turns into a pub and let me know what you think. are we slowly running out of "luck" or am i just growing too old.

my rating is purely based on disappointment because i knew a time when they were a 4+