priva lounge

first time atprivalounge. we were triggered by restaurant week and we decided to try out the restaurant. it did not disappoint us. nice atmosphere and very friendly staff. restaurant week menu was very nice. we had the sirloin and the stuffed squid, very well prepared. only negative was that we had to wait 45 minutes for our main course after we finished our appetizers.

i had my birthday dinner atprivalounge. we were in the private room. all my guests and i loved it. the food is superb, beautifully served. the service was excellent. the atmosphere is amazing. this is a rare gem in pretoria. do yourself a favour and book yourself the private room atprivalounge❤

priva tops the list of best date night restaurants with its understated classy charm, incredible food and expert wine pairings.

we loved the crab cakes, the sirloin and the creme brulee but the stand out dish was the chocolate fondant with the dulce centre.

the calamari wasn't quite to our taste - with the cream overpowering many of the other flavours. the dish was saved by an unusual wine pairing that helped cut through the heaviness.

overall, we loved our time atprivaand would recommend it for special occasions.

on a recommendation from a friend, i booked this restaurant for my father's 65th birthday and could not have been more impressed!  

the afternoon started with marko jovančić, co-owner of priva, mixing delicious cocktails for us at our table:
for me, pear-blossom martini. this unique signature cocktail is made using lanique russian rose infused vodka, triple sec, lemon, pear and cranberry juice. 
for my father, single millionaire - priva's signature cocktail: singleton 12yr, talisker 10yr, grand marnier and raspberry syrup. 

as we sat sipping our cocktails overlooking the breathtaking views of waterkloof heights, i found it hard to imagine that we were in fact sitting in the middle of pretoria.

onto the food (and between us, we had an absolute feast..)
5/5.

starters:
prawns kataifi: prawns wrapped in kataifi pastry, homemade tequila chilli mayonnaise, and candied coriander. this was my father's favourite dish of the day! 
duck salad: rocket, pickled golden beets, toasted sesame seeds, grilled plums and honey soya glaze. 
salmon tartare: citrus earl grey spheres, red onion, green apples, capers, lemon juice, wasabi cream, spicy guacamole and dill foam.
oysters three ways with chopped pickled ginger and soya sauce, white chocolate and black caviar and last but not least fresh spring onion.

mains:
lamb shoulder rolled with red onion, thyme, garlic and wild mushroom risotto with rainbow carrots. the wild mushroom risotto absolutely made this dish! 
priva's signature and a must for pork lovers: pork belly, honey soya glaze, pumpkin tart, corn salsa, butternut puree served with homemade crackling. 
beef fillet: sauteed shitaki mushrroms, creamy soya sauce, toasted pine nuts, baby garlic hasselback potatoes and tenderstem broccoli. 

interiors: 
5/5. 
dark wood, leather and some impressive roy lichtenstein artworks make your walk around the building, a must! 

service: 
5/5. 
excellent! i was impressed to see that even chef cayla took the time pop out of the kitchen briefly to chat to the birthday boy, explain her inspiration behind menu and make some knowledgable recommendations to him for his meal choices on his special day. really an inspiring personal touch that i know that he will not forget. theprivateam made my father feel like an absolute king on his special day, and the overall feeling when we left was when could we possibly return.

*recommendation:privalounge is a versatile venue catering for everything from a stylish dinner with live music to simply enjoying some fresh oysters and champagne with spectacular waterkloof views.privais, however, definitely aimed at a more sophisticated crowd so dress to impress!

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incredible atmosphere, incredible food, incredible service. wish i could rate this restaurant a 6 out of 5. definitely a must to go to. would recommendprivato anyone. thank you

such a beautiful place. lovely atmosphere, love love love the setting and the live band sealed the deal.😍however i still feelprivaneeds to hire more staff as it is the festive season and more people will be coming more often. we had to keep on calling our waitress to assist us, which is bad for business. you can't assign 1 person to serve more than 5 tables. such a sophisticated place for such delays...that's a no no!!

i will be coming back again soon. hoping to have more f u n😀
#classy👌🏾
#cigarlounge
#beautifulatmosphere
#thefood😍

my love for jazz lured me toprivalounge. unfortunately, we didn't eat and only had cocktails whilst listening to amazing live music. they also have a well-stocked cuban cigar lounge which is pretty cool, interesting and also quite rare in pta. would love love to go back for dinner and more jazz.

i was fortunate enough to experience the best whisky and cigar evening atprivawith my groomsmen. the atmosphere was amazing! thank youprivafor providing me with a night i will never forget... you guys rock!

my girlfriend and i are serious foodies and have a tendency to visit between 4 to 5 restaurants a week.... bad habit. we know. however the point i am trying to make is that we know food very well, and have had the pleasure of visiting many amazing restaurants.

we were surprised that we hadn't heard ofprivalounge before. we opted for the tasting menu and wine pairing. the portions were large, the food was tasty and well presented. the wines paired well. the atmosphere was vibey with live music. we loved our experience there and will be back again. thank you to the people atprivalounge.

brilliant evening atprivalounge!
recently dined atprivawith a friend who is strictly vegan. i called in earlier in the day and the manager told me that they would prepare something suitable. i was stunned with the result of the meal that was created for our visit. a great deal of thought and care seemed to have gone into preparing a 3 course vegan meal. we were seriously impressed to say the least. the starter was exceptionally tasty and presentable and the same goes for the main course which was such an interesting and inventive mix of ingredients. the best was a delicately prepared dessert of chocolate mousse with no dairy ingredients. i was baffled by the depth of taste in this dish. had no idea that vegan food could be so interesting and tasty. utterly impressed with this experience and the pampering received by the staff! dining gem in out capital city!

i've been wanting to go toprivafor ages now and i finally got my chance. the atmosphere is amazing. we were welcomed and seated and received wonderful service from blessing our waitress! the food was amazing and served on nice hot plates! i would recommendprivato anyone looking for a place for a special night out!

if your preference is fine cuisine with a somalier to pair your poison with multiple courses, thenprivais the place to be. their menu is selectively focussed on giving you decadence on each plate. the setting offers a skydeck with a view that is pleasant on the eye. be prepared to pay a tad more to experience gastric pleasures and the sky is the limit. set in the heart of waterkloof,privais a must. i like!!!!!!!

fortunately, i entertain clients fairly frequently, and from time to time find a hidden gem.privagastrolounge is certainly one. a client, my wife and i dined atprivalast night after being recommended by my client. we arrived on time, were quickly seated and offered drinks. we ordered a bottle of sparkling water, and a  bottle of wine from their extensive wine list. after our drinks arrived, the manager ran us through the menu, explaining that you can order smaller portions of essentially the main meals as starters or mains, or a combination of both. i love this idea, as so often i am torn between deciding what to eat and often end up with "order envy". we all chose to sample several small mains. the manager was extremely helpful in assisting us on the order of service and believe he was spot on. between us we tried:scallops: superbly cooked and very well presentedcauliflower: puree accompanied with lightly battered and deep fried cauliflower. you just have to try this as it was sublimecured salmon: overall, it was good, without being brilliantfoie gras: outstanding. perfectly cooked and a generous portionfillet: beef fillet with a soya cream. quite honestly the finest tasting fillet of beef i have ever had. it's worth going here just for this. i actually considered ordering another portion for dessert.chocolate sphere pudding: very good indeedcheese cake: a deconstructed cheese cake accompanied by rooibos caviar, and different jellies. again, this was sublime.if i have 1 complaint, and afraid its too common in south african restaurants. imported bottled water. why on earth would anybody support foreign sourced water, pay for it to be collected, then put on a ship, then put on a truck and then finally delivered to a restaurant here in south africa. not only does it increase global warming, but we have to payr50 for 750ml. common, support local bottled water producers!!now that that's off my chest, a final word about priva, the setting is great and they have live jazz from wednesday to sunday. i will most certainly be going back!!