the il ritrovo lounge and bar - the michelangelo hotel

we attended a high tea here. there was alot of desserts on offer. alot of the desserts was not freshly made on the day as we went on the sunday and was probably from the friday.

there is a wide selection of teas for you to choose from. it comes across as quite a formal venue. the tables were round and not suited to a large group. the high tea had alot on offer but nothing stood out.

can't believe this place is supposed to be a restaurant/lounge in a 5 star hotel. walked in and at least 3 waitrons were chatting and none of them bothered to seat us so we seated ourselves. waiter place our menus on the table and disappeared. we had to get up to ask a waiter to serve us. ordered some coffees and spicy chicken mayo sandwiches. waited 20 mins for the sandwiches to arrive and when it arrived the chips were cold and stale and the sandwich barely toasted. asked the waiter to give us fresh chips and he was not impressed by this and decided to check that it was actually cold. no apology was offered. chips arrived after we finished our sandwich with no plates just the chips in a copper saucepan. had to call a waiter again to bring plates. the waiter had such an attitude when we asked if the chips should at least be served with plates to eat from. what an absolute disaster.

just finished a quick bite at the il ritrovo at the michaelangelo, and what a disappointment it was. after eventually asking for a table, it took another 10 mins to get any service from the staff, to the extent where i had to get up and ask someone if we could place our orders. we ordered the spicy chicken mayo sandwiches and cappuccinos. after about 20 mins the sandwiches arrived, the chips were cold and when asked to be sent back the waiter even checked to see if they were infact cold, which is quite insulting. the sandwich is probably the worst tcm i've ever had, with the toasted leaning more to the side of just bread. for an establishment in a 5 star hotel their staff have alot to learn. i'm not sure if its cause they are working the graveyard shift but i expect the service and quality of food to be consistent, no matter what time it is.

nice place to come with friends for a coffee and some desserts or cakes. nice ambiance with the piano in the background. creme brule is always great experience and always super fresh and tasty. great place to to have chats. not a place to come for a meal but rather to socialize.

in the midst of sandton's booming and buzzing, il ritrovo lounge offers a serene, calm, and relaxing environment. the ambience is amazing, live piano, and what i consider to be one of the best cigar/smokers lounge in johannesburg.

my favorite meal by far at this place is the chicken curry.. their presentation is amazing, especially with the créme brulé.. and the staff is very helpful. an added bonus is that you are allowed to order from the piccolo mondo which offers a completely different gourmet meals menu.

an afternoon of tea and baking at the ritrovo lounge , by far the most tastiest carrot cake ever !!! , well priced good service and an amazing experience.

enjoyed a fantastic lindt chocolate high tea here on sunday, as part of a fund raising event that i was attending. as always the service and food were en pointe, as is to be expected of a hotel of this calibre, and i have always loved the old world charm and decor that the michelangelo exudes. 

the savoury  selection included sushi, and delicious samoosa's as well as the smoked salmon vol-au-vents which were a hit. on the sweet side i battled to choose between cupcakes, big cakes and delicious macarons, amongst others.

this is certainly a super sunday afternoon spoil for a special occasion.

very pretty and posh, great place for a meeting and a coffee, didn't try any of the cakes but they all look delish! definitely a great lounge to visit

a bunch of our ladies decided on having the lindt high tea. the setting is lovely with light piano music and the selection of treats both savoury and sweet do satisfy. however the lack of service once you enter from being seated to service of tea and coffee makes me drop a couple of points. for a high tea there is no champagne by the glass option nor a proper tea menu listing the selection of teas. the buffet does however have constant attendees going through the selection of treats. it was overall a nice experience.

this is the regal tuscan inspired lobby lounge and bar of the iconic michelangelo hotel in sandton. expect to find a decent selection of bar tapas and other international contemporary meals on the menu.

the ambience is quiet and sophisticated, with suitably efficient and somewhat reserved service, as is the case at many upmarket hotels.

the lounge is open till late - i suggest coming here for a night cap or if you need somewhere quiet in sandton city for a meeting this is a good spot.

i brought my mom for the high tea at the il ritrovo to celebrate her birthday. although the setting is beautiful, the savoury selection of the buffet leaves much to be desired and is in fact a little bit disappointing. the sweet selection, together with the friendly service is their only saving grace. with a cost of r225 per head, il ritrovo should definitely look at redoing their buffet, or otherwise consider reintroducing the classic three-tiered concept and charging a little bit more.

i have been back time and again to this relaxing place, for their creme brûlée! the presentation of it is special. i love this place, their quality of it has not changed over the years! their herbal teas are great to go with the desserts. i've also been for high tea, lovely couch was reserved for us and we had a great afternoon. there was plenty of options, even for my vegetarian friends, the chef even assisted in explaining what some of the dishes contains. if u want a relaxed time to catch up with a friend, this is definitely the place to be!!

i went to il ritrovo with a friend after a morning of pampering, and it was a great way to end the day. the dining room is quite large, and tables are well-spaced. it’s quite busy and seems best to make a booking. while we were there they started setting out the treats for high tea, and my friend and i decided we would definitely need to return for that.

we shared a margarita pizza, which was served under a dome and was really good, with a crispy base and lots of melted cheese and fresh rosa tomatoes. i had ordered the lemon meringue milkshake, which was supposed to be served with a meringue – only the milkshake was delivered; no meringue. it was incredibly delicious though – not too sweet or sour, but undeniably lemony.

the main reason for us trying out this restaurant was their signature berry crème brulee my friend read about. what a spectacular dish! served on dry ice it’s surrounded in a cloud of mystery. it’s a decent-sized serving with layers of mixed berries, creamy custard, and crunchy caramalised sugar.
the service was a little slow, but friendly.

michelangelo hotel - 5 stars? no way.

i heard about their milkshakes and when i looked at the milkshake menu, it sounded delicious! i met my husband in the lounge area today and we both ordered cappuccino's. gosh, the presentation was great! each one got a little sugar stick and a biscotti. really good!

i decided to order the gingerbread milkshake served with a ginger snap. i got the milkshake, without any kind of ginger snap (which is just a ginger cookie) at all. i showed the waiter the menu and asked - where's the ginger snap? the waiter couldn't even pronounce the words 'ginger snap'. he went somewhere and came back with 2 meringue cookies on a plate. this is it, he said. i said 'no, it definitely is not. take my milkshake away.'

i asked to speak to the manager. this guy didn't know what i was talking about; at all! he then showed me the bottle of ginger cordial and said 'this is the ginger snap'. no my dear manager, it most certainly is not!

then he wanted to give me a free piece of cake - why? just fix the problem!

if your menu says 'gingerbread milkshake served with a ginger snap' - that's what i want! nothing less!!!!!

great atmosphere, spaced out tables and chairs, soothing music playing in the background, and a view overlooking nelson mandela square!!!

although the place was full, the noise level was not overbearing, and once could still have a decent conversation without having to scream.

the menu wasn't extensive, it is a lounge after all. i ordered grilled fillet, served with potato fries and jus and my husband had their grilled lamb chops served with shoestring fries and for the little one we ordered linguine bolognese.

the bolognese has a hint of fennel that was pleasantly surprising however i found it to be a bit too dry, there'd wasn't much sauce.

my husband loved his lamb chops. the grilled fillet was a hit! each component of my grilled fillet complemented each other and together it tasted heavenly.

for desert we had creme brûlee that came as a spectacle! it was served over a bowl of smoking dry-ice melting in water. though served hot, the dry-ice slowly chills it, as well as the blueberry couli it is served with!!!