Villa Barranco — Restaurant in Gauteng

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Villa Barranco in the heart of the Waterkloof, and I simply cannot sing its praises enough! From the moment we walked through the door, I was struck by the warm and inviting atmosphere, which was only enhanced by the lovely fairy garden located in the back.

The garden was absolutely enchanting, with twinkling lights and a babbling fountain that added to the peaceful ambiance. It was such a delightful surprise to find such a beautiful oasis in the middle of Pretoria!

And let's talk about the food - it was out of this world! The standout for me was the millionaire's cheesecake - it was hands down the best cheesecake I have ever tasted, see attached picture. The crust was perfectly and the filling was incredibly rich and creamy, with just the right amount of sweetness. We also tried some of the other menu items, and everything was prepared to absolute perfection.

But what really made the dining experience truly exceptional was the incredible service. The staff was attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable, and they went out of their way to ensure that every detail was taken care of. From the moment we sat down to the moment we left.

Overall, I cannot recommend this restaurant highly enough. From the beautiful fairy garden to the amazing food and exceptional service, it truly exceeded all of my expectations. If you're looking for a special dining experience in the Pretoria, look no further - this place has it all!

Ps the coffee...

We had a few pleasant experiences when the restaurant was still called Betty the Butcher, but have officially given up after our third not so great experience!

For some reason we always seem to get the ‘new’ waiter. They don’t know the menu at all, struggles between trying to capture our order on a phone and writing it down, and leans over very inappropriately to read from the menu what we want as she had no idea what the “200g fillet” was. There is no sense of personal space and this happened with a different waiter before too! To the extend that you have to lean to the side as she reads from the menu in front of you. This evening she had no concept of what sides come with the mains and wanted to leave before my partner even ordered. I had to tell her a number of times how we wanted our steaks and she came back twice to confirm.

Our steaks arrived cold although the sides were warm. We decided not to have desert.

We called ahead and they prepared a table close to the bar which was a nice gesture. However, the bar was full of dirty glasses and stock that they still need to pack away. The waiters could’ve spend less time on their phones and tidy up the bar if they plan on seating customers next to it.

One can forgive one or two small things, but it just seems to be a constant unpleasant experience. Which is surprising as there is another restaurant...

My mother and I came here during restaurant week. To start with the good, the atmosphere and venue are nice, and it has a good look and feel. However, I found the starter and main course to be adequate but not exceptional, and unfortunately we were very disappointed in the dessert. It was advertised as rose water sorbet with a brandy snap, but they told us they didn't have babylonstoren and would substitute that aspect. They then served us an unexceptional granadilla sorbet (not sure what happened to the rose) and a shot of lemon infused Smirnoff in which the lemon had not been infusing for long enough. This was not communicated beforehand at all, or we would have opted to have only two courses. The creme brûlée was tasty enough but had split into two layers. The waitress was friendly but very poorly trained. She could not pronounce correctly a number of items on the menu and was not able to explain at all what the shot was. It was really disappointing. I also asked them to put bread on the side of my starter as I am gluten intolerant. They left the bread soaking in the sauce of the dish, and the waitress was not at all apologetic and did nothing to resolve the issue.

I then wanted to soothe the issue a bit and buy some plaasbotter and other items from the deli at the front but none of the items were in stock.

Unfortunately, I don't think I...