Review Casa Polana - Randburg

It's the best food 🍲. Awesome atmosphere. Love this restaurant. Thank you.

Amazing food, amazing fun

Just back from dinner at Casa Polana. Really impressed with the great value and variety. We ordered a range of things from salad to squid heads, trinchado, prawn rissoles, mussels and espetada. Every dish was fresh, delicious and clearly prepared with care. Home baked rolls were a nice touch. Our waiter, Mendes, deserves special mention for his really great service.

So much potential as northridin is crying for a good old fashioned porra restaurant <br/>When we first went there the place was quite good, in fact if I had Zomato back then I would have given it a 4 but recently average service, average food make it's not a place I will choose to take mates or my wife<br/>A lot of better porra restaurants within 10min drive of the area <br/>Huge pity as this place could be a regular

This Mozambican-Portuguese restaurant is overall slightly below average. The restaurant isn't very inviting, perhaps this is due to its location - it's right at the end of the shopping center. I'm not quite sure what kind of ambiance the space is trying to create, with flags hanging on the wall and a mismatch of green and red table cloths. The food was decent. I had a rib and prawn combo, which wasn't on the menue but our waiter obliged. Unfortunately the waiter was not very good at remembering our order and mixed up our side orders. The manager was very gracious and corrected it at no extra charge. Friendly service, overall. I also received a complimentary chocolate mousse for my birthday, which was a nice bonus! Great tasting sangria!

Not that bad ... <br/>service ok<br/>food ok<br/>ah if nothing else polana will be here... 2nd choice to an over all pora restaurant. <br/>waiter was nice ...<br/><br/>

One of the worst food experiences thus far back home. Started off with us having to wait nearly 30 mins to be seated. Were shown to were we can order drinks and different waiters kept taking our drinks but no drinks seem to arrive until we were actually seated.<br/><br/>Then out of the blue one the waiters and cooks had a full on physical fight in view of everyone. That happened to be our waiter which meant another 20 minutes before anyone noticed we were going unserved. <br/><br/>This was all followed by burning bread which clouded the restaurant. <br/><br/>Bottom line I don't see myself going back there.<br/><br/>The chorizo and sangria where the best parts of the evening.

My husband and I have been to Casa Polana on multiple occasions and loved every single bite of food and sip of sangria :)<br/><br/>Everything is so reasonably priced too -  we are able to order multiple dishes, so we can taste more in one night.<br/><br/>The music suits the atmosphere perfectly and the service is unsurpassed.<br/><br/>I would just prefer a slightly more exciting dessert menu, as i LOVE dessert and is what i look forward to most when going out, but this is so minor and doesn't detract from the overall, WONDERFUL experience :)

What was supposed to be a quick lunch turned out to be a foodie affair. Casa Polana is a lovely restaurant tucked away in a corner of the shopping centre that serves authentic Portuguese food. <br/>Their inspiration comes from Mozambique hence the name and it is unfortunate that one can only eat so much. <br/><br/>I had their lunch special of half chicken which I found to be succulent , well cooked and extremely tasty. It's not often that you get the flavor of the marinade penetrating the meat to the bone. Served with round cut chips and a flavor some savory rice , I was in food heaven. I was transported back to the authentic wholesome cooking styles of the nineties. <br/><br/>We'd definitely go back to next try their range of espetadas <br/>

This is classified as Portuguese restaurant ,I expected Portuguese flavour in the food ,I ordered a chicken espetada with chips .The chicken was dry and lacking that Portuguese flavour and spices that I usually comes with a espetada ,the chips were not nice at all.Service was friendly but did not regularly come to top up our drinks and my friends that ordered water for me ,I got my water before them and they were waiting

First the good: The food was absolutely lovely. Really top notch Portuguese food, 5 stars for the food. Then the bad: the service was shockingly bad, so slow our drinks sat on the bar for ages, food took long to come, waitress was struggling. Then the ugly: instead of carrying food and helping it seemed like who could only be the owner or the owners father was more interested in complaining to the waiters and talking to the customers than carrying food and drinks to customers that were waiting. I really will give this place another try as the food was really good, I just hope the service improves.

Excellent food. Had the chicken and prawn curry, which was well balanced and mild with lots of sauce and rice. Wife had rump grilled with Murro potatoes. Service by Sharon was below average. During our lunch visit we were one of four tables with three waiters on duty and no management.

I had made a reservation for Tuesday 8/3/16 at Casa Polana and i can honestly say it was one of the worst eating out experiences i have ever had. Upon arrival there was no note of my reservation which did not matter as the restaurant was very quiet. Upon being seated we had to request our menus after waiting approximately 10 mins with no service we then had to wait a further 10 mins before our waiter came back to order drinks. We had to request bread as it was not brought to us and our starters were served cold. Our waiter also got our main orders wrong and did not once ask us if we would like more drinks or attend to us in any way. When i called to book i informed the manager it was for a birthday and he informed me that they would make a dessert for them with a sparkler but upon request i was told they did not agree to this.<br/> Dont be fooled but these other reviews as Casa Polana is one of if not they worst restaurant i have ever been to.

1st visit and rather impressed. Service was excellent, food excellent and all at a very reasonable price. Will definitely return. A real lil Portuguese gem. Be sure to try it.

New owner. He's raised the prices but reduced the portions. The hake I ordered was around 100g for R89. Tiny. Tastes good though. I don't think I'll come back. It's not what it used to be.

Absolutely delicious, authentic Portugese food and really well priced. I had the rump Trinchado and it was superb! Service was also good we had an awesome waiter Valentine. All in all a fantastic experience, I will definately be back!

Great place to go and get some authentic portuguese food, great food great service. Plus there is a play ground for the kids and that's always a win.

Excellent service, excellent food. Our complaint of the bacalhau being salty was handled extremely professionally and to our utmost satisfaction. Valentine was a fantastic waiter. Will definitely be back.

We have been to Casa Polana a couple of times this year. Always had good service and food. However after our experience today we will never be back. We had very poor service. But that is not the reason we won't be back. They had a chicken buffet. My husband chose to try a little bit of everything: chicken strips were cold, flavourless and soggy; chicken trinchado (think that's what it was) was also cold; peri peri chicken pieces cold. The only thing that was warm were the chicken livers. When we asked to see the manager about warming the chicken pieces, he said the chicken would soon be hot. Went back to the buffet 15 mins later: cold chicken! Called the manager again. He accused my husband of lying and wanting a free meal after my husband said he was prepared to pay for what he ate (being the livers which costs half the amount of the buffet).He wasn't concerned and continued being rude. He told us if we had a problem we must phone the owner and that if we didn't like the service the solution was simple: don't tip the waitress!! We have never been treated so badly. The manager was arrogant and clearly does not have the restaurant's best intentions. Absolutely disgusting.

So the service started great and continues to go steady. The food was great and tasted awesome. Presentation done nicely and the waiter very attentive. Looks of the restaurant is warm and the place is clean. I definitely recommend this restaurant for future patrons.

I am a fan of Portuguese food, and dare I say this might be hidden gem. I decided to try Casa Polana in the hopes of getting some authentic Portuguese food. I was glad to have tried this place. I had the chicken liver starter which is marinated in wine and garlic. I would have much preferred a piri piri option. The livers themselves were cooked to perfection, I just wish the wine had been cooked through a bit more. The hour specialities are such great value for money. I just love their chilli and fresh bread. The family vibe And relaxed environment makes the space a great place to relax and have drink or two and have great food. Service was absolutely great!

Having been to casa Polana Twice, I can safely say that without a doubt in my mind it was an epic experience. <br/><br/>Sitting out on the patio in the warm Johannesburg spring evening air,listening to music that ignites your imagination.A glass of Sangria in one hand and a skewered piece of meat that is cooked to absolute perfection in the other, nibbling on freshly baked bread, that tantalized the senses before you even sat down and eating chili sauce so hot you don't want to eat it, but so tasty you have no choice but to...<br/><br/>A wonderful friendly place, with very good service, and an excellent manager. 5 Star food at reasonable prices. I would highly recommend taking advantage of their specials, as well as the evenings they have their Portuguese festivals on.<br/><br/>obrigado. Eu retornarei.

Just ordered a beef trinchado takeaway and it is possibly the worst dish a restaurant has ever served to me. The closest thing I could describe it to is beef boiled in packet gravy. I honestly can not get over how terrible it is. Very disappointed as I love Portuguese food and was excited to try the place.

Beautiful lunch again today , hospitality second to none, faultless in everything 10/10 service, food, great prices, a hidden gem in the northern suburbs , love this place and the people involved

Great service,super food and all round excellence. Made to feel like part of the family. The review by Lisa forgets that traditional Portuguese decor is minimalistic. Has a generator as well so always the go to place in our lovely hours of darkness.

Casa polana is an average place. Food is not bad and service is good. I think they could definitely had some atmosphere to the place. It's very old school and minimalistic

Standing where Mimmo's used to be really enjoyed my meal of chicken and prawns, espetada also very good service friendly and efficient and pricing decent will return.

What a wonderful restaurant. True Portuguese flavour Food is awesome. Good service. Owner run. And reasonable. Will definitely be back.

A relaxed Sunday afternoon Lunch with Poovan. He had recommended Casa Polana after having been here with his wife previously. On our entry we were shown to a table for 2, Poovan requested a larger table as the table size was fairly small. The waiter advised that all the other tables were reserved despite their being no signage to this effect. <br/><br/>The complimentary bread was devoured with the extra strong Chilli sauce that was freshly prepared, given that it was past my regular lunch time. The sauce is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. The bread was fresh and delicious. <br/><br/>I ordered the chicken livers and the chicken breasts together which after the bread was a mistake given the large portion sizes of both meals. The food was both freshly prepared and tasty. The chef was liberal with the onion and oil on the livers, which may not be to everyone's taste. The good food is definitely not for the calorie conscious. <br/><br/>Needless to say there was no room for dessert. I would recommend this great new restaurant for the food but not the attitude of the waiter. I understand that he needs to keep tables open for larger parties but they either need to get larger tables give the size of their plates or ask people who come in later to wait until tables clear. This was the only aspect that detracted from the restaurant, hopefully it will be remedied.

Saw the place driving by and decided to stop for dinner... Except for the fact that it is winter and the front door stood open making it a bit chilly... The experience was so nice. Extremely friendly staff, manager is very friendly, and we had starters and mains, both being full of flavour and well done! The bread served for snack before the meal was soooo fresh, warm and dense that we couldnt wait for our starters to dip the bread in the flavourful sauces. Their ribs are so amazing, so succulent and saucy. Amazing portion size, and i didnt even need a steak knife for the ribs, the meat was so tender. Left with a smile on our face!! If i could give it more than 5 i would!!

The food was okay. The chicken was very brined but the peri peri sauce on the side was great. The round chips were also good. Don't know if I would go back...

My wife and I decided to go out and try the newly opened restaurant in the neighbourhood. Our waiter, TK, was friendly, warm and attentive throughout the evening. The grilled lemon and garlic chicken we ordered was moist and tasty. However, that was where the good stuff about the evening ended.<br/><br/>It was a cold evening and for some reason, the one, lone gas heater was located in the smoking area, furthest from the front door, and in an already insulated area. In the non-smoking area, there were patrons smoking a hubbly. When the chicken arrived it was sitting in a sea of oil, and the few chips that were served with the meal, were floating in this oil, making them virtually inedible. Aesthetically, the dish looked like a deathly combination of cholesterol and clogged arteries. My wife and I would like to live and see our next birthdays, and so we doubt we will be returning to casa polana.

We had such a lovely Sunday lunch. The waiter was extra helpful as we had a small child. Organized a high chair and went out of his way to make our outing pleasant. The food was great and reasonable. Will go back!

We discovered this place by a chance , our waiter was awesome, friendly and had a good knowledge of the menu. I had the grilled chicken with salad which was tasty and my husband had the rump and chorizo espetada which he really enjoyed . We will be back to try few other items on their menu.

This was a very disappointing meal. Although the service was friendly and sort of prompt, their actual meal was quite a let down. The bread that was served,was cold in the middle, indicating either refrigerated or frozen beforehand. My partner ordered a steak,medium rare which turned out to be medium to well and, was rather on the thin side. I had a Trinchado, which contained chewy lumps of meat in a sauce made with cheap vinegary wine. The cappuccino that I ordered was nothing to write home about. I skipped dessert, as, by that time I realised that dessert was rather made by myself, so as not to be disappointed further. Unfortunately won't be back.

I had a dinner together with a number of friends at Casa polana on Saturday . there was a good atmosphere at the restaurant and the layout is pretty good and also the restaurant it self is quite cosey. i had the caldo verde soup which was quite well made and had a lot of taste , i also had a calamari and chouriço starter with my girlfriend , all of them were quite good , for mains i had the special leitão (baby pig on the spit) Must say this was outstanding , very well cooked with great crispy skin  and also extremely tender meat with the right amount of spices . This is a very difficult dish to get right and it was really well done . that came with a side of Round cut crispy chips in this case that were also great . add to the food the entertainment they had with dancers and a small latin band it was a very fun experience . I will be going back soon for another night where i will try the other meals .i give it a 4.5 out of 5

Fabulous diner, to experience true Mozambican/Portuguese cuisine, with friendly staff and management. I will definitely recommend Casa Polana to any one.

There are not many restaurants around in Gauteng that offer dine and dance, and with that in mind I ended up at Casa Polana, Portuguese Restaurant in Northriding. The food was exquisite, the Sirlion Steak was tender and a fair portion served with roasted vegetables (as per my request). Professional Dancers provided a dance show which was a total surprise. The live entertainment added to the vibe of the restaurant. I found the staff to be extremely friendly, and helpful at all times. The restaurant is located in a shopping centre and ample parking space is provided. A huge kiddies area is adjacent to the restaurant which makes it a child friendly restaurant. I would recommend Casa Polana to anyone wanting something different!

About time that a<br/>real Portuguese place comes to the north, we went there last week Saturday with<br/>a large group of mates and it was great! Food was amazing, service was quick<br/>and friendly and they had some live entertainment which meant all of us started<br/>dancing by the end of the night. Will definitely go there again. Well done keep<br/>up the good work!

Finally some authentic Portuguese food!! I've been there 3 times now and am absolutely crazy about this place! The dine n dance evenings are amazing seeing live bands and professional dancers create a magical vibe whilst I had 2M beers with some delightful Portuguese cuisine. and then ofcourse seeing regular customers breaking it down made for a funfilled evening. I will definitely recommend especially with the friendly staff...and I had read the bad review posted on this site before I went and am so glad that didnt deter me, being a new restaurant I suppose some people don't understand teething issues...oh well its their loss! Will definitely bring the entire family especially on the dine and dance evenings. I think we left there close to 1am and havent had that much fun in years!! Well done Casa Polana! Keep it up...truly memorable evening with great food!

Great value for money, tasty variety of meals. The fillet and the chicken polana are both very tender and saucy. The calamari in beer sauce is somewhat spicy but delicious and tender. The chicken Thermidor is however dry and needs some form of sauce to cut the richness of the cheese bake. The giblet starter is made with the correct amount of spices. The chorizo sausage is a great gimmick making it a popular seller. I was not a huge fan of the chorizo soup though as it had maybe 4 pieces of sausage and it was a bit watery although flavoursome.

What a big fat joke this place is.  They have only been open I think maybe 3 months.<br/><br/>So I order a glass of Sauvignon Blanc just for the waiter to tell me they dont sell their wine by the glass only bottles.  A bit confused I reconfirm what on earth she just told me  because this must be the only restaurant in the world not selling house wine.  Turns out she does not know the first thing about wine.  Now they do sell house wine but she tells me it is only dry white wine and red white wine.  I ask her what type of dry white wine it is.  She looked confused.  I explained to her that dry white can mean different things, is it a Sauvignon Blanc a Chardonnay or what there are many different dry white wines.  She comes back to tell me it is 'box' wine.  Now I dont mind box wine as many good wines are actually boxed for convenience, again I have to ask her yes ok box wine but WHAT TYPE OF WINE IS IT. So eventually I said just bring me a sip so that I can taste if it is drinkable.  She had to get management approval for this lousy sip.  I take a sip and it is fine so I order a glass.  The wine sorted I want to order food.  I start by ordering their chicken and pineapple salad.  The waitress tells me they are 'out of stock'.  Again taken aback I think I might be on some other planet.  You are out of stock of chicken and salad?  A  Portuguese place is out of chicken and salad?  Its like saying there is no peri peri sauce! I was confused as she explained to me that this salad is just on the menu for the hell of it and they have not sold any since they opened as it has not been 'introduced' to the public yet. I have news for you chicken and salad are not new dishes people, even Nandos sell it.  O my goodness.  I did not know what to say.  I said to her can you make me a Portuguese salad (as this was also on the menu) she said YES, I asked her so can you make me a chicken breast, she said YES.  I was like OK so how come you cannot make me a chicken salad, this is basically a salad with chicken on top.  She was adamant that it could not be done.  Well i got up and walk out, the mere fact that I had to listen and have such a stupid conversation was too much for me.<br/><br/>I dont care how good their food may or may not be, I will not be back to taste it.  It is not even if I asked for risotto or pasta or something that is not on their menu.  I have been to actually many restaurants who can help me out with special requests even if it is not on their menu because there are individual prices for everything.  chicken is so much and salad is so much so a chicken salad will be so much.<br/><br/>The whole experience was so ridiculous.  I am giving them 1 point because I dont have an option for a ZERO

The food was excellent and service very good. I really need to come back and try some of the other dishes that caught my eye! Yum!! Prawns and chicken combo was divine!

Awesome! Fantastic flavours - been there now three times and not been disappointed. Been through the clams, rissoles, espetada, chicken curry, trinchado - and all been great. They even serve 2M beer! Highly recommended.<br/><br/>Been back again, and they have maintained the standard. Espetadas still good! Can add the calamari and chorizo starter as a recommendation.<br/><br/>Nice airy restaurant with a large terrace for the warmer days - and a fantastic kiddies play area.