Restaurant in Pretoria, South Africa
Closed. Here's where to eat instead.
Mosaic at The Orient Private Hotel in Pretoria is permanently closed. It was one of South Africa's most decorated destination restaurants, with Chef Chantel Dartnall's classical French training and Chef of the Year recognition giving it genuine national standing. For occasion dining in Pretoria today, Brasserie de Paris and Ivory Manor Boutique Hotel are the most practical alternatives.
Mosaic at The Orient Private Hotel in Pretoria is permanently closed. If you were planning a special occasion dinner around Chef Chantel Dartnall's classical French-meets-South-African seasonal cooking, you will need to redirect that plan. The closure ends one of the country's most decorated dining experiences, and for food-focused travellers arriving in Pretoria today, it reshapes the entire upper end of the restaurant market here. The practical answer is: do not attempt to book Mosaic. What follows is context for why it mattered, and where to eat instead.
Before its closure, Mosaic occupied a category of its own in Pretoria's fine dining tier. Housed inside The Orient Private Hotel on Francolin Avenue in Elandsfontein, the room was designed by Impressionist artists and interior decorators to evoke the early 1900s, with booth-style seating and two private dining rooms. Visually, it read more like a carefully curated country house than a hotel restaurant, and that distinction was intentional. The setting made it a natural draw for anniversary dinners, proposal meals, and business entertaining that needed somewhere with genuine gravitas.
Chef Chantel Dartnall trained under three-Michelin-star chef Nico Ladenis in London and Michael Caines in Devon, and that classical foundation showed in the structure of her menus. Her cooking leaned heavily on organic and seasonal produce, with vegetable elements woven through dishes in ways that were bold rather than decorative. Combinations like Norway lobster with white peach, risotto, wild mushrooms and black truffle, or Mauretanian sea bass with a citrus and caper velouté, gave the menu a continental ambition that was rare at this latitude. Her recognition as Chef of the Year was a meaningful credential, not a regional courtesy award, and it placed Mosaic in conversation with destination restaurants well beyond South Africa's borders. For context on what that level of classical French technique looks like in an international setting, see Le Bernardin in New York City or the collaborative chef-driven format at Lazy Bear in San Francisco.
On the question of takeout and delivery: a tasting-menu restaurant of this calibre was never designed for off-premise dining. The format relied entirely on the room, the service cadence, and the sequencing of dishes. That is not a criticism — it is simply the nature of multi-course French-influenced cooking at this level. The food did not travel, and was never meant to.
With Mosaic closed, Pretoria's fine dining options are more limited at the very leading end, but there are solid alternatives depending on what you are actually after. For occasion dining with a European-influenced menu in a polished room, Brasserie de Paris is the most direct substitute in terms of atmosphere. For something more contemporary and locally grounded, Capito is worth considering. Ivory Manor Boutique Hotel offers a hotel-dining experience with a comparable sense of occasion if the setting matters as much as the food. Forti Too and Caraffa fill out the mid-tier with more accessible price points and easier booking.
If you are willing to travel for the kind of destination-restaurant experience Mosaic once provided, South Africa still has strong options. Le Quartier Français in Franschhoek operates at a comparable level of ambition. Salsify at the Roundhouse in Cape Town offers serious cooking in a setting with genuine character. Wolfgat in Paternoster is a different format entirely but has earned international recognition for its coastal tasting menus. For wine-focused dining with food to match, Delheim Wine Estate in Stellenbosch is worth the trip. In Johannesburg, Signature Restaurant Sandton and EAT YOUR HEART OUT in Hillbrow represent opposite ends of the city's dining ambition and are both worth knowing about.
For broader planning around a Pretoria visit, see our full Pretoria restaurants guide, Pretoria hotels guide, Pretoria bars guide, Pretoria wineries guide, and Pretoria experiences guide.
Quick reference: Mosaic is permanently closed — no booking possible. Redirect occasion dining to Brasserie de Paris or Ivory Manor Boutique Hotel; mid-range alternatives include Capito, Forti Too, and Caraffa.
Mosaic is permanently closed, so solo dining there is no longer an option. When it was operating, the booth-style seating and intimate room format made it a reasonable solo choice for a serious food enthusiast, though tasting-menu restaurants at this level tend to work better with a companion. For solo fine dining in Pretoria today, Capito or Brasserie de Paris are more practical options with counter or bar seating that suits a solo guest.
It was one of Pretoria's strongest special occasion choices , the room was designed specifically for romantic and celebratory dining, and Chef Chantel Dartnall's Chef of the Year pedigree gave it genuine credibility as a destination meal. That said, Mosaic is now permanently closed. For a comparable occasion in Pretoria, Ivory Manor Boutique Hotel offers a hotel-dining experience with a similar sense of occasion, and Brasserie de Paris is the closest match in atmosphere.
Mosaic is permanently closed. When operational, the restaurant was structured around booth seating and two private dining rooms inside The Orient Private Hotel , it was not a bar-format venue. If you are looking for a Pretoria restaurant with bar seating, Forti Too or Capito are more appropriate options.
For occasion dining at the upper end, Brasserie de Paris and Ivory Manor Boutique Hotel are the most direct replacements in terms of atmosphere and intent. Capito and Caraffa cover the contemporary mid-range, and Forti Too is worth considering if you want something more relaxed. For a full overview, see our Pretoria restaurants guide.
Mosaic is permanently closed. When it was operating, the combination of a formally styled room, tasting-menu format, and hotel setting would have called for smart casual at minimum , think dinner-appropriate rather than business formal. For current Pretoria fine dining, Brasserie de Paris has a similar dress expectation; check directly with any venue before visiting.
Mosaic is permanently closed and is not accepting reservations. When it was operating as one of Pretoria's most recognised destination restaurants, advance booking of several weeks would have been standard for weekend and occasion dining. For current Pretoria options, booking difficulty varies by venue , Brasserie de Paris and Ivory Manor Boutique Hotel are worth booking a week or two ahead for weekend tables.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mosaic | Restaurant permantly closed By becoming Chef of the Year, Chantel Dartnall has made a significant contribution to strengthening South Africa's role as an international gastronomic destination. She was trained by three-star chefs such as Nico Ladenis in London and Michael Caines in Devon. Her vision of contemporary cuisine is meticulous, sharp and respectful. In all her dishes we find vegetable elements that she generously and boldly uses, such as in the preparation of Norway lobster and white peach with risotto, wild mushrooms and black truffle or also in a combination of Mauretania sea bass with a velouté of citrus fruits and capers.; Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient Private Hotel in Pretoria is one of South Africa’s finest destination restaurants. Renowned Impressionist artists and interior decorators were commissioned to create a restaurant that was both romantic and unique, evoking the early 1900’s. It has an intimate feel with booth-type seats and two private dining rooms. Award-winning Chef Chantel Dartnall combines her classical French training with her love of nature and is passionate about using organic and seasonal pr | — | |
| Capito | — | ||
| Brasserie de Paris | — | ||
| Kream Brooklyn | — | ||
| Ivory Manor Boutique Hotel | — | ||
| Forti Too | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Mosaic and alternatives.
Mosaic is permanently closed, so solo dining there is no longer possible. When it operated, the booth-style seating and intimate format at The Orient Private Hotel on Francolin Avenue was better suited to couples or small groups than solo guests. For solo fine dining in Pretoria now, Brasserie de Paris or Capito are the more practical options.
Mosaic was one of South Africa's foremost special-occasion restaurants before its permanent closure. Chef Chantel Dartnall trained under three-Michelin-star chefs Nico Ladenis and Michael Caines, and the restaurant featured commissioned Impressionist interiors alongside two private dining rooms built specifically for milestone events. If you were planning something significant, you will need to look elsewhere — Ivory Manor Boutique Hotel is the closest Pretoria equivalent for a private, occasion-driven dinner.
Mosaic is permanently closed. During its operation, the venue was a structured fine dining destination inside The Orient Private Hotel, with booth seating and private dining rooms — not a bar-dining format. There is no bar counter dining to speak of, and the question is now moot given the closure.
With Mosaic closed, the strongest fine dining alternatives in Pretoria are Capito and Brasserie de Paris for French-influenced cooking, Ivory Manor Boutique Hotel for a hotel-destination experience closest in format to Mosaic, and Kream Brooklyn or Forti Too if you want something more accessible and less ceremony-driven. None currently match the depth of Chantel Dartnall's classical French training or the South Africa Chef of the Year credential she brought to Mosaic.
Mosaic is permanently closed. When it operated, the commissioned Impressionist interiors and private hotel setting at The Orient suggested formal or smart formal dress — this was not a casual-dining room. For current Pretoria fine dining, check individual dress expectations at Ivory Manor or Brasserie de Paris before booking.
Mosaic is permanently closed and no longer accepts reservations. If you encountered a listing or booking link for Mosaic at The Orient Private Hotel in Pretoria, treat it as outdated. For comparable Pretoria fine dining, Ivory Manor Boutique Hotel and Capito both benefit from advance booking of at least two to three weeks for weekend dates.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
