First Look: Privado in The Loop

By Matt Sorrell // October 19, 2017


Privado, the new weekend-only tasting menu concept from chef-owner Mike Randolph opens tomorrow, Oct. 20, bringing a fine-dining experience to the Delmar Loop.

Privado is located at 6665 Delmar Blvd., in the space that once housed Randolph’s Italian restaurant, Randolfi’s, which closed last month. As The Scoop reported in September, Privado is reservations-only, offers one tasting menu (usually between 12 and 15 courses) and has a single seating on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. Only 16 seats are available per service.

The menu changes constantly, giving Randolph a unique chance to experiment with a wide variety of flavors and ingredients. It also gives diners a different culinary experience each time they visit.

The restaurant’s interior has been tweaked a bit since the Randolfi’s era to enhance the new concept. Two community tables now sit directly in front of the open kitchen for a full view of the action. LED lights mounted in shadowboxes above each seat create the perfect spotlight (and phone-friendly photo lighting) for each dish.

The kitchen has been streamlined for service with new workstations and shelving, though the signature wood-fired oven remains (as does the poster of “Born In The U.S.A”-era Bruce Springsteen). The front of the space, which used to serve as the main dining room, is available for private events during the week.

For those who want to stop by Privado for a drink and a bite, the bar area is available for walk-ins and reservations. A small a la carte food menu is available, as well as a drinks list that includes four classic cocktails, four rotating cocktails, plus a limited selection of beer, wine and spirits. The bar menu incorporates ingredients that appear on the tasting room bill of fare and includes an appetizer, two pastas, an entree and a dessert.

Tickets for each seating are available online in two-month blocks – October is already sold out, and November and December are starting to fill up. Here's a first look at what to expect from Randolph's newest project:

Matt Sorrell is staff writer at Sauce Magazine.