There's a painting in the Iziko South African National Gallery in Gardens that always catches my eye when I'm there. It's called 'Holiday in Cape Town in the Twentieth Century' and is by a little-known British artist called James Ford. I stare at the painting for ages as if it's a storybook...

It depicts a fictional British Empire in the heart of a colonial Cape Town, complete with hot air balloons, elephants carrying passengers to ferries awaiting them at the harbour (I could've imagined this), and women sporting lacy umbrellas…

For me this is always where the Mount Nelson has had its place, set in an imagined world of British domination, cucumber sandwiches, and tea from India…

And whenever I visit I'm always filled with delusions of grandeur, forgetting for a moment that this is a world set apart from the laity of society. But all my illusions of the spirit of the Nellie were doused recently, when I visited the Cape Colony Restaurant for dinner.

Shattering perceptions

Although the setting of the restaurant is characteristically romantic with a tinge of regal charm, true to the Cape of Good Hope, it's also quite relaxed in that non-serious way that makes you feel that they really wouldn't mind if you shared a dessert…

Some aspects of the Colony are just a given: the starched white table clothes, muted lighting, cheerful live music, and textbook five-star service with a smile — which at the end of the day, is why it's such a pleasure to visit.

On top of that is that extra mile that the staff are willing to go, in order to make sure your experience memorable. And so at our table, before we'd even composed ourselves, arrived some appetisers from the chef: mini lasagne squares; layers of salmon, pasta and cheese; complemented by bite-size toast with pesto and baby tomatoes — one dish that should definitely be on the menu.

Contemporary or classic

Talking menu, it's surprisingly unstuffy — the Cape Colony's fine-dining experience comes in a choice of contemporary or classic dishes, or an assortment of the two.

Contemplating what to have, I glanced up at the wall mural which stands like a colossal window, a trompe-l'oeil, looking onto Table Mountain and Devil's Peak... But unlike my James Ford, this colonial perspective is a real depiction of the city viewed from Newlands area, and true to life.

Since my mood for salmon was set, I ordered a glass of Krone Borealis Cuvée Brut 2003 (it always makes me happy to see great wine by the glass on the wine list), and went for the Salmon Gravadlax (R95) off their classical starters menu; cured in-house and served with a salad of neatly cubed potato squares and picked cucumber.

My partner opted for the more contemporary Oxtail Agnolotti (R65); braised and flavoured with bitter chocolate, stuffed in agnolotti pasta and served with warm picked vegetable salad.

As usual he made the superior choice, the oxtail was simply superb and the taste amalgamation outstanding. For me the miniature capers with the gravadlax was a little too much (although most would say a fitting combination), but I certainly was astounded by the quality of the melt-in-your-mouth salmon.

Hungry for more, we quickly ordered mains. I was in the mood for red — a step up from the pink — and ordered the sliced Springbok Fillet (R160) set on a bed of fresh horseradish mash, with sautéed baby vegetables, puree of white beans, and bitter chocolate jus. To top it off, a glass of Graham Beck's The William 2003, a bold blend with a notable cigar-box bouquet.

Simply sinful

The bitter chocolate juice with the springbok was sinful in that wicked way that boosts feelings of indulgence and leaves you longing for more. The horseradish mash however, was too adventurous for my tastebuds…

My partner tried one of the specials of the evening, and if my memory serves me correctly, it was comprised of a decadent chunk of swordfish on top a Salmon and Risotto hash brown with spinach. A top-class choice.

Say 'fine dining', and people think: pricey and leaves me hungry. Not in this case. We had already outdone ourselves and had no space for dessert (yet) so settled on a lingering dessert wine (Signal Hill 'Vin L' Empereur 00) and a warm-hearted port (Little Karoo Axe Hill '04) to calm ourselves. On average R30 each.

For dessert I decided that the 'After Eight but Before Ten' (R55) was a fitting choice. A selection of house-made chocolate themed petit fours; it was certainly pretty but far too rich for me, which is saying something…

My partner went for the Queen of Puddings (R50) — blackberry pudding with cinnamon meringue, chocolate liqueur ice cream, served with brandied berries and vanilla anglaise. As you can imagine a rather extravagant combination. So the verdict is: sharing is a definite option.

Mesmerized by the wine, food and peaceful surroundings we were lulled into a state of utter serenity and lingered a little before we left.

All in all the Cape Colony has that touch of something old, something new, will delight the senses and at the same time not break the bank, except if you're ordering wine by the bottle. If you haven't been recently then make a date now!

Cape Colony, Mount Nelson, 76 Orange Street, Cape Town. Contact them on +27 21 483 1948 or visit www.mountnelson.co.za