I didn’t know what to expect, to be honest. I spend quite a bit of time at the Planet Bar (Thursday nights a must), which is sophisticated and cool, with a relaxed vibe. It certainly is more ‘mod’ when compared to, say, the world-famous Mount Nelson tea room – just next door. So when it came to the Planet Restaurant, I didn’t know if they were going to hit me with the chilled vibe, or the posh vibe. My expectations were tending towards the latter, to be honest.

I’ve done a fair bit of “fine dining” in my time, both locally and internationally. I find the local offerings stuffy and artificial, often confusing bothersome over-attention with tip-top service. As any good butler or concierge will know, excellent service can stem from doing nothing at all – ie. knowing when to leave the employer/customer alone. There is nothing I hate more than service staff checking-up over and over again to see if I’m ok. “Well, my friend, to be honest I was ok, before you interrupted my train of thought for the third time today, to ask if I was ok.”

Which brings me to the Planet Restaurant – a plush newly-decorated high-ceiling affair within Cape Town’s most grand and famous hotel, the Mount Nelson. Some people might refer to it as fine dining, but it’s not.

In a good way.

When entering the restaurant itself, there is no doubt that you have arrived at an upmarket establishment, where no expense has been spared in its decoration and presentation. The staff are highly attentive and clearly well-trained, with genuine smiles and warmth replacing the ironically clueless stuck-up snooty attitude that we have grown accustomed to in South Africa’s posh restaurants.

The Mount Nelson’s highly-acclaimed chef, Rudi Liebenberg,  has put together a menu to be proud of, with a selection to suit every palette (check out their awesome menu here). I was not surprised that the cuisine itself was beautifully presented and more than delicious, and want to focus more on the experience as a whole. It should be noted that you are also offered the chance to have a glass of wine to pair with each dish, with an expert available to help you make that choice. I gave that a miss and stuck to the De Grendel.

But the thing that got me was this – once our main meal had arrived, we were checked on just once, and then left alone. Now that might seem like a basic thing to you, but I assure you these days it is not. The waiter could see we were in discussion and I watched him out the corner of my eye – as he looked from across the room, gauging for himself as to whether or not we needed to be interrupted. Every now and then our glasses would be topped up, without a word uttered by the young gentleman.

The “fine dining” “silver service” badge kicked in again, as my partner went to the bathroom. She had just left the table when, quick-as-a-flash, her chair was straightened and her napkin placed, neatly folded, over the arm of the chair – prepared for her return. It’s those little special details that I want out of my dining experience. Those are the important things. Not overdoing the attention and checking five times if “everything is ok.”

The Planet Restaurant at the Mount Nelson is where you want to go for a special dining experience. It could be classed as “fine dining” but I would caution such a description, as that particular term has lost it’s cool. Nobody really wants fine dining anymore. If they want something impressive, classy and cool – with outstanding food and top professional service, this is what they’re after.

You’ll leave satisfied, with a smile on your face – something all too rare in the “fine dining” realm..