Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient Hotel

Sensational, sensational, sensational, this is easily the best dining experience in South Africa. Where do I start as there are so many superlatives that originate with this experience. Firstly, on arriving at The Orient hotel you are enveloped in a Moroccan theme with luxurious colours, rich tapestries, art and furniture that make a massive impression on you.

The attention to detail is fantastic and the service is equally so as the staff are friendly and courteous, yet unobtrusive. This was not our first visit as we have made the trek out here on a number of occasions before, the venue however never ceases to amaze us every time. Whilst waiting for our guests to arrive I decided to look through the bible, our term for their wine list (rather a large thick book) as it is probably the most comprehensive wine list I have come across in SA, for a suitable champagne to start the afternoon with. The champagne duly arrived and we tried a rosewater and pomegranate syrup with it, simply delicious and a novel way to start the day.

We were escorted to the Tiffany room for lunch, a quiet dining area away from the other tables with a lovely view and its own lounge to relax in after the meal. Our guests were blown away and they hadn't even tasted the food yet. Lunch was an easy choice as we selected the five course menu with wine pairing. Chantal arrived for a chat before lunch and appeared before each course to go through it with us. The food she prepares is simply sublime and she fully deserves her place in the top ten, hopefully she will be number one soon as she fully deserves it.

The menu takes you through a wonderful array of flavours and tastes as you journey through it. She starts with her signature truffle custard, always a winner, and moves on through the courses getting richer and deeper in flavours as the main course approaches. All three of the main courses on offer were ordered and all were full of praise for the food. On reflection however I have to admit that the duck accompanied by the duck mousse, her signature main course, was the best overall. It saw one of the guests requesting more, and this from a person who doesn't eat duck. It really has a wonderful chocolate and rich duck flavour to it and I admit that I would have been happy with that for dessert. The cheeses, desserts and coffees were a perfect conclusion to an exceptional meal and afternoon. Another joy was the presence of a sommelier to explain and take us through her pairings of wines and the meal. It always helps to understand why and what we should be looking for to enhance our experience.

Chantal took us on a tour of their cellar and spent much time chatting to us. It really is great to chat to her about food and our experiences elsewhere and as my wife says, she speaks beautifully and is always great to listen to. Our friends knew they were in for something special when we invited them to join us. We had previously introduced them to Roots and they have thoroughly enjoyed that ever since, but they agree with us in that this is simply a step above, simply the best dining experience in South Africa. This is even more relevant when taking into account that one of the friends specialises in inbound tours and regularly frequents the top hotels and restaurants in the country.