The first residents of Camps Bay were the San hunter gatherers and the Goringqhaique Khoi. These days, the affluent suburb of Cape Town is a magnet for foreign and South African tourists who flock to its spectacular beaches.

The Bay Hotel and Tides Restaurant offer a bit of history along with a taste of modern luxury on the beach. You can get breakfast, lunch and dinner here, while enjoying views of Camps Bay through a wall of windows. Adjacent to the hotel is the historic Rotunda, built in 1904, that remains to this day a business and social gathering place.

I spent a night at the hotel and breakfast was included.

There was a beverage table of fresh juices when I arrived, and I was offered hot coffee and tea often throughout the meal. In addition to a buffet of delicious-looking food on platters, there was the option of ordering a hot breakfast. Fruit preserves and jams, fresh berries, mackerel, fresh-baked Danish, muffins, meats and cheeses, fruits, yogurts, breads and pastries — these are pretty standard fare at hotel breakfast buffets. The presentation at the Tides made all the difference. The yogurts came parfait-style in mason jars, with or without fruit.

I ordered smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. It came topped with crème fraiche and chives, and had been formed in a mold so that on my plate it looked fancy and ruly — gourmet food. This created the illusion that it was something I could never whip up on my own in my kitchen, which I probably could, but it would never look as good. Other hot breakfast choices included flapjack stack with maple syrup, bacon and brie.

The Tides claims to use organic ingredients whenever possible and had a herb container garden growing within sight of my table on the pool deck outside the restaurant. The restaurant claims to not have a “type” of food, but says dishes do have Asian influences and adventurous approaches. It offers seafood, meat and game dishes, and online guest reviews offer praise for presentation.

The restaurant has been ranked one of the top 100 in South Africa and the top 10 in Cape Town. It won a wine-list award in 2006.

Here’s a few online comments from guests:

“Good service, nicely done springbok, decent wine, lovely setting. Avoid the film crews. They talk loudly about themselves and don’t realize nobody’s interested.”

“One of the staff members greeted us by handshake telling my husband, ‘Good morning, Sir, nice to see you again.’ which immediately made us feel comfortable. I think he could see we were a little uncomfortable between all the rich tourists.”