Q:
A: If you are entertaining a genteel old person or couple, you might not consider it fine dining but i would head for the Blethering Place in Oak Bay. It's a step back into the 40s, perhaps earlier but without any pretense at being cute. Meals are quite conservative. Blethering does "high tea' too and it's a good one and a bit cheaper than the Empress Hotel. For elders with a slightly more adventurous taste, you might want to consider the Bengal Room at the Empress. It is an east Indian buffet but toned down to westerner's palates.