I love this place. We went last year for Valentine’s Day and I thought they had just turned on the class and the charm for a special day. But I am so happy that we went back for an Anniversary dinner! It is a perfect place for a date on a special night, or if you don’t have any liquidity problems, for a wonderful meal on any other day.

I got to the restaurant and had a pleasant Sauvignon Blanc while waiting for Breese. She was a bit late, but assures me that this time it wasn’t her fault. Anyway, the wait gave me a chance to admire the space, and linger over the gorgeous menu. The room is tastefully decorated with really great, if somewhat baroque, lighting. It is a two-level restaurant, with just enough walls and curves to provide for a bit of privacy at most tables. However, the Gods don’t particularly like me, and I ended up in a romantic corner table next to three loud Americans complaining about how their supervisors couldn’t understand calculated risks and bemoaning the fact that their bonuses had been paid in Canadian dollars. Fortunately, as the place filled up ambient noise drowned out the sound of their wining, and we could enjoy the evening.

There is an extensive wine list, although only 4 white and 4 red by the glass. The menu is wonderful and there are always a number of gorgeous seafood and pasta specials. We stuck to the prepared menu. I had a vegetarian sushi with seared tuna appetizer, and the tuna simply melts in your mouth. Breese got a caesar salad, which was romaine hearts with mini-falafel croutons and a caesar dressing. I pinched a falafel and other than their size, they would make Aida’s envious. I followed with a beautiful steak frites, with a chorizo mayonnaise sauce: perfect. Breese found the seafood cakes which she had for her main a bit too seafoody, although perfectly done. The dessert menu pushed me over the top. There were two versions of crème brulée. Breese stuck with the fairly standard vanilla. I, however, have a soft spot for chocolate orange, so a chocolate orange crème brulée was something I couldn’t pass up. In the end it was too much for me — beautiful, but simply too sweet.

The service was wonderful. I like it when the waiters are attentive but not omnipresent. I hate obtrusive bussing, and waiters who ask how the food is when you are 3/4 of the way through. Fortunately, there was none of that. Also, it is nice to see the chef out on the floor talking to people and taking feedback (no pun intended). Its too bad he didn’t come and talk to us, because it would have been nice to thank him for a wonderful meal.