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Eleven

11 Jarvis St., Toronto. 416-981-1919. Dinner for two including wine, tax and tip, $130.

The circumstances under which chef and partner Brad Moore left Xacutti in November are mysterious, but we do know that the restaurant closed suddenly upon his departure. Moore's new venture, Eleven, opened in January on the site of the short-lived, high-end Korean resto Ninth Gate at Jarvis and Front. Was Toronto not ready for upmarket Korean? Pity, since Ninth Gate was both pretty and delicious.

Moore's reno has cooled down what was previously a warm room, with pale grey transparent curtains, slate grey walls, designer plastic chairs and tables and big windows. Shimmery translucent silver balls with bulbs in them hang throughout, providing jazz but no warmth. The choice to locate the bar in the middle of the restaurant creating two separate dining areas makes us wonder what the priorities are.On one visit, we arrive at 7:30 spot-on for our reservation. The server says they need the table back at 9. We look sad, she says: "Don't worry, if you're not finished, we'll put them at the bar and give them a free drink, people always love a free drink, it'll be fine." How's that for a warm welcome?

This issue always brings out the strong opinions. I get e-mails (often, I suspect, from restaurant people) chastising me for expecting those poor kitchen slaves to stay late, and servers to juggle stressful diner situations. I also hear from diners who have been treated rudely, had cheques shoved at them before they finish dessert, been told (without prior warning) that they have to vacate. Big surprise: I fall on the side of the diner. I believe that part of running a restaurant ought to include figuring out how to balance diners' competing needs, and that the delicate balancing act of taking (and honouring) reservations is indeed part of the professionalism we ought to be able to expect. Especially when one is paying $75 a person (or more) for dinner. Doesn't the definition of "hospitality" include not being told to vamoose?

Eleven's servers, all extremely affable, juggle the tables with sensitivity and aplomb. Chef Moore, on the other hand, is inconsistent. His Indo-fusion flights of fancy from Xacutti have been toned down (according to one server, Jarvis and Front isn't as ready for spice as College and Bathurst was) and his technique ranges from stellar to merely competent.

Tapioca-cumin fritters are very greasy. The cumin-spiked tapioca inside is weird but wonderful, and the three little sauces (sour tamarind, sweet tomato marmalade and spicy stewed green chili) are something you want to lick off the plate. Honey chicken with sesame spinach is credible wings from the honey-garlic school, but they don't knock the cover off my ball. Ditto the sesame-tamarind-coated duck breast: The fowl is ruby red, tender and perfectly spiced, but it sits on a too-big pile of subtly curried mashed potatoes, which in turn is under a pile of spinach. All good stuff, but too jumbled together.

Some of Moore's opus is dazzling. He offers up the most tender little squid I've had in months, barely crusted, deep fried for a nano-second, and served with onion yogurt, which is what happens when tzatziki gets exotic.

Ginger frites are tiny shreds of ginger that have been flash-fried. They are served with perfectly cooked halibut in a coconut-inflected lemon sauce that is both light and strong. Equally perfectly cooked, the black cod sits on a delicate stew of black lentils in a piquant tomato-cream sauce.

The only disappointing items are the trademark cinnamon-guava back ribs and yam fries from Xacutti's menu. During Moore's five years at Xacutti, we grew so fond of the ribs that all others paled by comparison. Their not-too-sweetness, spicy kick and moist tender flesh were enough to make an epicure sigh with wonder. But here at Eleven the thrill is gone. Methinks Chef Moore may be bored with the ribs? The meat is a tad dry and it falls too easily off the bone. As for the yam fries, they're less than crisp at Eleven.

Chef's sides, however, are the mothers of invention as always. They particularly showcase his fluency with Indian spicing: Spiced onion strings, not strings at all but big onion rings, recall Moore's fabulously spiced onion bhajis from Xacutti. Stir-frying green beans hot and fast with lentils and coconut brings out their sweetness (à la Szechuan green beans) and the lentil-coconut combo is a grand gift of the subcontinent.

The sides are a sweet reminder that Brad Moore spent two months learning Indian spicing from Amar Patel at the Indian Rice Factory. He leans toward India in the manner of spicemeister Greg Couillard and his cooking will regain its full-fledged reliable zip and zing when he lets his palate off the leash. Front and Jarvis be damned, follow your star, Brad.