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Hotel dining is back in vogue, and the scene here in Vancouver is about to explode.

Last week, Voya Restaurant at the new Loden Vancouver hotel celebrated its long-awaited launch with a series of swanky soirees. Come January, Market by Jean-Georges will be scaling new heights at the Shangri-La. Barring any construction delays, David Hawksworth should be chicly ensconced in the newly renovated Hotel Georgia by the end of 2009.

So what am I doing at Diva at the Met in the Metropolitan Hotel? This prima donna is so 10 years ago.

True, those were her glory days, back in the late 1990s, when Michael Noble wowed them in the open, Waldorf-style kitchen. "It was one of the few places you could get designer food before Vancouver became a foodie city," explains my dinner companion, Pia Shandel, as she leans over the table to regale me with saucy stories about three-martini power lunches when Diva was the place to see and be seen.

Since then, Diva has certainly had her ups and downs. (I gave the restaurant a scathing review three years ago).

But now there's a new executive chef in charge: Dino Renaerts, who took over the kitchen 15 months ago. I had a fabulous lunch here soon after he arrived. And I think he deserves a moment in the spotlight before Diva gets lost in the shadows of all this towering competition.

Mr. Renaerts, formerly of Bistro Pastis, West and the Hotel Georgia, is one of those chefs who can turn the ordinary into something extraordinary by putting novel spins on old standards and paying lots of loving attention to lowly garnishes and sides.

Take the ubiquitous butternut squash soup, for example. It's on every menu in town, but rarely makes the taste buds flutter - unless it's topped with nutmeg crème fraîche and swirled with a knob of sage butter, as it is at Diva. Now that sounds like a soup worth ordering.

But then there's smoked duck poutine ($10) to consider. And the Tyroler bacon-wrapped albacore tuna ($13). Yum.

"Does the bacon come from Austrian pigs imported from the Alps? Do they wear feather caps and do a little jig?" Pia asks, bubbling over with so much enthusiasm our Maggie-Gyllenhaal-lookalike waitress seems momentarily stunned.

She says she'll ask about the provenance of the pig and get back to us.

She doesn't.

And the kitchen takes an awfully long time to deliver the order.

"La dee dah ho hum," our hungry stomachs growl in anticipation.

But when this enchanting appetizer finally arrives, it tastes so delicious we forget all about the wait.

The crispy bacon makes a lovely counterpoint to the silken tuna, which has been lightly poached in fruity olive oil. It's served with wilted watercress, chewy chanterelles and a thick, creamy smear of anchovy aioli that packs a marvellously strong, smoky punch. Duck confit tart ($11) is just as intriguing. We go gaga for the side salad, a bitter tangle of frisée gussied up with candied prosciutto and finely diced golden beets. The pastry has a nice dense crust. But the meat stuffing, albeit slinky and tender, is missing something. It needs more salt, or caramelization on the onions.

Ah, here comes the smoked duck poutine. Look at that gravy - so dark, rich and glossy. Love it Shame about the shoestring fries, which are barely crisped and far too frail to hold up all that shredded meat and cheese curd.

We take a welcome pause before the mains and glug another bottle of sparkling water.

Yes, some things do change. (Neither of us has the tolerance for midday boozing any more).

Other things don't. "It looks exactly the same," Pia observes, casting an unimpressed eye over Diva's worn carpets and light-wood panelling.

It's not the showiest of rooms, that's true. But we both agree that the dining room layout - wide tables spread spaciously over three levels with lots of nooks and padded surfaces - provides an ideal setting for private conversations. The comfortable acoustics combined with the central downtown location help explain why Diva still packs in the power lunches. On a Wednesday at noon, the place is full.

And so are we after the pan-seared halibut ($25), which easily ranks as one of the prettiest plates I've ever seen. The fish, which has a gorgeous golden crunch, is framed by a colourful fan of crisp carrots, green beans and slimly sliced red beets, set on a frothy bed of garlic foam. But it's the side of creamed leeks licked with Pernod that pushes this dish over the top. It's so incredibly rich we both moan aloud.

The featured pasta, lumachine rigate (a ridged elbow-shaped pasta) for $20, is heavy on the braised short rib, which almost overwhelms an otherwise great olive-shallot cream sauce brightened with spinach.

The food at Diva is 10 times better than it was before. Even the classic rhubarb-cheesecake (a staple from the Noble heyday) has been tweaked and improved with a caramelized top and spiced compote.

Yet there's something missing. The dishes are inventive. The sides are delicious. But the mains, the meats especially, all need more seasoning.

Mr. Renaerts may be hedging his bets on the safe side of bland given that he's primarily catering to the corporate lunch crowd. But change is afoot. Diva has gone from top dog to underdog. And if she wants to regain her standing, he can't afford to hold back.

Diva at the Met: The Metropolitan Hotel, 645 Howe St.; 604-602-7788

*****

Side dish

CHANGES AT IRISH HEATHER

Colleen McClean, the executive chef who opened the new Irish Heather to all-around stellar reviews, left the company last week when her contract expired. Owner Sean Heather said she did a great job setting up the kitchen, but it was basically his vision that she executed. "I'm a very hands-on, demanding person to work with," he said. "I know what I want, I do most of the shopping, and I tell my chefs what to cook. She wanted more of a challenge." He says he doesn't expect any drastic changes to the menu under the new head chef, Richard Moore.

SO.CIAL GETS PRASAD

Chef Romy Prasad has joined So.Cial at Le Magasin two weeks after closing his own restaurant, in part because of skyrocketing rents on Robson Street. The widely travelled and well-respected chef, who spent eight years at the helm of Cin Cin Ristorante before opening Savory Coast in 2005, will be introducing a new menu next month.

ENROUTE PICKS TOP 10

Boneta in Vancouver, Fraîche in West Vancouver and Stage in Victoria are among the 10 best new restaurants in Canada, as selected by Air Canada's enRoute magazine. "It's not every day you see a server offer his arm and personally escort a flattered patron to her next destination, but it does give credence to the restaurant's motto: 'Boneta loves you,' " contributing editor Chris Johns writes of the fifth-place winner in the November food issue. Nota Bene in Toronto placed first. For more information, visit enroute.aircanada.com.

Alexandra Gill