From the grill, a 14 oz rib-eye, an imposing inch and a half thick, was pink and juicy, cooked to medium-rare to retain its soft, elegant texture. A tidy, little mound of whipped potatoes and veg rounds out the meal. The wine list commands much attention, reflecting a collection long in the making, and it’s aptly focused on substantial reds with a hefty markup. Regardless of the abandoned-lounge aesthetics, there’s a serious restaurant in here mostly due to Kennedy's presence. And the drawbacks? A meal here doesn’t come cheap, and that name…

Next up is Eleven (11 Jarvis St.) which takes over the space that used to be the Ninth Gate Korean Place and before that a Golden Griddle. Hard to believe the same urbane architect that came up with thebuzz-worthy "Xacutti" delivered this moniker. Nonetheless, it’s all Indian-fused gastro now, with Brad Moore's menu of world comfort cuisine.

This is a premium site on the corner of Jarvis and Front, but it has logistical problems, most notably the bland exterior, which gives the appearance of a closed restaurant. The interior is nice, clean and hip; but, more surprisingly, what has been spared is any amount of showiness and opulence. It feels a bit like being inside a "pop-up" restaurant, where the entire restaurant will be packaged up and moved elsewhere in a few months.

In this incarnation, the menu contains quite a few of the items from Moore's now-closed Xacutti. It's a mystery why the restaurant isn't more full, I'm thinking as I take a bite of black cod that is very much the real thing, served on a buttery swath of braised black lentils. Seared tuna is equally crowd-worthy, with a good dose of tamarind green chilies and cucumber yogurt and served up with excellent little tapioca fritters.

A well-known Xacutti pleaser, the duck breast with sesame tamarind, is small but worthy; the skin as crisp as it gets, the belly underneath succulent and moist. Wild Mushrooms and Spinach gives dish an intriguing salt tang. Cinnamon-Guava back ribs BBQ are sweet and chewy, but otherwise expertly prepared and plated with gingered beets.

A similarly themed BBQ Ginger Beef (6 oz) is surprisingly tender, paired up with horseradish yogurt and onion strings. Yogurt makes another appearance in the chicken with potato dumplings, but the tomato-fenugreek sauce has too many uninteresting flavors battling each other. The Halibut with lemon, coconut and ginger frites was more coherent and far tastier.