ellington Street has yet another new addition to its burgeoning strip that might as well be dubbed Foodie Lane. Opened in December, Antoine is a cute little bistro that’s well worth the voyage to. It is named after its chef-owner Antoine Richard, who formerly was at the reigns of La P’tite Table.

Enter the restaurant and you’re in a boutique that sells upscale urban necessities like sea salt, extra-ordinary pastas, gourmet cookbooks and truffle oil. Make your way past the retail part and you enter the dining room, with its monochromatic color scheme and dark floors. Vintage photos of the area, as it once was, dot the walls. The restaurant itself is pretty but the food is even better.

Fanciful dishes like cauliflower soup with caviar fill this surprisingly affordable menu (a little over $30 for three courses). Whether you chew on chilled foie gras served with brioche and jam or ruminate over risotto topped with calamari, you are sure to delight in Antoine’s offerings. Mains change often but include pork trio, chèvre chaud, and monkfish in a spicy dill sauce.

For dessert, savour some decadent brûlée, which is subtly flavoured with bitter almond. Or, if you’re feeling truly French, try their dessert take on the classic poutine (pronounced “pou-tanngg”, thank you very much). Pineapple slivers become fries, mascarpone cream stands in for cheese curds, and unhealthy gravy is replaced with unhealthy caramel sauce. It’s a genius of a dessert. The wine list here is also extensive and the staff is well-trained and quite knowledgeable. If you’re in the area, Antoine is definitely worth trying.