he young and divorced dwell over bottles of Chianti while nearly retired surfeiters drop like dollar sacks onto the puffy furniture. From the coveted middle spot, cocktail swillers scope the room and welcome minor celebs and anybody who's anybody. Globe is one of a few Montreal restaurants offering an unapologetically haute-cuisine experience. The formal dining freaks out some people, as do the prices, but its chef Alex Rolland gets consistent praise for his high-minded tasting menus, which are sometimes improvised for individual guests. Be ready to spend $100-plus a person.

Nearly as handsome as its brethren Rosalie, Globe, designed by Jean-Pierre Viau, provides Plateau’s cool center. First and foremost, it is a social institution and an emblem of status that recalls the Gilded Age powerhouses like Bronte and Toque, or cafe-society blue chips like the Cluny. Diners go to Globe to see and be seen. They check in, have their self-esteem validated by Mr. McMillan and settle in for a sumptuous evening surrounded by their own kind, preferably, but not necessarily, in the smaller of the two dining rooms, with its higher ratio of moguls to mortals.

With its Art Nouveau design, bistro menu, and personable chef, David McMillan has created a universe that many of us imagine we might inhabit if we kicked off social and psychological constraints and acted out our wildest fantasies. The dream world of nightlife appeases us because it is mildly massaged in a similar, if more ominous, way. It is Globe, and Globe is it. Over the years, this supper club has recruited top talent and the kitchen has taken flight.

But food was never the most important thing about Globe, and at the moment, it holds its own. Main courses range in price from $27 to $45, from the quail with raspberry sauce to roasted corn fed chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy - all served with organic vegetables. The salmon ($29) is perfectly roasted with a plump side of potato gratin. Slow-cooked rabbit, baby back ribs in red-wine sauce, are also contenders.

The venue looks and feels more like an upscale Miami nightclub than a Montreal Restaurant, but unfortunately, some of the attitude to go with it. While the staff is hot and the bouncers friendly, on any given night you are guaranteed to run into some who think’ they are part of Montreal’s elite and will do anything to affirm their perceived position in society. That being said, Globe offers all those who go there a great time - just be sure to look better than your dining brethren. - J.S.