ertige (Cuisine de Caractère) is gathering considerable steam, due to its Québécois-based menu, simple and unpretentious almost to the point of affectation. The dining room on Duluth Street (the old Le Flocon) is adorned with the mandatory features like a fireplace, wine cellar and a flow of puffy red chairs. Soft but smart lighting, it should be noted, makes everyone look unusually fabulous. Usually bustling, the host is on the scene, making sure the servers are nice, and the hospitality writ large.

But the heart of Vertige is the kitchen; Chef and owner Thierry Baron (Chorus, Ferreira Café) might be the most painstaking cook in Montreal. It seems that way, especially at his Vertige, as everything that comes from the kitchen looks like it was pieced with jewelers' tools: The ribbon of émulsion that meanders through a sauce surrounding a gravlax on potato blinis might itself have within it a thread of fresh-chopped herbs in oil; on that herbed thread might be the tiniest florets of cauliflower, or perhaps capers, each set like little jewels.

Could you really ruin something so beautiful with your fork? Once you taste the gravlax, tender and meaty as mist, the answer is clear: Not only could you ruin such art with your fork, you would do it again and again.

After a mises en bouche, we dive into a salad of yellow beets with the added dose of caviar and chêvre cheese; these super-uber ingredients are well showcased in Baron’s simple, clean, but forthrightly flavourful cooking style. Another standout is the beef tataki, with an Asian touch of crunchy vegetables and vermicelle.

Entrées runs the gamut from quite good to somewhat indifferent. I couldn't tell you what predicts which. Some of the best things I've had at Vertige include the sesame-encrusted tuna, served with a spiced ratatouille, filled with all sorts of charming tastes. I also loved the roasted shrimp tagliatelle, with sweet, caramelized roasted garlic hot peppers, pumped up a tad with a creamy pesto sauce. The whole dish comes off as a bit sweet, but it was a smart, concentrated, appealing sweet.