his gem is one of those undeniably sleek restaurants whose opening causes a whirlwind of buzz - solid water-cooler murmurings of "did you hear about Arthurs?" newsiness - making us feel like we must go just to solidify our ever increasing hipness. But more than anything, we need a place like Arthurs just to keep the local scene from growing stale.

The resto-lounge, on the outward stretch of the College Street Strip, has the air of a feisty but appropriately cocky hipster lounge; the wait-staff maintain their correct proportions of arrogant gaiety and runway model good looks, while the kitchen doles out appealing small plates. All of this helps to craft Arthurs as a critically cool addition to the area.

But it took two years to bring that "critically cool" to fruition. Fareeza Ali, the owner of the lounge-bar, first nabbed this "perfect" location back in November 2004. In those initial days, it was easy for her to envision a slick restaurant in what was, at the time, a lube-stained garage. The location was ideal (adjacent to Xacutti), the timing was right (similar area venues were hyped to the core) and the space was just what Fareeza needed (long and narrow).

Then the bad news dropped: the city's cap on liquor licences in the College Street area was at its peak, which would prevent Arthurs from getting its liquor licence. The lease had already been signed, and the building was Fareeza's to do with what she liked - as long as she didn't serve alcohol. To obtain the almighty liquor licence, Fareeza would have to wait for another venue to close to liberate a licence, keeping the area drinking venues within the city's predetermined limits.