BarChef opened quietly on Queen Street West one cold night in early December, 2008. There are lanterns along one wall, old-school things out of a Sherlock Holmes book; black-and-white damask-printed couches; birch-printed wallpaper; a chef's table underneath a glittering, icicle-like string of lights. It's relaxed but sophisticated; it's got a grace that is rare in a restaurant or bar, where it can be one thing (elegant) and you can be another (in my case, a total schlub) but you still feel entirely comfortable.

This is partly due to the owners' charm. Frankie Solarik, barchef extraordinaire, and Brent VanderVeen, general manager and sommelier, co-own BarChef, and are clearly passionate about what they are trying to accomplish.

"The whole reason we opened BarChef is to re-create a cocktail culture in Toronto," Solarik tells me, as he mixes me something mysterious-looking. "To raise the bar on the quality of what's being offered."

And raise the bar (pun intended) they have. The first thing Solarik puts in front of me is the BarChef Martini Three Ways. Served up on a rectangular plate, it consists of three tiny glasses – each slightly less than a shot – and two of those spoons you use to eat soup with in Chinese restaurants. From left to right: Exquisite vodka with green olive 'air'; a spoon with rosemary and green olive puree; vodka with a single olive; a spoon with one of Solarik's signature 'raviolis' with a fresh sprig of rosemary; and vodka infused with rosemary. I'm told to start in the middle, with the olive and vodka, to get my taste buds going. Once I've warmed up, I move on to the green olive air, which is a foam-like substance that melts in the mouth, while the flavor lingers. It's like moving in for a close up: here is the big picture (green olive and vodka); now here is the detail (the olive.) I'm already impressed by this cinematic trickery when Solarik encourages me to pop the ravioli in my mouth, tilting the spoon like you tilt and oyster. The ravioli is about the size and shape of an egg yolk, and looks like it has the same gloopy consistency. But once you bite down, the thin, gelatinous skin bursts on your tongue, releasing a thin, flavorful liquid.

There's a sense of play behind Solarik's concoctions. The BarChef Rocket, for example, is comprised of raspberry vodka, curacao, fresh lime, lemoncello, and pomegranate seeds, with an effervescent sugar citrus rim. The drink is divvied up into three distinct colours, like the popsicles you used to get from the ice cream van when you were a kid, although BarChef's interpretation is red, lime-green, and olive-green. It even tastes something like a rocket popsicle, but along with the sweetness is a complexity not found in the ice cream van.