e didn't even see it coming, but suddenly there it was, smack in our face before we could duck. We’re not even sure exactly what triggered it. Maybe it was the three signature martinis (ABSOLUT Citron, pink grapefruit juice and Champagne) at the cocktail lounge that tasted like a trio of Champagne-induced utopia. Or perhaps it was walking through the woefully pathetic Bay Street grid that leads to a new restaurant/lounge and finding a room full of tittering white collars and suits.

The first thing that you'll notice about Bymark is that it doesn't look like every other joint in town. Located in the atrium at the TD Centre, and downward another level, flooded with sunlight, it feels more like a gallery than a restaurant. Even after dark, when all that lemony light is gone, the place feels, in a word, cool. The credit goes to Chris Dinely, a contractor by trade who commissioned Yabu & Pushelberg to fulfill the grand design scheme.

Chef Mark McEwan, heir of North 44, brought his multidimensional talents to this self-named gastrodrome where his traditional dinner fare rounds out the main floor each evening, and a high-end lunch menu fills the rooms on weekdays. Plus, there’s the lounge on the second floor - the street level atrium - great for grazing on light Bymark-style fare till 2:00am.

The McEwan-expedited dishes, satisfying and lively as they are, are familiar to anyone who has ever dined at North 44. The menu is lengthy, if not wordy, in both starters and mains; a sommelier-suggested wine choice is entered alongside each item, even apps.