yzantium is one of a few resto-lounges where you can actually get a good drink (other than beer). The crowd doesn't know whether to be bitchy (Woody’s) or wacky and off-kilter (Zelda’s). Stripped of these options, the people at Byzantium usually err on the side of friendliness, which means that it's a great place to go if you actually want to meet people, and an even better place to go if you want to brood over a Stoli raspberry.

The restaurant part of Byzantium is a glittering room of shiny charm, anchored by rich colours and a lush floral arrangement, set with formal tables just begging for fun dining. A full-length wall divides the long space into a narrow and usually busy bar on one side and a dining room on the other. Mod-gothic mirrors line the leaf-green walls. Cherrywood tables, matched with Villeroy & Bosch, are paired with cushy orange Parson chairs.

A long martini list has some great entries, including many originals: the Green Goddess (Chartreuse and gin with a green gummi bear garnish), and the Sonomatini (vodka, cabernet sauvignon and sweet vermouth) are two killer examples.

The dinner menu is surprisingly worldy. The diner wonders what pan-roasted ostrich is supposed to taste like. The juniper-scented rack of lamb is butter-tender and ever so lightly crusted, topped with sweet corn couscous and draped in a grainy mustard glaze that lends the whole plate a lip-smacking cured quality. It comes with buttery snow peas and asparagus in a substantive lemon sauce. We had less luck with the Artic Char, arriving soft, mushy and oddly enough, completely devoid of taste. Sadly, it had such great potential; on paper it sounds like a dream (single tear).

The appetizer prosciuto plate is a fair size, arriving with cantaloupe and honeydew melon. Pair this with perfectly cooked beef tenderloin and a scattering of stilton butter and you'll leave full and happy. Another noteworthy entry is the plate of steamed mussels in ginger-coriander broth with black beans and preserved lemon.