he darkness is what greets you first. Walk into Chez Victor in the Hôtel Le Germain and a quiet shade of black envelops you - it would suggest an old-school steak house, were the decor not so slick. You then notice the inspired, wooden laminated wooden planks that divide the dining room, then the massive chrome and walnut wine cabinet that happily takes up one complete wall. The high-backed banquettes and chairs seem to promise cozy exclusivity; the floor-to-ceiling windows expose the sculptured lines of the forgotten Art Deco building across the street.

Chez Victor opened in the space that was previously Luce, Guy and Michael Rubino's Italian restaurant. After a turbulent, much-publicized relationship between the brothers and hotel operators, the former restaurant, a stone's throw from the boy's long-running Rain, was bought out by The Germain Group themselves, no doubt, and was thusly closed. Now we have in its place Chez Victor, the brainchild of hotelier Christiane Germain, which has quickly re-branded the restaurant, albeit without designing the space that was designed by ll X lV.

In the vein of other restaurants in the Mercer-John intersect, Chez Victor gives off an air of panache with a solid dose of urban pretense, as if deliberately toying with its own hipness - a la Rain and the new Milagro Restaurante. As we were ushered into the main dining area — a beautiful glass-encased, street-level space — the coolness-less was instantly obvious, countered only by hues of walnut and steel. The dancing candles reflecting off a chocolate-coloured stone bar and a few positioned lights provide the sole sources of lighting in the otherwise tall, dark space.

Chez Victor brings in Chef David Chrystian at the helm, doling out his French-Canadian cuisine with the occasional dose of home-spun fusion. Harmony is key to Chrystian's plates, which gravitate toward French cooking traditions. For example, the Braised Oysters en Brochette ($20) is effectively balanced and tempered by a grapefruit brûlée. The Eggplant Cannelloni ($10) didn’t look like much, but we luxuriated in the richness of its roasted pepper richness. Equally harmonious was the White Asparagus Salad ($16) featuring a creamy, maple-cured smoked salmon with a hearty finish.