here’s something old-fashioned about Splendido. Maybe it’s the cast-iron chandelier hovering overhead, the rich burnt-orange and dark woods hues of the room, or the white-napkin formality of the table settings, but the place has an unmistakably '80s feel.

Even the crowd that fills the room - accented with post- theater, ballet, and opera types -looks a bit older than what you find at neighbouring Harbord Street spots. However, age brings wisdom, painfully evident, as people here know a good, tasty deal trumps trendy packaging every time.

Everything on Splendido’s eclectic new menu has a singular Mediterranean touch. Chef David Lee’s food varies though, from the inexpensive and traditional but delicious. Pappardelle Pasta with wild mushrooms and Cookstown Purple Snow Peas to the fancier Hawaiian Yellow Fin Tuna Tartar with ratatouille, quail egg and shaved truffles, which though rather lacking in tuna, was bursting with truffle-enhanced flavour.

In a brilliant stroke of anti-chic, Lee serves up a B.C. Dungeness crab cake with a raspberry tarragon vinaigrette and pairs the whole thing with a side of peaches & cream corn salsa, a novel way of preserving the delicate freshness.