For mains there is solid choreography behind a dish of Albacore Tuna. The lusciousness of the fish brightened by the sweetness of grilled avocado and sautéed green onion, which was in turn offset by the stewed tomato preserve's faintly sour notes. In a fantastically nuanced dish of tender Striped Black Bass, different dimensions held sway at various moments; the noodles, green tomato broth and bok choy beneath the fish briefly taking control, the shiitake mushrooms in a wash of olive oil around the fish insisting on a turn, and the caramelized garlic porcini mushrooms ready to fill in any gaps.

Many of Mr. Fowke's most distinctive dishes trade the richness of traditional cooking for a Canadian Cuisine intensity as evident from the earthy fragrance of chanterelles and woodland mushrooms that fill the air when a server delivers a Certified Angus Tenderloin to a table. The flavours of this earthiness are as potent as its steak itself, and it harbors unexpected currents: the buttery flavours of the Pommes Anna, the tartness of pinot noir reduction. Pemberton Meadows Blade Steak comes close to cliché, but a noodle flan and herbed crème fraîche freshen up the combination.

Not everything is working at Metro. The tapas plates, averaging $11 or $15 a side, are too expensive. And the sharable varieties are, for the most part, uniformly forgettable. Some of the more adventurous mains, like a perfectly good piece of sablefish, plated with takeout-quality risotto and apple chips, lack the focus that characterized Mr. Fowke's fusion version at Rare. But Metro is still young. It seems inevitable that the kitchen, already getting so much right, will be firing on all cylinders soon. -R.L.