ou dip your spoon into the soup. It's as smooth as cream, the flavour a beguiling, subtly sweet purée of fennel and bell peppers, the whole effect as delicate as handmade lace. A salad of pears and Julian apples (from the rustic mountain town east of San Diego) is just delicious, the sharp crunch of the fruit embellished with sugar-glazed almonds and pearl-sized nubbles of fresh goat cheese. The greens in it are feathery wisps so fresh they taste as if they were picked moments before.

It's not just you. Everyone in the room is equally entranced with their plates. The food, the cottage surroundings and your magnificent date magnify the romance levels to record highs. The air in these four small rooms just beg you to get down on the floor to propose this or that. And, at the Corner House, quite often you’ll see that very scene played out.

Corner House doesn't feel much like an It restaurant, and that's a good thing. In fact, you’ll keep forgetting that it's even part of the Toronto landscape. Outside, the two-story house looks like a European bed and breakfast. Inside, the small, narrow dining areas are casual and comfortable - cozier than a formal restaurant. Panels of abstract paintings mounted above the banquettes add a jolt of color, and a shelf of bulbous ceramic sculptures of vegetables teetering on shapely silver legs injects some whimsy into otherwise sober rooms.

The staff is perhaps too enthusiastic, but it's easy to fall into the spirit of things. One night six of us pounce on the menu, ordering up various combinations of just about every dish available that night. We share, or at least taste, what everybody else has on their plate. For the two couples who don't know each other, it's an ideal icebreaker. Not to mention fun.

Nine-Ten's chef is Herbert Barnsteiner (Jump), an man with a penchant for contemporary flavours and technique to burn. His cooking is evenly split between seafood and the easier, and mostly less interesting, meat. On one visit, he listed salmon on the night's menu. The incredibly fresh fish was seared on just one side, bathed in lightly buerre blanc and strewn with halved Brussels sprouts and miniature cauliflower florets.

Though fish is clearly his preference, this Barnsteiner doesn't shy away from meat. The server will inform you that a more popular item on the menu seems to be the Australian rack of lamb, a satisfying cut roasted rare and served in a roasted garlic rosemarie sauce with vegetables and potato gratin. Another is meaty and tender Black Angus steak served with pan sautéed wild mushrooms, parsnips and a Bordelaise-peppercorn sauce.
And for apps, if Foie Gras Terrine is on the menu, that's all you need to know. The rich and generous serving is paired with a powerful dose of “Julie’s” preserves. A great start to a Corner House meal.

For a small neighborhood-ish restaurant, the wine list offers a particularly broad selection of bottles that fits in well with the concept. list, several outstanding undervalued wines can be found.



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