Cinq o1

Toufik Sarwa, the man behind Yorkville hotspot Amber, is also owner of the new resto-bar Cinq o1 (located at College and Bathurst). Opening Cinq may have been met with a few challenges after Toufik stated 'it's my 2nd restaurant and my last. It took me 10 years to open another one.' But the hard work is sure paying off with a bustling bar and a fun menu of mostly comfort food.

Below are some snapshots of dinner. To start we ordered the split pea soup, the chickpea fries, truffle mushroom pizza, the shrimps and the mac & cheese with duck ham and black truffles (which can be found under the sides).

Mains - the grilled Moroccan lamb chops, steak frites and the braised bison short ribs. At first I wasn't sure if the sauce on the short ribs were too sweet and then seconds later too spicy, but it seemed to grow on me. Also I didn't think gnocchi really went with short ribs but everyone else at the table liked it. For dessert - a trio of three small tarts - chocolate caramel, white chocolate banana cream and lemon. If you want a quiet dinner go early. If you want to be part of 'the scene,' eat later. http://www.cinq-o1.com/