Dinner begins with a foccacia-like African bread and an Ethiopian honey wheat served with tandury sauce, which was excellent at providing flavor without overstimulating. The corn soup ($7) was highly sweet, perhaps even a touch overly so, with hunks of pepper and overtones of cream. To give an indication of the elegance of the restaurant, know that this soup is poured at your table. We followed that up with a stupendous artichoke flatbread ($9), that combined unusual flavors in the mouth and kicked on a spicy aftertaste that had not been overpowering during the bite itself. The ingredients were liberally piled on, with almost a whole salad atop that. The only caveat is that you must eat this appetizer last, for it drowned out the flavor of the lamb patis ($9), a baked eggroll with subtle Mediterrean flavors. My companion, whose taste buds had not been deadened by the flatbread, insisted the flavors were impeccable, particularly with its mint/cilantro sauce.

The arctic char ($31), a salmon-like fish, was fresh, light, and great with its accompanying vinaigrette vegetables. Moreover, it was a very large piece of fish. Fine dining in such a restaurant as this often yields smaller portions (the lamb patis as case in point), but not so on this dish. The same is true of the crusted halibut ($30), the entree standout recommended by our server. Served with an orange glaze and uncommonly salty carrot shavings atop and slightly undercooked (i.e., still crunchy) vegetables below, the mixture was unspeakable yet heavenly. It will be difficult to visit here again and not eat this dish.

Not every table filled during our hour-plus visit, so reservations may not have been necessary, even on a weekend evening. The restaurant calls for business casual clothes, but the most common apparel was polo shirts and (nice) shorts, often with tennis shoes. This is a shame, but expect to be overdressed if you come in a tie. Slacks and a button-down shirt are not out of place, but you'll be in the minority.

Service was good, though not exceptional. One problem early on: despite the restaurant's opening only minutes earlier, we were delayed in being seated, even passed over. Turns out the buzzer they gave us didn't work, though it flashed as though it had battery power.

The atmosphere is upscale, nice, and a welcoming combination of noisy and private. We happened to visit during a rainstorm, and the large windows on one side offered a great view. The atmosphere wasn't enough to keep us here for dinner, though. We skipped over to the counter-service location Mara, and picked up a small plate of 'zebra domes', essentially chocolate truffles, for the miniscule price of $4.