My family is right in the middle of a kitchen overhaul; ’bout time too. Why do I mention this? Because they’ve got something in common with Town Hall at 1032 Alberni Street – a wall.

When Saltlik flipped the reno switch and transformed into Town Hall late last year, there was something in my mind that made all the difference in the world to the flow of this restaurant: the ‘wall’ of booths that separated the lounge and the restaurant.  When the painters tape and drywall dust faded, much to my surprise I found it to be no more.

And this is a good thing.

If you’ve been to Saltlik before you’ll notice that there are a number of similarities between the two: same massive vertical wine cellar (think Yew but flipped on its ear), same lofty spiral(ish) staircase to the washrooms – complete with what used to be deer antlers above the door (still some sort of animal), same dimly lit ambience, same wide open space with lofty ceilings, and I’m not going to stress this one, but a similar menu.  In my opinion, better.

What I found to be different, and is one of the reasons I’m recommending Town Hall on Alberni, is that our server, and the servers I caught a glimpse of during my couple of visits, were interested in you and your table – reminds me of Pinkys.

On our latest visit, and I’ll call him ‘Brad’, took the time to sift through the wine selection with us in some detail (something I like) and also noticed that some in our party weren’t certain of what they wanted.  He stepped through the entrees in question with vigour and nimbleness, like frogs on a dynamite pond.

Honestly, while there may be a bit of ’same same’ from a number of you who walk through Town Hall’s doors, I’d throw my vote into the ‘but different’ camp.

A shame my parents are keeping their wall; they could have learned something here.

darren