Chef Francois Mermilliod of Absinthe fame enters Gemmill Lane’s restaurant fray with Bar-a-Thym. This casual French restaurant veers from the stereotypical snootiness of its counterparts with communal seats and an impressive plancha (flat top grill) taking centre stage, giving customers front row seats to the spectacle that is the Maillard reaction.
Seafood is the name of the game here – start your meal with the yellow fin tuna ceviche ($24) or the tooth-fish carpaccio ($26), and fill up with the chorizo squid-ink risotto with red snapper ($38) or the whole Fish of the Day cooked in a lemon thyme jus if you’re game. An extensive wine list ($12-$20/glass, $68-$1288/bottle) lets you pair your meal accordingly.