U of T faculty, MPPs, boulevardiers who enjoy an elegantly composed lunch in sophisticated surroundings—they all climb the stone stairs of Hart House to the comfortable bar and Gothic revival dining room. Servers pander, portraits gaze down, and chef Suzanne Baby offers a short but irresistible menu full of light textures and lucid flavours. Chilled sweet-pea soup is pure pea purée with a flourish of crème fraîche and tiny kohlrabi sprouts that taste like savoy. A pillowy-soft salmon rillette rides a crunchy slaw of beet, fennel, cucumber and Meyer lemon; lightweight cannelloni filled with rabbit play with wild leeks, warm frisée, salty shiitake mushrooms and fava purée. Desserts are divine; the wine list is intelligently chosen. Mains $14–$19.