The Sparrow, Montreal

Although Wills is a first time restaurateur, he lived in New York for a number of years and learned the ropes by having backdoor access (via a familial connection) to Jean-Georges' eateries and others of that caliber. In other words, Wills, seasoned without the C.V, came back to Montreal with the focus of a veteran New York restaurateur. When he met Cohen, who is a chef from London, it was a match made in heaven. What better for a restaurant, whose locale is a city that aims to be as cosmopolitan as New York, than a head chef who hails from the only city that gives New York a run for its cosmopolitan money? Apparently, the answer to this rhetorical question is; not much, since The Sparrow has been buzzing, and buzzed about, from the moment it fluttered onto the scene. In true New York style, Wills was loath to even talk about the place as if the precious spot's quiet mystique was more important than publicity.

Mystique aside; The Sparrow does have an entirely defined concept. Being that Cohen is British, the locale is best categorized under that recently trendy grouping, gastro-pubs. The warm woods and dim lamps, that look as though they were plucked from poles on a Victorian London Street, gently point to a traditional pub atmosphere. But the bird wall - a mural packed with soaring sparrows that would taunt Tippi Hedrin with frightening flashbacks from her Hitchcock role -- provides just the right amount of kitsch to make the place contemporary enough to be considered cool.