CinCin Ristorante & Bar

They catch your eye the minute you step into the peach-toned room tucked away from the bustle above Robson Street; the dancing flames from CinCin’s new Grillworks Infierno wood-fired grill draw the eye to the open kitchen where chef Andrew Richardson can be found cooking up a storm.

A beloved West End institution since 1990, CinCin has breathed new life into its menu thanks to the addition of this two-metre stainless steel behemoth — the only one of its kind in Canada — which is allowing a gleeful Chef Richardson loose on creating a new flame-licked menu. “It’s so primal,” beams Andrew. “Cooking with wood and fire is a very European thing, we’re going back to our roots here.”

Cooking on the new grill brings its own challenges: turn on the oven and you’ll get the temperature you expect, but cook with fire and you’ll get something new every time. Andrew relishes that. “It’s so versatile. You can cook meat, fish and even dessert with the grill,” he says. “We even use the embers and the ashes, every dish will have some element that’s been touched by the fire.”