In any case, the place was all but deserted when we stopped by on a recent weeknight to sample the wares, meaning our first gastropub experience felt strangely similar to eating in a sparsely attended sports bar.

In addition to the nine or 10 pool tables, there are also pockets of comfy leather couches and coffee tables, or taller tables with high-backed chairs for small groups.

We opted for the latter, and were quickly greeted by a server who recommended the $5 pizza deal that was the daily special. We knew we'd be getting to those soon enough, so instead began with the most interesting of the menu options -- the pike cakes, the ginger bison, and (in keeping with the whole sports bar theme), the baked nachos.

The pike cakes were the clear winners -- amply sized mounds of locally caught fish, coated with slightly spicy panko crumbs and served with wasabi-infused tartar sauce and a cool cucumber relish.

The nachos were also first-rate -- piled high with cheese, re-fried beans, olives, tomatoes and banana pepper with sour cream and house-made salsa (plus your choice of bison or spicy chicken) -- but the ginger bison dish was a bit of a letdown.

Not only was it difficult to discern much meat under all that sticky ginger sauce (more on that later), but the strips themselves had been over-cooked, and the promised crispy noodles amounted to little more than a sprinkling.

While the prices for the appetizers all fall within the $6 to $11 range, the portions are on the smallish size, meaning a subsequently ordered pound of wings was also underwhelming.

You can choose from Spicy Sticky Honey, Luxsolé BBQ or Thai-Yaki; we went with the Thai option, but couldn't tell much difference between that sauce and the coating on the ginger beef.

We fared better with the Lux bruschetta, a do-it-yourself platter comprised of long crusty buns, almond-encrusted goat cheese, fresh salsa, mango chutney and yummy roasted whole garlic cloves.

The menu also offers salt-and-pepper dry ribs, rice paper veggie rolls, oysters, chicken skewers and baked shrimp with artichoke dip, but after being reminded of the pizza special for the third time by our server, we caved and ordered two pies.

One was incredible -- a steak fajita pizza topped with juicy beef strips, green peppers, caramelized onions and guacamole -- but the BBQ chicken version was a slight disappointment, if for no other reason than it was drizzled with more of that same sauce.

Missteps aside, the new gastropub should still do a brisk business, especially if the owners (Erickson natives Lawrence and Chris Warwaruk) get their patio installed in time for summer.

As mentioned, the place has the capacity to hold quite a crowd, there are three big-screen TVs, and the rotating menu specials and beer-wine-and-cocktail selection should have bar-hoppers flocking to what's quickly becoming one of the city's trendiest destinations.

Most importantly, the prices won't break the bank. Our total for three --plus tip and a few rounds of drinks -- came to just over $100.

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HHH 1/2

Luxalune

Gastropub

Address: 734 Osborne St. S.

Phone: 453-0222

Hours: 5 p.m. - midnight, Sun. - Thu.; 5 p.m. - 1 a.m., Fri. & Sat.

I confess, most of my experience has been with a different kind of pub, in England — all cosy little places; or, if big, divided up into cosy little areas, and all of them serving more affordable edible food than was available in most restaurants. And, almost without exception, with barmen or barmaids who called me “luv” — it’s probably a measure of a weak ego that I always thought it meant they liked me.

These days I spend more of my life in restaurants, where nobody calls me luv, and I have almost no basis by which to compare Luxalune with other local pubs, gastro or otherwise. In any case, this one is a huge hangar of a room, not exactly what one would call cosy, with walls — part cinder block, part wood paneling — done entirely in dark brown, and punctuated by three big-screen TVs. The centre is dominated by pool tables, with several solid wood tables and leather (I think) love-seats and easy chairs, as well as high bar-type tables and stools, scattered around the perimeter.

There are no pub grub classics —no steak and kidney pie, no bangers and mash, no fish and chips and such — most of which, to tell the truth, are probably disappearing from pubs in England too, giving way there also to the kind of food that is offered here, i.e. an eclectic menu featuring small plates of trendy, finger-friendly foods. The kind that might turn up as appetizers in restaurants, or snacks in some upmarket cafes, and most, fortunately, delicious.

The menu (we were told) will soon be changed, but at present, a single serving of some of the dishes might be enough for a light meal, at least for dainty appetites, and two of them might be dinner. They are painlessly priced too, with most from $6.99 to $10.99, taxes included.

Whatever else may turn up on the new menu, I hope the pike cakes won’t be dropped. It was the hands-down favourite of my bunch, two crisp, panko-breaded patties that (unlike some) tasted mostly of fish and not of filler. With them, a wasabi-flavoured tartar sauce and fresh cucumber relish. Other top choices were tiny dry ribs, coated with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, served with a nippy dipping sauce; and crisply fried wee strips of bison glazed in a sticky sauce redolent of garlic and ginger, paired with a Thai-style salsa and served with crispy noodles.

Although the lime-flavoured marinade had more flavour than the meat itself, the little skewers of chicken breast were acceptable, and the bed of sesame-seasoned noodle salad was delicious. A hot shrimp boat turned out to be tastier than I expected when I first saw the miniscule shrimp, the kind I’m usually wary of. These turned out to have a nice flavour, and weren’t overwhelmed by the sauce (a kind of bechamel) that covered it. With it, good toasted wedges of pita, although the refills we got after finishing the first batch were untoasted, dry and dull. Another of our favourites was actually more a side than a meal-type dish — the wedges of deep-fried sweet potato with a cucumber-dill dip.

Two dishes were disappointing, however. The gratinee of panko crumbs and parmigiano reggiano over our oysters au gratin was just fine, but the oysters beneath were so tiny (either that or they’d been minced) that without paying very close attention one might miss them altogether. In any case, the dish will be dropped from the upcoming new menu (we were told), but how great would it be if they were replaced by fresh oysters on the half shell... I can dream, can’t I? The other was an Asian lettuce wrap, consisting mainly of diced chicken in an unpleasantly sweet sauce, to be wrapped in iceberg lettuce leaves and dipped into a wasabi aioli. According to the menu, there should also have been gyoza dumplings but they didn’t turn up with our order.

I don’t know what other items will be dropped when the new menu comes out, but at present the remaining choices include nachos, vegetarian salad rolls, a pound of spicy barbecued wings, a green salad, a bowl of assorted olives, a California roll (crabmeat, avocado, etc.), bison spring rolls, goat cheese bruschetta, a bison reuben, a tapas pizza (with everything), and a chicken and cheddar quesadilla. No desserts as yet, but they are in the works.

My visit was on a very slow night, so I can’t predict the service when the place is busy. In our case, though, it couldn’t have been better — friendly, attentive and endlessly helpful.