Rosemary beef tenderloin skewers crusted with cracked black pepper, with grilled pearl onions and finished with Torches' demi-glace. Hand-made potato gnocchi sauteed with exotic mushrooms, tossed in a savory sage cream and finished with Gorgonzola.

(photo: Rose Mattrey)

Set in a modest building on Kenmore Avenue, Torches is a new addition to Buffalo’s burgeoning restaurant scene. You enter through a narrow section of the building furnished with three slate tables and low chairs in front of a free-standing fireplace. On the wall the fire casts the first evidence of restaurant’s motif: Bands of light flicker in yellow, red and orange, making you feel as if you were in the midst of the flames.

Perhaps deriving energy from the fire with which they have surrounded themselves, brothers J.J. and Kevin Richert cookday and night, covering both lunch and dinner. Both brothers have been executive chefs in other well known restaurants, and both have culinary training. Torches is their first restaurant, however. Above the host stand, is a television, on which you can watch the boys at work, thanks to a camera placed right on the line in the kitchen. It’s an interesting show for anyone who enjoys the process of cooking—real reality TV.

We were greeted in a warm, welcoming manner and led through the two rooms of the restaurant. The first room is dominated by a semi-circular, light wood bar. A large television sits to the side and was playing Deal or No Deal. The bar is laden with any spirit you might care for. Four tables sit in this front room.

Through a rounded doorway we entered the second room, which accommodates the majority of the tables. Surrounded on two sides by windows and on one side by large, backlit mirrors, the room is subtly lit. The walls are burnt red and cream. The windows are covered with white three-quarter drapes adorned with red beading.

The lovely young woman who seated us was also our server. She was helpful in explaining the specials of the evening, which included Cape Maddock oysters with pickled coleslaw ($12), beer cheese soup with sirloin bread and a side of Great Lakes Burning River beer ($9) and Dijon-crusted Chilean sea bass with wild mushroom risotto ($24). We perused the drink choices and found that martinis are a favorite at Torches. Creative selections are offered, from passionfruit to raspberry truffle to blueberry cobbler. The beer list comprised mostly domestic selections, and they had two drafts with local flavor, Flying Bison and Great Lakes. The wine list is modest at the moment, with around 20 bottles offered, heavy on American selections.

The menu has a lot to take in. The other theme to Torches is “eclectic cuisine.”

For salads, they offer Caprese salad ($7) with ciliegini mozzarella, vine-ripened tomatoes and basil-infused olive oil, as well a classic Caesar ($7) with romaine, anchovies, egg and parmesan cheese. The “Light Beginnings” section ranges from sultry sesame chicken wings ($6), risotto arancini ($6) and St. Louis ribs ($8) to rosemary beef tenderloin skewers ($8). The diversity continues with pasta choices from shrimp carbonara ($15) to vegetable lo mein ($8), and entrees such as a 16-ounce Kansas City strip steak ($27), ahi tuna ($23), kung pao chicken ($12) and a filet mignon trio ($35).

We made our choices and soon after were presented with toasted bread slices with a parsley pesto for dipping. What a nice way to begin, with the crispness of the bread melding with the sweetness of the parsley. We opted to start with the chef’s pot stickers and handmade potato gnocchi. The presentation of the pot stickers was wonderful, in an appropriate Asian bowl with peaked corners and lovely soft lines. Loaded inside were five plump pot stickers, and to either side were small round sauce bowls containing an avocado lime sauce and a fiery chili sauce. The opposing sauces were both very good, the avocado offering coolness in contrast to the hotter offering. The tasty pot stickers were nicely loaded with spicy pork, wrapped in the well-seared wonton shell.

The homemade gnocchi were large and pillowy with a slight bite to them, as they should be. The sage cream sauce was a dark orange color and looked as well as tasted thick. Sautéed mushrooms were lost in this heavy sauce, as was the lightness of the gnocchi. Crumbled gorgonzola matched up and offered much needed salt and tang. I believe this appetizer could be a home run with a more subtle sauce.

For entrees, I had the playfully named “007 Salmon” and my friend went for the 14-ounce pork porterhouse. The salmon was cooked as I had requested, medium rare, and had a nice crispness on the outside from the pan-searing. The subtly flavored “From Russia with Love” martini sauce was ladled over the fish and large pearl onions and green olives settled beside. A cocktail sword with olives speared the center. The scoop of wild mushroom risotto was a disappointment, however—the flavor of mushroom was nearly lost. My friend’s grilled pork looked very appetizing. Generous in size, the pork was glazed with blackstrap molasses, which gave an earthy sweetness to the meat. The spicy yet sweet ginger-peach barbeque sauce complemented the pork perfectly. The accompanying green beans and heavy goat cheese mashed potatoes were not as impressive.

Desserts change daily and are prepared in-house. That night they offered chai spiced cheesecake, coconut crème brulee and our choice, fried ice cream coated in cinnamon crust, with homemade fruit sauce and Tuile cookie, recommended by our server. Simple in preparation, the fried ice cream lived up to our expectations, with a crisp, flavorful coating over the mound of vanilla ice cream.

The service we had was excellent. Not only did she follow the service points followed, our server was informed about the menu and attentive throughout. The atmosphere could be brought up a notch by better programming on the large, centrally located television, as well as music for the dining room. The lack of ambient sound made for listening to nearby tables’ conversations and clinking silverware. The enthusiasm the chefs have for cooking a variety of cuisine is apparent in their menu, yet they could benefit from more focus. With a little tweaking here and there, Torches should really come into its own.