Sweet Cherubim

I have always admired Sweet Cherubim's outdoor patio at Commercial and Napier. I love its scale in relation to its building; the cut, construction and colour of its wood; its height; and the integration of its flower boxes. Only once have I sat on it, and that was in the summertime, early 1980s, when I stopped to have a bowl of Mulligatawny soup (as food writer Felicity Cloake says of this Indian restaurant staple, it is "always there, never ordered").

In an effort to make life easier for Vancouver restaurants, the City has relaxed restrictions on outdoor patios (see the CoV's Temporary Expedited Patio Program, or TEPP). As a result, we have now some rather awkward looking dining pens, the worst of them beyond the curb where cars park. Though I am sure many servers are happy to be back on the job, it must be hard having to dodge pedestrians who stop to gawk at how unattractive these outdoor patios can be.