Toronto restauranteurs are learning quickly that diners eat with their eyes first -- especially when that comes to ambiance. Experience Il Mulino's mastery of this when you pay $65 (regularly $140) for a four-course meal for two inside this Forest Hill haunt that pairs a bucolic backdrop of Italian villa living with upscale, Zagat-rated plates. The scene is set with flickering tea candles resting on the wall moulding, as you choose a first course of roasted red pepper and tomato purée, baby spinach salad, or steamed mussels swathed in San Marzano tomato broth. Under cream arched dining room ceilings, you'll select a second course of mixed mushrooms with truffle oil or gnocchi in a tomato-basil sauce. Third-course offerings are as hearty as the black plank distressed hardwood flooring underfoot, including linguini with lobster, Mediterranean sea bass in a lemon-basil dressing, a ten-ounce U.S. Angus beef strip steak, or a ten-ounce grilled veal chop with caramelized onions. Leafy green plants tucked into tight corners of the dining room are the final touch, mimicking your attempt to squeeze in the last course of fruit shortcake, peach cobbler, or Lindt chocolate gelato from Gelato Fresco.