Kalugin disappointed me by not downing a few shots of Stolichnaya vodka, but then, it was lunchtime. Instead, he ordered tea and a hamburger, which was the size of a small land mine and was served on a sweet potato roll ($10).

McGovern had iced tea and the grilled Atlantic salmon, accompanied by shredded potato cake and heirloom tomato salad ($15). Both praised their respective dishes but didn’t make a fuss over them.

However, Kalugin had one complaint. “There’s no live music,” he said. “The spy business is such a romantic business — seduction, entrapment. An upscale restaurant specializing in intrigue and deception and espionage, all these things have to be accompanied by good music.”

Be that as it may, I had no complaints about the food. My sweet corn and mussel chowder with applewood smoked bacon and corn flan ($5) was one of the best soups I’ve ever had, even if Kalugin did lace it with truth serum to get me to tell him when we’re going to invade Iraq — no, just kidding.

My wide ribbon pasta and wild mushrooms, tossed with sautéed garlic, basil and mushroom essence, were equally impressive. The Hill’s gourmet photographer, Pat Ryan, was pleased with his baked ham and smoked Gouda grilled sandwich ($10) served with red onion marmalade and drunken mayonnaise, whatever that is.

But where Zola really shines is at dinner. My wife and I and another guest tried a panoply of dishes, ranging from the grilled New York strip steak with cheddar cheese potato cake and grilled asparagus ($24) to the grilled lamb loin, served with lamb sausage, garlic pita and mint sauce ($22) to the grilled Ahi tuna, served with green herb and bacon potato salad and warm mustard vinaigrette ($18). All were superb, except for the lamb, which was fatty and had little taste.

Chef Carroll was trained in the classical French style at the Minneapolis branch of the French National Cooking School, and by working with top U.S. chefs, including Daniel Boulud in New York and Robert Greault at La Colline. He calls the latter “a phenomenal chef who knows more about food and running a kitchen than anyone I’ve ever met.”

Carroll’s trademark is simplicity. He proves it with his pan-seared lobster ($21). The lobster is parboiled, then taken out of the shell and finished off by cooking in lobster tomato broth, and served with Swiss chard ravioli, baby beets and parsley. “A very simple dish,” he explained.

He likes working with seafood. One favorite is the braised rockfish, which he cooks in a saffron garlic broth and serves with mussels, tiny clams and Yukon gold potatoes ($19). “That, for me, is something that enables me to mix classic technique with a modern approach to cooking,” he said.

Carroll also prides himself on his red brick roasted chicken, which is completely deboned, then pan-roasted under a foil-wrapped brick ($15). “It’s an old Italian technique,” he said. “It seals in all the juices and makes the skin very crispy.”

Zola’s kitchen also serves the more informal 50-seat Spy City Café. Both restaurants are a joint venture of the Star Restaurant Group and the Malrite Company, which also operates Red Sage.

Zola features several traditional American desserts with a twist, including Carroll’s — and my — favorite, a lemon chiffon pudding ($7) straight out of his mother’s kitchen. “It’s our best seller and the owner loves telling people it’s my mom’s recipe,” said Carroll.

Zola is as suave and debonair as Sean Connery, who made his debut as Secret Agent 007 in the first Bond movie, “Dr. No,” 40 years ago last month. And it’s as up-to-date as Pierce Brosnan, who appears in the 20th Bond spy thriller, scheduled for release this month. They could have used Zola for the movie set.

Zola is the most exciting new addition to the local dining scene this year. It’s definitely worth a try.