FM radio plays overhead at Signs and I seem to be the only one hearing it.

Signs is Canada’s first restaurant mostly staffed by deaf servers.

Diners order in sign language, using a “cheat book” if needed. This lets the deaf dine and work in their own environment while inviting the hearing into their world.

It’s a worthy concept, but how does it taste? Good, it turns out.

I don’t know American Sign Language and rely on the cheat book — laminated flip sheets with simple drawings — to work everything out.

I zero in on the salmon noodle salad ($17), with its three signs. Chopped salad, with just two signs, would be easier but these are more fun. “Salmon” is your hand wiggling upstream. “Noodle” is your pinkies twirling outward from each other. “Salad” is tossing your hands in the air.

I practice my order a few times before signing it to the server. She understands.

This is how Signs bridges the gap between deaf and hearing. I feel both the thrill and stress of entering a different world. It’s also enlightening: Though the menu is written in English and the customs are familiar, I struggle to express myself. I’m learning not only a new language but also empathy.

The salad is less complicated. Chef Marc Breton (ex-Gladstone Hotel) grills thin slices of skinless salmon fillet until warm and rare in centre. The Japanese-style glaze of soy sauce, maple syrup and sesame oil is straightforward.

Underneath is a tangle of chilled soba noodles, slightly gummy and woven with julienned cucumber, snow peas, mango and red onion. It’s crunchy and refreshing, especially when I hit the fresh mint.

“I like,” I sign to the server when she asks. It helps that she mouths the words as she signs them.

And I learn this: Thumbs up is universally understood.

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Signs, 558 Yonge St. (at Wellesley St.), 647-349-7446, signsrestaurant.ca. Open seven days, 11 a.m. to midnight.