The Observatory has all the makings of a hip place to hang out and eat: it’s located in a once-sketchy area that’s gentrifying from other well-loved restaurants; it’s cleverly designed and full of conversation pieces; the cocktail menu is infusion-crazy; and dinner is surprisingly good and affordable.

First, consider the décor, which is just a lot of fun. Cable-and-bulb light fixtures descend from the ceiling like War of the Worlds creatures; turn-of-the-century-style furnishings make for a cool but understated lounge space; 12-pointed stars glow throughout rooms painted in shades of blue.

The dinner menu would be somewhat prosaic if not for the elegant inclusion of some exciting Ashkenazi flavors. Smoked whitefish salad doesn’t appear on just any modern menu, you know. And this one is good, in a smallish portion with dense crackers and house-pickled vegetables. Smoked trout salad with hard-boiled eggs, potatoes, green beans, olives, and tomatoes makes for a sort of improved Niçoise combination that we can’t get enough of. A paprika-dusted potato pancake, served with sustainably fished snapper cooked to an ideal moist flakiness, is nice with wilted (not melted) peppery greens and a citrusy sorrel aïoli.

About those Southeast Asian influences: this is not a rampant misuse of buzzword ingredients like lemongrass, coconut, and Thai this and that; it’s rather a considerate (dare we say it) fusion that makes sense. Mussels in a ginger-sake broth with cilantro and basil, for instance. Be warned: this is a rather small portion. But the mussels are plump and huge and the price is right. Savory fry bread makes a popular vessel for the broth, but share with your tablemates; this is the calorie-happy dish that, in 2005, was famously accused of causing rampant obesity in Native Americans.

The average wine list seems to have been subjugated in favor of a slightly more interesting beer selection that includes a few locals on draft and some decent imports in bottle. Cocktails are more of a focus here, made with every infusion you can imagine: Thai-chili-infused vodka; hibiscus-and-açai-infused tequila; rhubarb-infused Cachaça; and so on. But is all the fuss suspicious or just playful? The answer lies, for us, in a “Santorini Martini” in which a dirty martini is made even more convoluted with a sweetening balsamic vinegar, and then garnished with kalamata and feta-stuffed green olives.

Zoiks. At least the kitchen understands that less is more.