Mustard-colored walls, burgundy booths and seats and a welcoming vibe fill Nia's dining room. This Mediterranean small-plates spot offers a variety of satisfying dishes catering mostly to carnivores, though the cucumber and mint salad, with tomatoes and feta cheese, is a visually appealing and flavorful starter.

Small plates ($5-$14) run from fries and marinated mushrooms to broiled octopus to lamb and feta meatballs with a saffron-almond sauce. The food is flavorful on its own, but if you want, you can add any of several $2 dipping sauces to your plates. Choices include spicy date chutney, pepper pesto and mint-cilantro.

Not into sharing? There are a variety of entrees available ($18-$24). Yia Yia's chicken, half of a roasted chicken with fettucine, came marinated in lemon, olive oil and oregano, and although it was appetizing, it was more food than this tummy could handle for dinner. Pasta options include seafood-laden angel hair with a lemon-caper herb sauce and potato gnocchi with shrimp, peppers and a cream sauce. If you saved room, there's rice pudding, cherry tiramisu and sorbet with strawberries for dessert.

Average cost: $21-$30

Centerstage Reviewer: Mary Susan Littlepage