The flavors flow at Brookline's Orinoco

The seared Atún is rubbed with adobo and served alongside an arugula salad with sun-dried tomato vinaigrette. (Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff)

There are some restaurants I like enough that I idly wish they were closer to my neighborhood. Then there's Orinoco on Harvard Street, which I like so much that I've started scheming about moving to its Brookline Village neighborhood.

Orinoco is that rare find: an affordable restaurant with spectacular food in a stylish space with a vibrant scene. The restaurant, sibling of the popular South End space opened two years ago by Andres Branger and chef Carlos Rodriguez, is not without its faults. On a couple of visits, the space is buzzing and the energy is infectious. But people are lined up waiting for tables, and the din is overwhelming at the U-shaped bar facing the windows; the noise level is not helped by the lovely tin ceiling. The tin, a brick wall, old family photos, and colorful masks give the room a cozy, tavern-like feel, but sound bounces like crazy.

The service during the dinner rush is friendly but haphazard. Any annoyance disappears, though, the minute you take a bite of the food. It's inspired by Venezuelan roadside specialties, and it's also just plain inspired.

We start with tostones ($4.25), maybe the perfect bar food. Green plantain rounds are twice-fried and flattened into golden discs, served with creamy garlic mojo. You really can't eat just one.

Arepas, grilled corn flour rounds about the size of a big English muffin stuffed with fillings, are a staple in Venezuela. The domino ($5.75) is filled with smoky black beans (some of the meatiest, most satisfying I've tasted) and mild palmizulia cheese.

Another typical Latin American dish is empanadas, a sort of turnover. The pastry for the verde empanada ($7.95) is made with plantains, and it's filled with juicy mushrooms, manchego cheese, and salsa verde. Served with a salad of mixed greens lightly dressed with vinaigrette, the verde makes a satisfying, light, summer meal.

Endives and hearts of palm are mixed with greens and tossed with cabrales cheese and vinaigrette in the creamy, tangy palmito ($7.50), a salad that's so yummy it doesn't need its accompanying bacon-wrapped, almond-filled dates - but we were happy to have the irresistible combination of sweet, salty, smooth, and crunchy.

Panela, raw sugar, shows up in several specialties, including the asado negro ($12.95), chunks of beef slow-cooked with panela and onions, and polvorosa de pollo ($13), a stew of shredded chicken in sweet-savory, cinnamon-y sauce stuffed into a round pastry, the pinnacle of pot-pies.

Atún ($14.75), tender tuna coated with a peppery adobo seasoning, is beautifully seared and cut into strips that are ruby red in the middle, pink on the edges.

Flan and molten chocolate cake are the only desserts. We're always looking for the perfect flan, so we try quesillo ($4.25) on each visit. This Venezuelan version has nice eggy, vanilla, and burnt caramel flavors, but twice the custard is tough and grainy. The third time's the charm - perfect, firm but silky custard.

Drinks can be hit or miss. On one visit, we get a chokingly strong caipirinha and a perfect mojito, on another we get a perfect caipirinha and a too-sugary, too weak mojito (same bartender) - but you can always order Negra Modelo, a fine dark Mexican lager, or the sangria, so popular it's gone before we get around to ordering a glass.

The many regulars at the bar greeting each other and chatting with the bartender obviously share my enthusiasm for this gem. Now where are those Brookline real estate listings?