What do the cuisines of Vietnam, Morocco, and Lebanon have in common? Not a lot on the surface, but Didier Virot, chef of the Upper West Side’s Aix, unites them at his new restaurant under the rubric of their French influences. The SoHo spot, infelicitously named FR. OG, short for “France Origine,” compiles inspirations from spicy colonial France. Its setting is baroquely over-designed, with a spiral staircase inside a cylinder of mirrors descending into a pastel dining room of coral-colored couches, filigreed lamps, and heavy, overlarge tables that are a chore to squeeze past. The effect is faintly exotic, like a Mediterranean lounge or spa, but instead of transporting the diner, the design calls attention to itself relentlessly. The menu focuses specifically, albeit loosely, on Vietnam, Morocco, and Lebanon: There are no Cajun offerings, no Martiniquais colombo curry nor Senegalese mafe, no poutine. Instead, there are familiar imports, such as fried spring rolls (a pair for $12) stuffed with ground pork or shrimp. They have good flavor but their fried shells lack the shattering crispness one expects; a side salad with creamy garlic dressing makes an odd accompaniment. Tabouli salad ($12) is excellent, minty and light, but overdressed with a layer of tepid sliced lamb that adds little, though it’s the ostensible core of the dish. More of the tabouli, with just the savory harissa vinaigrette but minus the meat, would be preferable.

The food is at its most exciting when the chef melds the disparate traditions, starting with a dip that accompanies the starting plate of flatbread. It’s a Middle Eastern chickpea purée, spiked with cumin but also with a substantial dose of fresh cilantro that piques the palate and hints at Southeast Asia at the same time. Briouats ($13), crisp Moroccan filled phyllo pastries, are filled with too-mild crabmeat, but effectively sauced with potent lime and mashed avocado, a tropical touch that’s decidedly not Moroccan. Among the main courses, roast chicken in a thick honey-tinged sauce ($24) has simple North African panache, sweet and complex, with a few blackened edges adding interest to the meat, while what looks like pasta on the side turns out to be long, crunchy strands of green papaya in an Asian-style salad, piqued with lime and anise.

Mr. Virot has a virtuosic ability with flavors — not many chefs could hybridize such disparate cuisines with such grace — but texture, the other half of the equation, is oddly deficient at FR.OG. His sautéed pork loin ($26) is wonderfully seasoned, wallowing in a stickily delicious pool of sweetly spicy ginger caramel sauce, and accompanied by a succulent, summery melange of corn, bacon, and scallions — but the meat itself has the cottony consistency of over-lean, overcooked pork. Another of the most interesting dishes is a hard-to-categorize treat of salmon sautéed with fragrant lime leaves, sauced with a thin, tart tomato concoction studded with juicy chanterelles, and perched on a pillow of pasta the size of a business envelope, stuffed with a pâté of mussels that tastes richly of the sea. But the fish itself, a long filet that straddles the plate dramatically, is cooked past flakiness to desiccation. The trend carries over to the slightly soggy spring roll, the limp lamb loin: It’s an oddly consistent quirk.

A big scoop of braised lamb shank ($28) is much better, its meat practically dissolved in a hearty, cinnamon-spiced stew dotted with chick peas and raisins — and occasional unwelcome shards of lamb bone. Incongruously on the far side of the large, lovely red plate perch a few slices of rareish duck breast without much flavor of their own.

The hot, handsomely fluffed almond soufflé ($12) makes for a somewhat bland dessert; on the opposite end of the spectrum is a bowl of pungent lime sherbet ($10) surrounded with cold lychee broth and bits of bright papaya. The best might be one that captures the decor’s frivolity: a cream-soaked sponge cake served with Bailey’s Irish Cream ice cream, and surrounded by coconut-scented foam. A number of the house cocktails (all $13) could substitute for dessert: There’s a rose-ginger-lychee one, a mint vodka with honey liqueur, and cognac swirled with almond liqueur and almond milk. Wines from all over France are joined by Lebanese, Moroccan, and even a Corsican bottle.

FR.OG (71 Spring St., between Lafayette and Crosby streets, 212-966-5050).