If you go out to enough restaurants, you start developing a few truisms. Never bother ordering the pork chop, for example, because it’s bound to be overcooked, tough, and dry. And unless you’re in a steakhouse or a bistro, don’t expect much from the steak. And no matter how interesting a given lo mein dish may sound, it’s still just mediocre spaghetti.

Plate NYC, a new SoHo restaurant, turns these axioms on their heads, however, and it does so against some pretty long odds. For starters, the cuisine is Latin/Asian fusion, which is usually code for “trendy, overpriced fare that’s just a backdrop for even trendier, pricier cocktails.” The Eurodisco soundtrack that hits you when you arrive doesn’t exactly counter this impression. Neither does the badly over-designed front bar area, which features six different light fixture designs. And the lighting isn’t the only thing that’s overdone. The menu tries much too hard to play off of the restaurant’s name, breaking down the offerings into sections like “Small Plates,” “Lead Plates,” and “Main Plates.” Okay, so main plates are obviously entrees, but what exactly is the difference between a small plate and a lead plate? (Answer: Not much – they’re both appetizers.) Plus there’s an extra category called “Bowls,” which includes a mix of appetizers and entrees.

All of this suggests a place that’s more interested in style than substance. So it’s a testament to chef Ricardo Hernandez (formerly of the Soho Cantina, a Mexican spot that I haven’t visited) that most of his dishes cut through all the nonsense and deliver inventive, satisfying food.

Many of the appetizers are designed for sharing. One of the best is ground lamb formed around skewers ($7), much like a kefta kebab, except that chipotle brown sugar has been mixed in with the lamb, and the skewers are actually stalks of lemongrass, which you can chew on as you devour the meat. It’s a fun, creative starter.

Rock-shrimp tempura ($7) is another winner. The shrimp nuggets are crisp and snappy, and the tempura coating is suitably light and not the least bit greasy. It’s not clear if the accompanying green sauce was meant to evoke Mexican salsa verde or Japanese wasabi – Latin or Asian? – but either way, it’s too mild. Fortunately, there’s also a soy-ginger sauce, which is much better, and the shrimp are good enough to stand on their own anyway.

Chicken lollipops ($6) with a rumhoisin glaze are irresistible finger food. Two huge, meaty seared scallops with a truffle butter sauce ($10) are excellent, although the underlying bed of seaweed salad is too strong for any but the most devoted seaweed fans. And Mr. Hernandez has come up with some excellent and unexpected uses for Asian five-spice powder, which helps transform a seared duck breast ($14) into a special treat (although the accompanying hunk of foie gras doesn’t hurt either).

The five-spice powder reappears, to stunning effect, as the coating for a 12- ounce porterhouse steak. Although overpriced at $25, it’s a very nice piece of meat, and the five-spice treatment makes a surprisingly good flavor pairing with the beef. It comes with a small portion of pickled cabbage flecked with red pepper flakes and black sesame seeds, which first tastes sweet and then becomes bracingly spicy. This small side dish was my favorite single thing at Plate NYC – ask if you can order some for your table, even if you don’t get the porterhouse.

Having laid waste to my long-held steak truism, Mr. Hernandez next challenged my pork chop assumptions. His massive, miso-glazed pork rib chop ($24) is a beauty-juicy, flavorful, and pink, served with a delicious pineapple-habanero chutney. It was so good, in fact, that somebody at my table cast aside all notions of decorum and picked up the bone to gnaw on. And yes, that somebody was me.

The best of the seafood entrees is the chorizo-crusted grouper ($21). It’s a brilliant pairing – as you bring a forkful to your mouth, the smokiness of the chorizo hits your nose, followed by the grouper’s oceanic flavor on your tongue. The fish sits on a bed of sauteed hearts of palm, an underutilized veggie that works perfectly.

Also worthwhile: lobster mofongo ($21), an excellent take on the traditional Puerto Rican mashed plantain dish, with big hunks of lobster balancing out the starchy plantains and a citrusy mojito sauce adding a refreshing undercurrent. Even shrimp lo mein works ($11), thanks to a tropical edge provided by slices of caramelized coconut. The only certifiable dud is the Asian-style paella ($16), a humdrum assortment of shellfish, mealy Chinese sausage, and lackluster jasmine rice.

Desserts, unfortunately, are problematic, because all are priced at $12 and designed for sharing – fine if you’re with a big group, but not so great if only one person has a sweet tooth, or if two people can’t agree on a choice.

If possible, try to steer your group toward the profiteroles, which are filled with a passion fruit cream – it adds a slightly sour, pungent note that plays nicely against the sweetness of the chocolate sauce topping. Next best choice: the chocolate plate, which features an assortment of small pastries. Avoid the wholly unremarkable Asian spiced brownies.

In many respects, Plate NYC turns out to be exactly what it seems like: trendy, overpriced, and far too style conscious. Fortunately, it also has a good deal of substance going for it.

Plate NYC, 264 Elizabeth St., 212-219-9212.