“Refresh. Revive. Reinvent.” is the imperative motto of Novo, a new pan-Latin destination on the burgeoning western reaches of Spring Street. That’s a fair enough tag line for the place’s innovative, keen cooking, but it packs an additional resonance. Chef Alex Garcia, who worked with nuevo-Latino pioneer Douglas Rodriguez and solidified his rising-star status at Calle Ocho and at Babalu, was arrested in 2003 on charges of drug-related money laundering. At Novo, fresh from a year’s house arrest, he is trying to revive and reinvent a promising career.

The new restaurant is off to an excellent, professional start. Its menu of small and less-small plates accommodates a plethora of configurations: hot and cold tapas, salads, and ceviches can serve as starters to a small main course of pasta, rice, or meat; or the $12 mains can themselves be shared tapas-style. As executed by chef de cuisine Giovanni Ventura, the cooking effortlessly and cleanly blends ideas from Spain, Cuba, Peru, and other Spanish-speaking loci. Never heavy, never tiresome, the flavors, textures, and colors are vigorous, harmonious, and full of variety.

A star of the small plates ($8 each, or $30 for four) is the hot croquette, crisply browned and featuring savory bits of ham, cod, and chicken in a starchy substrate, while dots of vibrant lemony mayonnaise elevate the dish far beyond expectations. A couple of the tapas are more familiar than they might appear: A montadito of yellowtail salpicon is essentially a delicious tunasalad sandwich, with pepper- and yuzuflecked tuna layered on a stack of crisp garlic toasts. Similarly, a cocido of chorizo pieces stewed with peppers, potatoes, and kalamatas in a tomatoey base comes to the table bearing a strong resemblance to a bowl of good old North American chili.

Mr. Garcia’s six ceviches ($10 each or $36 for four) are enchanting, distinct little ecosystems, each regrettably too small to explore fully before it’s gone. One combines firm cubes of yellowtail with chile shreds and whole roast grape tomatoes in a mouth-filling yuzu liquor; another entangles strips of sea bass (lubina) with crisp sweet-potato fries, in a pungent, chipotle-fogged juice. A tuna ceviche bathed in sweet coconut and roughened with chile heat sounds a richer note.

Treating the $12 dishes on the last page of the menu as main courses results in a satisfying if somewhat odd-shaped meal. They include pastas (tallarines), grilled fare, and rice dishes. Pastas show the kitchen at its strongest. Wide ribbon noodles form the basis for andrajos, where they furl in a vernal broth with peas and tomatoes, topped with shreds of braised beef. A Spanish take on cannelloni fills the giant pasta tube with mellow ground pork and swaths it with a creamy sauce: The result is a satisfying dose of protein with a rich flavor. Fideua, packed with clams, mussels, and sweet shrimps, resembles fa miliar seafood paella, but short, toothsome noodles fill in for rice. A squirt of mayonnaise on top is unexpected, but melts into the pasta with delicious, rich effect.

Proper paella can be had, as well, rice and all, but you have to compose it yourself, by pairing the plump short-grain saffron rice from column A with the seafood assortment from column B. Other pleasant rice pairings include garlicky chaufa rice with short ribs (much like the beef in the andrajos) and mushroom-flavored rice tossed with a mushroom medley.

A selection of nine meats and fishes can be grilled to order: Smallish portions of lamb chops, beef sirloin, lubina, tuna, duck, and so forth come to the table on big plates, bearing no more adornment than their grill marks. A trio of rich sauces offers a narrow range of dipping hospitality. With these come side dishes: terrific fingerling patatas bravas,a yuca croquette, or spinach.

While not so great for the restaurant’s bottom line, the BYO liquor policy (for now) complements the menu’s elegant versatility: Patrons can bring their own rum to add to the fruity virgin house cocktails, or wine; or a neighboring liquor store is happy to deliver with no markup beyond a tip to the courier. Dessert, likewise, is absent, at least for the time being; instead, a seasonal petits-fours selection arrives unbidden at the end of the meal.

However well-conceived and well-balanced, Novo’s cooking sits slightly uncomfortably in the tight room. The restaurant feels like it was designed for a larger space and then squeezed into this one: The looming bar has no seats, and additional preparation and plating tasks that overflow the open kitchen take place on an adjoining counter. Regardless, the casual ambience works well, and, spotted back story aside, the keen diversity of flavors and the affordable menu format make Novo an alluring repeat destination.

Novo, 290 Hudson St., between Spring and Dominick streets, 212-989-6410.