Cuba, the hungry modernist

Walking into Paladar, a new Cuban bistro in Hollywood, I can’t help myself. My hand reaches out to touch the wall. “Yes, they’re tobacco leaves,” the hostess says. “You won’t believe how long it took to lacquer them.”

The leaves form handsome lampshades, too, that bathe the room in sepia light. They, and the evocative photos along one wall -- an old car, the blur of a street scene, a painting of Che Guevara -- are the only references to Cuba in the decor. Unless you count the huge red star stenciled on the window.

This is no mom ‘n’ pop Cuban restaurant. It’s a modernist take on the idea of Cuba, set next door to the club Nacional. Tables are spare and functional, some of them corralled behind a chic metal lattice. And though the food is Cuban in inspiration, the menu includes the occasional touch from other south-of-the-border locales.

Also unusual for a trendy place like this is that everyone is actually eating -- and with gusto. Paladar is also affordable. For $10, you can get a lush Cuban sandwich of sliced ham, shredded pork, Swiss cheese and pickles between halves of a crisp warm bun. Did I mention it comes with some of the best fries I’ve had -- ever? But I digress.

You can start with grilled octopus in a cranberry bean and squash salsa, or juicy marinated hearts of palm salad laced with tomatoes, baby artichokes and garbanzos.

There’s also an unusual salad of upland cress, shaved fennel and sliced yellow beets tied together with a creamy coconut milk dressing.

As for those staples of Cuban cuisine -- black beans and rice -- the beans are properly soupy, the rice nice and fluffy. I liked the ropa vieja (“old clothes”), but rabo encendido, oxtails braised in wine, is even better. Think Cuban osso buco. And the grilled skirt steak comes with a fabulous, fresh-tasting chimichurri spiked with cilantro.

My friends and I would have been extremely happy campers if the noise level hadn’t ratcheted up so high we couldn’t hear a word anybody was saying. Oh, well, there was nothing else to do but order up another round of mojitos. At Paladar, they come tradicional or especial, the only difference being whether the mint is crushed or not.

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Paladar Bistro Cubano

Where: 1651 Wilcox Ave., Hollywood (just south of Hollywood Boulevard). Parking in lot next door.

When: Open Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to approximately midnight; Saturday and Sunday from 7 p.m. to approximately midnight.

Cost: Appetizers $5 to $14; sandwiches $10; main courses $13 to $19.

Info: (323) 465-7500.