Wheelchair accessible (except for restrooms). No smoking. Credit cards accepted. Reservations recommended.

There's no denying some chefs' enthusiasm. On a recent Saturday night at La Cava, a one-and-a-half-year-old haute Mexican restaurant in Ambler, the specials list was pushing phonebook proportions. There were oysters, lobster, whole fish of several varieties -- clearly someone was sick of the regular menu and went on a bender at the seafood purveyor. When our server finished describing the evening's offerings, one of my dining companions asked, "That's it?" "Well, I could probably come up with a few other things, too," the server said with a wink. There was no more time for joking, though. We had to decide, so we went back to our chips and pico de gallo and mulled over the possibilities.

Like Tamarindo's in nearby Blue Bell, La Cava is spicing up an area of Montgomery County where a handful of stodgy inns and taverns have monopolized the dining scene for the past 200 years. It's about time they got some chili peppers up in that joint.

Though its name means "wine cellar," La Cava is a BYO and the decor is decidedly above-ground. The modestly sized storefront is cast in periwinkle and lemon yellow with simple cobalt glass lights suspended over the tables and pastel-colored paintings of Mexican pottery. On a weekend it's packed with residents from surrounding suburbs, many of whom complete the date with a dose of Dame Judi at the Ambler Theater a couple doors down.

The appeal of La Cava is both its culinary elegance and lack of pretension. Service is quick, efficient and friendly. Our plates arrived with exacting coordination, an accomplishment that is probably more unusual than it should be. Plates are colorfully dressed up with tomato roses, carrot coins, sprinklings of fresh herbs and often unannounced side dishes, like a tomato smothered in melted cheese. As a diner you feel cared for but not fussed over.

While the specials list tempted us away from the regular selections, the menu's combination of traditional and European-inflected Mexican dishes should not be overlooked. Tortilla soup was delicious and on point, its almost-bitter tomato and chile broth layered with skinny still-crunchy matchsticks of fried tortilla and creamy wedges of avocado. Another appetizer featured two delicate crepes filled with small bay scallops, folded into envelopes and covered in a subtle but rich shrimp sauce. Only the ceviche of tilapia, tomatoes and Serrano peppers struck a too-acrid note, an excess of lime juice ringing on the palate.

We moved on quite happily to Yucatan-style cochinita pibil, pork tips marinated in achiote and orange juice, served on a bed of velvety refried beans; and a generous plate of shrimp and crisp steamed broccoli and carrots on a liquid yin yang formation of pasilla, chipotle and guajillo sauces. The sauces, alternately mild and tangy, were beautifully juxtaposed.

A few of the entrees were perhaps a little too safe to be truly memorable. Both the puntas a la mexicana, or filet mignon tips stewed in tomato, and the chicken breast stuffed with chorizo, potatoes and Oaxaca cheese were moist and tender, but lacked punch. Here the same steamed vegetables that so nicely complemented the spicy shrimp only heightened the dishes' blandness.

Of course, there was plenty of big-flavor artistry in the specials, like the two skinned poblano peppers stuffed with lobster and shrimp, bathed in a sweet almond sauce and sprinkled with jewellike pomegranate seeds, or the impossibly plump oysters breaded and served with a remoulade dip, both of which were appetizers. In the entree department, half of what must have been an elephantine duck was roasted in a red wine sauce until it fell off the bone in marvelous shreds. Another special featured a summery seared ahi tuna crowned with a fresh 'n' fruity pico de gallo with orange segments.

Desserts, all homemade, are a uniform $5.50 a pop ($6 at dinner) but the list changes regularly. On my visits I encountered a mountainous slice of chocolate cake filled with strawberries and a towering puff of pastel de tres leches, which was more spongy than moist. The flan, whispery smooth and doused in a pool of amber syrup, was excellent. The cajetas, or crepes oozing with goat's milk caramel and sprinkled with crushed walnuts, were even better. On the menu or off, it just doesn't get more special than that.

La Cava 60 E. Butler Ave., Ambler, Pa., 215-540-0237
Hours: Mon.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 5-10 p.m.; Sat., 5-10 p.m.
Appetizers, $5.50-$13; entrees, $6.25-$26.50