Café de Vie is a small deli and catering service that has pushed past the limitations of its basement space to become a hot new bistro. Raul Ibarra is the Johnson & Wales-trained chef (formerly at Mediterraneo and Viola’s) and wife Kara, also a J&W alum, is the café’s warm and informative hostess.

We found our way to the Ibarras’ haven on a recent rainy night and were immediately cheered by the primary colors in the dining room. There are shades of blue and yellow on the walls, with silver accents on the woodwork; yellow, red, and blue spotlights from the ceiling; those colors and more in the pottery-shard mosaic tabletops made by Kara and her sister. Chic European food posters claim one wall; dozens of 8x10-inch photos by a local artist another. A countertop tucked into an alcove has serve-yourself coffee carafes and a jar full of complimentary biscotti.

Bill was facing the deli case and the lunch menu on the wall behind it, so he kept reading out items that caught his eye: "the chef’s own Caesar vinaigrette" on the Caesar salad; fresh soup in a bread boule; a half-pound Black Angus burger; the BLT with hickory-smoked bacon; PB&J, with grape jam. Egg breakfasts or any of the baker’s dozen sandwiches can be ordered at any time of day.

I noticed the three Sicilian-style pizzas on the printed menu: the Italian, with fresh mozzarella and caramelized onions; the BBQ, with barbecued chicken, cilantro, red onions, and smoked gouda; and the Mexican, with smashed black beans, melted cheddar, topped with lettuce, tomato, crumbled tortilla chips, and ranch dressing.

But we had come for dinner, so we turned our attention to the modest but eclectic list of appetizers and entrées. For starters, there’s an antipasto with seasonal fruits, plus cheese and meats; a roasted garlic artichoke dip; miso-sesame chicken wontons; and fried calamari. Despite the lure of the wontons, Kara’s description of the homemade picadillo relish with the calamari won us over. Large rings of squid, lightly sautéed, had been tossed with a sweet red pepper relish, and they were can’t-stop-eatin’-‘em good.

The entrées boasted the Caesar de Vie, a Caesar topped with beef tenderloin, feta cheese and red onions; swordfish a la Nicoise; a Pasta Challenge Award winner — sun-dried tomato chicken fusilli; grilled lamb chops with a porcini risotto cake; capellini with shrimp and scallops; and Parmesan-crusted chicken breast with arugula. Bill was drawn to the capellini ($21) and I to the Parmed chicken ($16).

After Bill had made his decision, Mr. Al Dente began to worry about the capellini, particularly because the menu described it as baked. He needn’t have — we both made a wonderful new discovery. The pasta, in a delicious balsamic reduction, had been flashed in a hot oven, so that the top strands were crispy, while the ones on the bottom were still quite moist. Bill couldn’t stop praising the texture dance going on in this dish. He mentioned how the five grilled jumbo shrimp seemed a bit overdone, but they and the scallops were enhanced by the balsamic sauce.

On my side of the table, I was gallantly nibbling on very large portions of chicken and arugula salad. The Parmesan crust was a strong accent and its crispiness a nice contrast to the succulent chicken. The arugula lent its earthy piquancy to the other half of the plate, and the take-home package from my entrée fed both of us a hearty lunch.

The dessert menu was enticing, with several items that turned out to be not available that evening, including a lemon-berry variation of a pudding cake, a childhood favorite of Bill’s. We went with Kara’s suggestion of the flan ($6.50) and were pleasantly surprised by this dense, cheesecake-like incarnation. Lusciously draped with the characteristic caramelized sugar, the flan came with whipped cream, a sliced strawberry, and a few blueberries. (There’s also a blueberry shortcake on the menu.)

There are several other special touches to a meal at Café de Vie. Among their selection of warm beverages — Italian-brand Illy espresso among them, forming the basis of the cappuccino and lattes — are several loose organic tea offerings, including a delicious ginger, lemongrass, and linden flower blend that I enjoyed. The background music at the café is an infectious Latin mix. And the breadbasket is served with a quickly addicting house-made garlic-and-herb spread.

The overall impression at Café de Vie is that customers are well cared for, from food preparation to presentation, as if they are extended members of the Ibarra family. You sometimes get that feeling in a long-term family-owned business, but with this young family (the Ibarras’ seven-year-old was amusing himself with a paper cup-and-aluminum-foil construction, while their seven-month-old was making himself known from behind the deli counter), it points to their future, which we can only hope means a long life for Café de Vie.