Sonny’s on upper Exchange Street in Portland is a place for people unafraid to make decisions. Start with the building itself: The heavy, medieval-style door that opens into the formidable edifice that formerly housed F. Parker Reidy’s and O’Natural’s is barely marked. The slight air of secrecy makes choosing to enter the Old Port’s newest dining hotspot feel all the more adventurous. Once inside the high-ceilinged, mosaic-floored venue, you’re immediately faced with decisions: Do you sit at the concrete bar (cacophonous and lively), the brick-walled dining room (more subdued), or slide into the booth-filled main room near the kitchen (bustling). The choice is yours, but if you’re a people-watcher, it’s hard to top the experience of looking out onto Post Office Plaza from a table in the bar window while you eat mofongo (fried pork belly and plantains) and sip a strawberry chipotle margarita.

Once you’re seated — feel free to loosen your tie and kick back a bit; the vibe here is definitely casual cosmopolitan — it’s time for more choices. Which appetizers do your order? (Hint: try the sweet and tangy tamarind glazed baby back ribs that beg to be devoured with sticky-fingered abandon.) And which cocktails? (The cucumber mojito is a standout.) You might say that it’s the upbeat, upscale, uproariousness of Sonny’s — all those choices, all those good-looking people — that makes it such a welcome addition to Portland’s downtown dining scene. The experience is bold. It’s fun. And that’s just the way chef, co-owner Jay Villani wants it.

Villani himself is a somewhat larger-than life character with an old-school style and plenty of passion. Growing up in a large Italian family in New York City, Villani, who remembers his grandmother’s copious cooking with reverence, says that for him, chefdom was a gradual but persistent calling. “It wasn’t very glamorous work at the time — there was no glorification of the Food Network — and I didn’t want to be in a kitchen my whole life. There were a lot of bitter old men,” he recalls, “and there was no way I was going to be that.”

Eventually, after pursing a slew of different creative outlets, the call of the kitchen proved too strong. Inspired and savvy, Villani and his business partner, Patrick Corrigan, have overseen the addition of two popular restaurants to Portland’s gastronomic scene: Local 188, which has been on Congress Street since 1999, and Sonny’s, which opened earlier this year (it’s named in honor of Villani’s son). Cool, moderately priced (most entrées cost less than twenty dollars), both restaurants are neighborhood joints, places to “relax and peck” with good food and good friends, to take in the atmosphere, and, says Villani emphatically, to not stress about the bill. “You can come here and you can spend ten bucks or you can come and spend eighty,” he says. “Either way, you’re going to have great food and a great time.”

Where Local 188 pays homage to old-world, Iberian flavors and favorites, Sonny’s spices things up with New World influences. Caribbean cuisine joins Latin and South American staples like rice and beans, arepas, tamales, mariscadas, ceviches — bold, bright, coarse flavors with just enough refinement to, in general, produce balanced, satisfying dishes. A safe bet is the mariscada de la noche, a heaping serving of seafood that incorporates clams, mussels, scallops, haddock, or whatever is fresh from the docks down on Commercial Street. Traditional dishes like enchiladas or empanadas benefit from locally sourced chicken and sometimes even rabbit and goat. A sure bet for a cheap bite is the jerk-spiced mushroom Manchego burger with a side of yam fries for just thirteen dollars. In fact, yam fries should be added to your order the minute you step in the door. For lunch, you can get in and out for under twenty dollars a person, making this a much-needed affordable dining destination for businesspeople downtown.

For Villani, Sonny’s — the food, the décor, even its downtown neighborhood — is still an evolving endeavor. He enjoys making decisions on the fly. “I approach both my restaurants like [making] sculptures. It’s all about movement, form, shape — it’s an evolution.”

So order some yam fries, take a seat at the bar, and watch as Sonny’s continues to evolve.

Sonny’s is located at 83 Exchange Street in Portland. It is open seven days a week for dinner 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. (Friday and Saturday nights until 10:30 p.m.; the bar serves alcohol until 1 a.m. those nights) and Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., for lunch. Appetizers $5 to $13; entrées $13 to $25; desserts $7. Handicap accessible. 207-772-7774. www.sonnysportland.com