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Blending the flirty camaraderie of a university dining hall with the om-chanting ambience of a downtown ashram, Cafetasia draws a microcosm of today’s cosmopolitan-collegiate Greenwich Village. Overhead candles throw sexy shadows on two city-bus-length shared tables where entire dorm floors can chow down on commendably cheap, surprisingly delicious dishes like Crying Tiger “sushi,” grilled slivers of tender flank steak over sushi-size pillows of rice. The menu detours via Thailand (crispy roasted duck in red curry) to Japan (addictive ginger-accented chicken gyoza), China (succulent tamarind-glazed spareribs), and Malaysia (chicken laksa in spicy coconut broth). Watching over the super-animated, and sometimes super-loud, scene is a smiling stone Buddha whom diners should probably thank for Cafetasia’s three-course lunches at monk-friendly prices. — Jon Steinberg

Reservations are accepted only for parties of six or more.

Gyoza, $4; Crying Tiger “sushi,” $6; roasted duck in red curry, $9; Malaysian chicken laksa, $8