Soho comes to the Bluegrass at Natasha's Cafe, with the funky-elegant atmosphere of a New York City bistro in a quintessentially southern city. Diners in downtown Lexington enjoy an array of original dishes in the cafe and can browse merchandise from around the world in the gift boutique.

Owner Natasha Williams says her cooking style reflects her Russian and Jewish heritage as well as her world travels. But she's not trying to duplicate any one nation's approach to food. "The goal is not to cook anything that's already imagined or designed," she says. "The interesting part is to take ethnic principles and combine them. You can cook whatever you want and you don't limit yourself to a specific category."

The entire menu reflects Williams' commitment to world culture. Appetizers include the Mediterranean sampler, with baba ghanouj, hummus, tabouli, mushroom salad, and an Armenian cheese roll with feta and cream cheese rolled in whole-wheat tortilla with black olives, green peppers and cilantro served warm.

The house favorite is the midnight chicken curry, on the menu from the beginning. Even some of Natasha's most conservative customers have come to think of this blend of chicken, coconut milk, sour cream, curry, raisins and other vegetables as comfort food.

Traditional Hungarian goulash features braised beef, tomatoes, peppers and paprika. The unusual Moroccan chicken bog contains chicken rubbed with Moroccan spices and stewed with green olives and lemon and served with fresh apples.

Vegetarian choices include mushroom stew and the sweet chili tofu, with seared extra-firm tofu in a spicy stew of vegetables served over rice.

Among the entrees are pesto basilico, a penne pasta with spinach pesto and caramelized onions, topped with pine nuts, black olives and feta cheese; and the hoisin pork ribs, baby back ribs with sides of garlic mashed potatoes and cranberry ginger sauerkraut.

Natasha's is really two different restaurants in the same space. It's a downtown deli-style and buffet lunch spot, catering to workers in the area. In the evenings, it's a mid-priced destination for patrons of local live theaters or the nightly music in-house.

Williams says the lunch buffet improves efficiency in the kitchen by eliminating wasted food. "The buffet allows us to have a very flexible lunch menu and use everything in the refrigerator," Williams says. "It's also a nice outlet for our employees' creativity that a set menu reduces to specials only."

Williams and her husband, Gene, started the restaurant in 1991 when they moved to the city. Natasha, a Russian who had traveled extensively, couldn't find a cafe like the ones she was used to visiting in Europe and New York. The couple couldn't find just the right place to sit and talk with interesting people, so they started their own.

In 2001, they moved to a larger downtown location in a restored warehouse to make room for the growing boutique, which does a strong Internet business. The boutique carries natural fiber apparel and gift items from around the world, including authentic slippers from China, kimonos from Japan and a yak hat from Nepal. It's a cross between a Cracker Barrel and Moroccan souk, or marketplace, where you can find treasure from around the world and, for the span of a meal, experience the flavor and aromas of another land.

Natasha's Cafe is open Monday through Saturday for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The afternoon menu is served from 2 to 5:30 p.m., and dinner is served from 5:30 to 10 p.m. weekdays and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

For more information, please call (859) 259-2754 or visit its Web site at www.natashascafe.com.