In the year of the dragon, chefs are on fire. After so many years of lamenting the lack of culinary diversity here, we’ve seen the arrival of Jamaican jerk at Jawaiian Irie Jerk in Kaimuki, Brazilian and Portuguese fare at Adega downtown, and now Latin American fare at Cactus in Kailua.

So what if the latter is more American bistro than Latin? I appreciate the attempt to introduce something new to the table.

John Memering, who helped bring Kalapawai Cafe’s menu to life, is at the helm of this restaurant as chef/owner. With his former employer just across the street, it just wouldn’t do to repeat himself and look like a copycat. The Latin theme was inspired, with no local template to follow.

Cactus is at the entrance to Kailua, at the intersection of Kailua Road and Hamakua Drive, in the same building that houses Muumuu Heaven. It’s in a small space that fills up fast, so reservations are a must, and so is being on time. Last week, when I was 15 minutes late for a 5:30 p.m. reservation — due to circling the Whole Foods Market parking lot in search of the charging station for the electric car I was road testing — I arrived at the restaurant to find they had already given away my reservation.

Luckily, it was early, and there was still room for two. But already, there was that vibe: eat fast and get out. Maybe it was just that particular hostess. The chef seemed jovial enough, and our server was fine with us studying the menu and asking lots of questions.

As early as it was, the diners next to us already were ensconced in their meal so we could look over and ask what was good. It didn’t really help us narrow our choices, though, when they declared everything delicious.

How do you select from Malbec-braised Kuahiwi short ribs with Waianae yucca and chimichurri sauce; muscovy duck carnitas; or day-boat catch steamed in banana leaves with coconut, Hau‘ula tomatoes and other veggies, with Naked Cow Dairy butter, chilies and lime?

I wanted everything. When a menu reads this well, reality can be disappointing when flavors aren’t as strong as expected; more polished than down-and-dirty. There’s an audience for both styles, and for the money, there’s a lot of work on the plates.

The menu is quite heavy, even with the starters. On the light side is a panzanella salad of Hau‘ula tomatoes, roasted poblanos and avocado ($9/$14), Pamoho organic grapefruit salad with hearts of palm, crisp jicama, avocado and ‘Nalo greens ($9/$13), and ceviche at market price.

Other starters include guacamole and chips ($8) and platefuls of seared guindilla peppers ($8) served with sea salt and Tahitian lime. They can seem sweet and mild, until you reach the fiery seeds. I was disappointed with a side order of feijoada ($6/$10), which tasted less like the Brazilian national dish, and more like all-American chili. On this particular day, it wasn’t even made with black beans, but something like navy beans.

If you’re going light on your entrée, you may have room for an appetizer of Big Island boar empanadas ($12) served with Waialua mango-tamarind "salsa," which on our plate had been puréed into a sauce and made more sense for dipping purposes.

The boar meat was not particularly distinctive. If you’re in the mood for pork, it’s better to get the slow-roasted Shinsato Farm’s pernil ($19), a swoon-inducing Puerto Rican-style roast pork shoulder brushed with tamarind-agave glaze, finished with sweet-sour Waialua mango escabeche, and served with whipped potatoes and Naked Cow jalapeño butter. It’s easily one of the best dishes on the menu, sharing star billing with the Kulana Sirloin a la Vara ($20). The spit-roasted beef is served with Molokai red salt, chorizo hash and sautéed greens, then embellished with a piece of crisp plantain. It’s sauced with a Malbec reduction and Argentinean chimichurri, one of my favorite sauces for grilled meats.

Bahian-style seafood stew ($23) featured a beautiful assemblage of Cedar Scholl’s clams, Penn Cove mussels, Molokai shrimp and day-boat catch simmered in coconut milk. Fans of seafood curry will love this dish, although I prefer tasting the seafood more than the sauce. I enjoyed the starchy yucca frites that topped the dish and was excited to learn the yucca is being grown locally, as are so many of the other ingredients comprising these cuisines of the sun.

In spite of the heavy meat factor, many of the side dishes on the plates provide some balance, such as the Himalayan red quinoa and black bean risotto lying beneath a crisp masa-crusted chicken breast ($15) that’s also topped with green papaya slaw and mild chipotle crema. And the enchilada ($17) gets a healthful makeover with a filling of roasted local squash, Hamakua mushrooms, tomatoes, roasted peppers and Kahuku corn.

A dessert of Mexican chocolate cake had sold out, but we consoled ourselves with deep-fried bananas served with vanilla ice cream and a Mexican chocolate sauce.

Wines of Argentina, Chile, Peru, Spain and Mexico, sangria, horchata and Mexican sodas complete the journey.

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Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.