After spending 24 years serving Italian cuisine at Cafe 8-1/2 on Alakea Street, chef Robert Warner was displaced by a pending building sale.

A move to a small, cozy nook on Pauahi Street gave him the opportunity to loosen up and try something different.

At his new downtown lunch spot, Soffritto, he still serves up some of the pastas that kept customers coming back for years, but he’s also branched out to Cajun/Creole cuisine, plus whatever he’s in the mood to make on any particular day.

So alongside etoufee ($16) and jambalaya ($15), you’ll find puttanesca ($14) and if you’re lucky, a beautiful sometime special of angel hair pasta with shrimp and roasted poblano cream sauce ($16), plus some outlier dishes such as mushroom beef stroganoff macaroni ($12) and chicken thigh adobo on rice ($12).

Cajun/Creole has always been an overrated cuisine to me, but Warner is developing a following among homesick Southerners. Of all the Cajun offerings, my favorite is his red beans and rice ($12) stewed with andouille, peppers, onions, celery and smoked pork.

Once he’s settled in, he would also like to add a pizza oven.

Soffritto is at 73 S. Pauahi St. Open 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. weekdays; dinner from 6 p.m. Saturdays with last call at 8 p.m. Call 524-4064.