Where to Bonapita, a new West Roxbury branch of the quick-service Mediterranean restaurant located downtown.

What for Warm, puffy pita baked in house and other food from Johnson & Wales-trained chef Ilan Barniv.

The scene In a space that was once a burger joint, customers line up at the counter to order sandwiches, salads, and rice plates. Staffers dressed in black dish up ingredients kept warm in colorful enameled casseroles, adding pickled turnips and slugs of hot sauce. In a room outfitted with a Gaines-worthy amount of shiplap and bright red chairs, families eat together off metal trays, teenagers on their phones pretending to ignore their parents. A coffee bar along one side displays bags of Fazenda beans. A group of kids takes over a communal table festooned with balloons for a birthday party, as Richard Marx croons that he will be right here waiting for us over the sound system. Barniv makes the rounds, introducing himself.

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Spring St West Roxbury

What you're eating You can choose to "fill it," "plate it," or "toss it": Pick a protein such as spiced, grilled chicken; meatballs with lemon and herbs; or chickpea falafel. Then add it to that excellent pita with salad and tahini, to rice with caramelized onions and vegetables, or to a salad with lemony dressing. (You can also buy bags of pita to go.) There are sides such as spicy hummus, lentil salad, and roasted cauliflower. A kids' menu offers pasta and chicken tenders. For dessert, there's soft-serve custard.

Care for a drink? Offerings include Spindrift seltzers, fresh-squeezed mint lemonade, and an array of coffee drinks. There are smoothies, too.

Overheard Talk of New Year's resolutions, healthy eating, and the joys of hot sauce. "Mom, we also want pita," a girl calls to a parent making a foray to the counter for more provisions. A man takes a bite of his sandwich and smiles: "The falafel is legit." "OK, so what here is vegan?," a customer asks the staff. A couple gets up to leave. "Thank you so much for coming," Barniv says, and they promise to be back soon.

How it all adds up

75 Spring St., West Roxbury, 978-224-4030, www.bonapita.com

Devra First can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @devrafirst.

a girl calls to a parent making a foray to the counter for more provisions. A man takes a bite of his sandwich and smiles.

Where this fits

Dining rooms change slowly and then all at once: a new chef, a refurbishment, a shift in the neighbourhood, and suddenly the place has a different identity.

The short version

  • The scene In a space that was once a burger joint, customers line up at the counter to order sandwiches, salads, and rice plates
  • What you're eating You can choose to "fill it," "plate it," or "toss it": Pick a protein such as spiced, grilled chicken; meatballs with lemon and herbs; or chickpea falafel

In short

Whether this marks the start of something larger or simply reflects the moment, it is a fair indication of the direction things are heading.