If Main Street’s latest eating house, Lila, was brought to life as a living woman, she would float straight from the pages of a George Eliot novel—both demure and coquettish, rugged and hardy, all at once emulating earthiness and unassuming beauty. Each element within the simple space points to the agrarian ideal: tables and wall siding forged with deeply stained reclaimed wood, the only decorations found in a child-size succulent placed beside each table, an industrial chandelier hanging from barn wood beams and a straight line of modestly framed pictures depicting dirt-pulled radishes, leafy carrots and smiling farmers—all the photos taken at the farms from which Lila sources her fare.

Owned and presided over by Chefs Ryan Boeve and Arthur Lopes of Pomona Bistro, the duo splits their time in the kitchens of both the game-heavy Pomona and the vegetable-inspired Lila, daring diners to take note of their range and versatility while still sending out plates that thrill and delight on either side of the coin. Where Pomona embraces all the nuances of fine dining, Lila’s atmosphere is breezy and light, with uncluttered settings, pallets of bean sprouts replacing rows of bottled spirits on the long, smooth concrete-slab bar. “You can look around and see how different this is from Pomona,” says Boeve. “It’s meant to be casual; it’s meant to be fun and creative and we’re mostly just working with vegetables, which is kind of the opposite of what every other restaurant in town is doing.”

Meaning “creative play” in Sanskrit, Lila deals in the realm of natural abundance, with dishes such as the zucchini linguini, in which skinny green crunchy curlicues radiate warmth beneath vegan pesto, pine nuts, walnuts, parsley, basil, vegan Parmesan and Aleppo pepper. Bacon (one of the few meats on offer) gets smoked and cured in-house, as does the butter—clarified butter, that is—while most dishes are cooked in either grape seed or olive oil. Wild mushrooms, farro, eggplant and sweet potatoes alongside a host of veggie variations come from Geraldson Farms, Albert Organics and Hoot Acre Farm; chicken broth, buffalo filet and short ribs sourced from Grove Ladder, Three Suns Ranch and Sarasota Beef Co.; local company 221BC supplying kombucha flavors such as Moringa lavender.

For both Boeve and Lopes along with Chef de Cuisine Isaac Johnson, playfulness is what drives the menu; Johnson says, “We’re showing that you can eat organically and locally and sustainably and have it be healthy and also taste really good.” Even cocktails are met with a coy eye; since the restaurant doesn’t hold enough seats to warrant a liquor license, all cocktails are made with vermouth—currently written in chalk along the east wall: the Contrattino, the Cocchi Spritz and the Italian Workhorse. Rustic and unfussy, Lila showcases pastoral dining at its best.