Marz Bistro in Bend has an eclectic but festive décor to complement its cuisine. “You’re going to sit close to the table next to you,” owner Matt Davis said. “You’ll probably get to know (those diners) before you’re finished eating.”

When Matt Davis bought the Marz Bistro in April 2006, the decision came as easily as falling off a log.

“It was my favorite restaurant in town,” he recalled. “I liked everything about it: the atmosphere, the food, the staff. I liked the urban, folksy feel. I was very fortunate to be able to purchase it.”

Not surprisingly, Davis didn’t want to reinvent the popular downtown Bend restaurant. “My goal was to merely tweak a really successful thing and keep it successful,” he said. “I didn’t buy Marz to make any drastic changes. My stamp is making sure I don’t put too big a stamp on this place.”

In other words, Marz is still another world from other fine-dining restaurants in Central Oregon. Davis kept the same chefs — Jeff Hunt and Rich Hall — and the same eclectic décor, accented by large-format oil paintings by local artist Rika Peterson.

“We have no boundaries in terms of food or décor,” Davis said. “We don’t have a specific style of food we adhere to. The cool thing is, I give my chefs a long leash.”

A variety of tastes

One glance at the menu of gourmet comfort foods is enough to demonstrate the wide range of flavors that Marz offers. The list is Southwestern (blue corn-crusted croquettes), Thai (green and red curries), Argentine (churrasco steak), Middle Eastern (roasted garlic hummus with pita bread), East Indian (chicken korma), Japanese (seared ahi with wasabi cream), Italian (prawn linguini) and good ol’ American.

That menu changes four or five times a year, and the wine list is altered accordingly. There are also three to five specials every day, including creative preparations of fresh fish, pork shank and grilled New York strip steak. “Many customers, before they even get their coats off, want to know the specials,” Davis said.

I haven’t been disappointed with any of my orders, and neither have the friends with whom I’ve dined.

On the appetizer side of the ledger, I have several favorites. Duck brochettes — skewered duck-and-apple sausage with a cider dipping sauce — are tasty and tangy. Steak-wrapped prawns are rubbed with red togarashi pepper and served with a cilantro-lime aioli. Ahi tuna is rubbed with coriander and brown sugar, seared rare and presented with wasabi cream, a cucumber salad and a crispy rice stick.

I’ve had two salads, both as fresh as could be. The mixed baby greens came with chopped Napa cabbage and a cucumber-basil vinaigrette.

The baby spinach salad was accented with goat cheese, ancho-chili honey-roasted walnuts and a fried sweet potato, then dressed with an avocado-bacon vinaigrette.

Diners with lighter appetites are pleased to find a short list of noodle and rice dishes, every one priced under $20. Likewise, vegetarians will always find a main dish to suit their dietary requirements; tofu is an option on many of the entrée choices.

A table for seven

My dining companion at my most recent meal raved about her fresh mahimahi entrée. It was wrapped in rice noodles and pan-fried crispy and served with jasmine rice and a cashew cole slaw.

She wasn’t wowed when she tasted my Hawaiian orange marlin, which I chose from the daily specials list, but I found it delicious. Crusted with sesame seeds and seared medium, it was presented on a spicy cole slaw that nicely complemented the flavor of the fish.

Other friends at our table of seven were equally impressed by the food. The man just back from Spain loved his churrasco steak, a tender grilled shoulder tenderloin marinated with chimichurri (a peppery South American herb sauce). His Ecuadorian wife and her Australian friend both had baby back ribs, glazed with an Asian-style barbecue sauce.

Each of these dishes was accompanied by garlic mashed potatoes and fresh vegetables, as was the New York strip ordered by the businessman from Palm Springs. Purchased from a local ranch, it was grilled medium rare as he liked it.

His colleague, visiting from Alaska, opted for the green Thai curry. Chicken was tossed with red bell peppers, mushrooms and snap peas in a spicy curry sauce and served over a bed of jasmine rice.

Bottles of Owen Roe syrah from Washington and Kim Crawford sauvignon blanc from New Zealand were perfect complements to our food and were typical of the excellent choices on a wide-ranging wine list.

Like the restaurant itself, service is relaxed and informal, but friendly and efficient. Davis himself often waits tables, assisting the service staff whenever possible. The mood is festive, as if you’re invited to Christmas dinner at a relative’s home.

“You’re going to sit close to the table next to you,” Davis said with assurance. “You’ll probably get to know (those diners) before you’re finished eating.”

A model of consistency

On other visits to Marz, I’ve tried a variety of other meals. I’ve sat at the eight-seat front counter for a shellfish bouillabaisse in a red-curry coconut broth and enjoyed a Carlton Farms pork shank that I could cut with a fork.

There were no surprises. When I visit Marz, I can count on fine food, and I know exactly what to expect in terms of service and atmosphere.

“Consistency is the key to the success of the restaurant,” Davis said. “Yet you should be able to come to Marz five different nights and have five different dishes.”

Marz was established in 1999 by three couples from Austin, Texas. Davis, whose background in the restaurant industry included operating a catering business in his native Pennsylvania for more than five years, moved to Bend in 2002.

“I wanted to be outside more than inside,” he explained. Yet his restaurant is open seven nights a week, and it seems that Davis rarely takes a vacation.

RECENT REVIEWS

The Downtowner (A-). The hot and cold sandwiches, soups and salads are can’t-miss fare at this intimate hole-in-the-wall café. Service is basic but efficient: Order at the counter, bus your own table. Seating is crowded and diners fight for space with those waiting in line, but it’s a great East Coast-style bargain. Open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. 852 N.W. Brooks St., Bend; 388-2467. Blue Olive (B+). John Nelson is a fine chef, preparing creative and seasonal Pacific Northwest cuisine with Swedish panache at the new Brasada Ranch resort. Service is professional if casual and low-key. And the views are wonderful, but perhaps not worth the half-hour drive from Bend in winter when they are eliminated by early nightfall. Lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and dinner 5 to 9 p.m. every day. 16986 S.W. Brasada Ranch Road, Powell Butte. 526-6862, www.blueoliverest.net Angel Thai (C+). Many loyal diners followed Angel Thai north when it moved from La Pine to Bend a year ago. But the food is disappointing and the service is not especially responsive. I found the chicken curry too spicy, the beef curry too fatty, the pad thai too peanutty. Open 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday to Saturday. 1900 N.E. Division St., Bend. 388-5177, www.angelthaicuisines.com Deep (A). Chef Jody Denton’s new Japanese-influenced restaurant ranks at or near the top of Bend’s fine-dining list. Try the Nine Bites, a chef’s selection sampler of nine hot and cold dishes. Service is well-informed, courteous and uniformly excellent; ambience is creative and welcome, with a suspended wave pool as a centerpiece. The price list is deceiving, as multiple dishes can drive the cost up quickly. Open 5 p.m. to close every day. 821 N.W. Wall St., Bend. 323-9841, www.deepbend.com

Marz Bistro

Location: 163 N.W. Minnesota Ave., Bend

Hours: 5 p.m. to close every day

Price range: Appetizers $8-$13, entrees $10-$25

Credit cards: Discover, MasterCard, Visa

Children’s menu: Several special items available by request

Alcoholic beverages: Wine and beer

Reservations: Recommended for parties of six or more

Contact: 389-2025

SCORECARD

OVERALL: A-

Food: A. Sophisticated comfort dishes with a range of international influences.

Service: A-. Relaxed but friendly and efficient.

Atmosphere: B+. Festive and eclectic, with tables closely packed and large-format art.

Value: A. There’s a reason there are many weekly regulars.