Consider this your booty call – Piratz Tavern, an eclectic pirate-themed restaurant and bar, has just washed ashore in downtown Silver Spring.

The new restaurant is quirky, adventurous and globe-trotting with a menu that offers many different dishes of worldwide cuisine.

Once a deli on the corner of Georgia Avenue and Bonifant Street, the building has been converted into a narrow, cavern-like space decorated with lanterns, shiny gold trinkets and silk.

What could have turned out to be kitschy Las Vegas strip mall-esque is actually mature and refined from the décor to the menu.

International music creates a lively, vibrant atmosphere and compliments the menu, which features unlikely dishes such as African stew, Thai-style mussels and Portuguese codfish fritters.

The real treasure trove is the Caribbean-style patio, which features an artfully displayed hodgepodge of found objects, plants and fountains. Live music on Fridays and a sword-juggling bartender on Saturdays guarantee the patio will be a weekend hot spot.

Surprisingly delicious ingredients appear in unexpected dishes. Shiitake mushrooms liven what could have been a run-of-the-mill salad, while pumpkin and roasted corn give zest to otherwise standard chowder.

Order like a pirate – adventurous and bold – and you will be rewarded with the booty. The bison burger is a winner, flavorful and lean on a perfectly flaky roll.

The less daring will be satisfied, but not thrilled. A turkey sandwich was typical, fresh and light. A Caribbean barbecue pork sandwich was meaty, but the sauce lacked either a sweet or smoky flavor.

But in its first few days, Piratz Tavern does have some kinks to work out.

Waitstaff, decked out in full pirate garb, were forgetful, flat and not particularly friendly while the serving dishes and cutlery were more along the lines of a Howard Johnson hotel than a bonafide restaurant.

And, getting in and out within an hour (the time allotted to you by the parking meters) proved a difficult feat.

All in all, Piratz Tavern holds enormous amount of promise – entertaining but sophisticated with a lively night scene. Although there are some problems with the waitstaff and some bland menu items, the best part of the restaurant still remains: Prices that won’t make you want to walk the plank.

Contact reviewer Sara Wald at diversions@dbk.umd.edu.