In the fall restaurant shuffle, one new opening has been consistently overlooked — that of Decco Café, situated inside the Decorative Center Houston near the mansions of Tanglewood.

That's probably because the name and location imply an array of overpriced, uninspiring salads tailored to the dietary constraints of ladies who spend their days lunching and redecorating their plentiful guest rooms.

Nothing could be further from reality. Decco Café's breakfast and lunch menus do offer an array of bistro classics, but there's nothing uninspiring about them, interspersed with hearty, flavorful classics from owner Oscar Aguilar's native Mexico.

For breakfast start with the fresh-squeezed juice — at $3 for a carafe-sized glass, it's the biggest bargain in town. If in the mood for a little spice, Decco Café's chilaquiles rival the best taqueria in town, with tortillas strips smothered by chicken, green tomatillo sauce, cotija cheese, sour cream and a side of refried black beans. It's a delicious wake-up call that manages to avoid being overly heavy.

Another option: The enormous breakfast tacos, overstuffed with eggs, cheese, avocado, tomato, and a choice of bacon, potato or Spanish chorizo (Aguilar buys his from Spain via New York).

For a more traditional breakfast, try the granola and fresh fruit. A plate of strawberries, house-made granola, greek yogurt and kiwi is presented beautifully in four colorful stripes. The granola is light, walking the line between too chewy and too crunchy, with a subtle sweetness gleaned from agave nectar, brown sugar and a splash of amaretto. In a word: Yum.

For lunch, in addition to soups, pasta, sandwiches, a burger and salads (served in a parmesan bowl), there's a slender but hearty Mexican torta, with grilled chicken breast milanesa, ham, mozzarella, avocado, tomato and a black bean spread. All but the hungriest diners will be boxing up half the sandwich, but the torta is rich but incredibly palatable, especially when dipped in the housemade salsa verde served on the side. The crispy wedge fries served with it are simply lovely.

In addition to these chioces, Aguilar is expanding and upgrading the lunch entrees, debuting seared tuna sandwich and a snapper dish in January. While the main menu heads more upscale, Decco fans can still find the current lunch deals — including a three course prix fixe menu for $14 — at the semicircular bar.

Decco Café is situated in the center atrium of the Decorative Center, airy and full of clean lines. Small and elegant, it could make a claim to be an indoor Tiny Boxwood's, but there's something about the design that reminds of an airport lounge — a beautiful one, no doubt, but transient nonetheless.

Of course, classy could evolve to cozy once the Tanglewood crowd discovers this interior gem. Trust me, Decco is too good to remain a tasty secret for much longer.