Lobster "Roll" at Ecco

East Boston is an unjustly overlooked dining-out destination, one that offers a smorgasbord of cheap-eats venues to rival Allston and Chinatown, with an especially impressive array of Latin American restaurants. But its fine-dining options have been anemic, and until recently, you couldn’t get a decent shaker cocktail anywhere. That’s changed with the opening of Ecco Restaurant and Martini Bar (107 Porter Street, Boston, 617.561.1112), a handsome bar/bistro reminiscent of South End stalwart The Franklin Café. It too boasts an understated modern look, strong bartending, and exceptional food at affordable prices (with most entrees under $20), plus free parking to take the sting out of the tunnel toll.

Chef David Fitzgerald is a pro I’ve long admired for his consistently original vision of affordable fine dining, exemplified by the nouvelle Austrian fare he plated at Lynn’s Oxford Street Grill. At Ecco, he sprinkles New American dishes with accents from Southeast Asia, Europe, the Southwest, and Mexico. The Thai half chicken ($17) is typical of his globe-trotting ways; it arrives beautifully roasted, moist yet crisp-skinned in an unusual marinade of lemongrass and coconut milk, and accompanied by sides of sweet jasmine rice and astringent broccoli rabe. (He grills pricier steaks for stay-at-home types too.) The bar sets the right of-the-moment tone with specialty “martinis” that rove beyond sugary rookie concoctions. The cucumber gimlet ($8.95) muddles fresh cucumber into a well-balanced combination of Hendrick’s gin, fresh lime, and simple syrup for a result that’s refreshing and gorgeous to behold.

Speaking of gorgeous, his lobster “roll” (market price) stuffs a popover with a mound  of perfect lobster salad — big chunks of claw and tail meat barely touched with mayo, pepper, and salt. There’s some arugula underneath for crunch and more of it on the side, plus a dollop of fierce sriracha that those without a truly fireproof palate should pass on. The dish is classic Fitzgerald: a generous portion of a luxury ingredient at an affordable price, given a clever twist with the use of a popover, which has an airiness and eggy richness that complements the subtlety of the lobster without clobbering it. Brilliant! If you still have room, you can wind down with one of Fitzgerald’s elegant desserts, say, one of his superb house-made ice creams ($4.50) — like the dreamy, mousse-like malted chocolate I tried — and then pay a gratifyingly small check. The locals jamming the seats at Ecco’s big bar, low lounge tables, and cushy booths on weekends obviously know value in a chic package when they see it. Bostonians from across the harbor ought to be streaming here too.