It takes confidence to call your restaurant the eighth wonder of the world.

It takes skill to properly execute dishes from around the world.

Boasting food from Latin, European, Middle Eastern, Asian, African and North American cultures, the menu at 8WW Cuisines in downtown Warsaw was enticing. And the setting in this beautiful eatery could not have been better. It was upscale and modern with quirky architectural nuances including high ceilings, a raised bar area and angular cutaways creating openings from room to room.

And there was, indeed, some skill when creating a few dishes, but I ran into way too many closed ports during my trip around the world:

•When I tried to order something Italian, the spaghetti and lasagna were not available.

•When I tried something Spanish, paella, it was missing a key component. It was also oddly described as having “Mediterranean flavors” and was prepared in a Chinese wok.

•The item I enjoyed most during my first visit was no longer on the updated menu during my second visit.

•I also was given a tasty basket of corn rolls during my first visit but was told they – or any other complimentary bread – were not offered during the second.

•Despite that nifty bar, I was never offered a wine or beer list and, when I asked, I was informed that there was no draft beer.

•Dessert was not available one night, and only one of the five on the menu was available the other.

•And, finally, in spite of the place being literally empty except for my party, the service was slow and awkward. The worst example was a manager sneaking up on my party to bombard us with questions about how we heard about the place and what we ordered. It made the place seem desperate for business.

The most skillful dish of all was the one that is no longer available, the Belizean Salbutes. These sizable empanadas were cooked until golden brown and were filled with chunks of chicken, small shrimp and vegetables in a slightly sweet, smoky red sauce. The crust had the perfect texture and a pronounced masa corn flavor, and I would have gladly eaten them again if I could.

Another Latin-influenced appetizer worth having again: the fried jack. This disc of fried dough was thick and chewy, and was topped with sautéed shrimp, vegetables and red beans. The toppings were in sauce similar to what filled the empanadas, and the shrimp were beautiful – big and plump. They were nothing like the ones I had on my Mainland Country Skewers during a previous visit.

The beef, chicken, peppers and onions on the skewers were fine, as was the 8WW sauce – sort of a barbecue sauce with a little Asian flair, perhaps. But the shrimp were so tiny, I was surprised they even could be skewered. And despite being so small, they still had tails attached that were hard to remove.

Those same tiny shrimp dotted the worst dish I tried at 8WW, the paella. The shrimp was joined by mussels, chicken, sausage, green peppers and onions in a pale, flavorless rice dish much like risotto. There was no spice or Spanish punch in any of it. The green peppers added little flavor, and the “sausages” resembled cheap jumbo hot dogs and they, too, provided no flavor.

When I told my server I was done with three-fourths of this paella remaining and that I didn’t want a to-go box, it wasn’t long before chef/owner Dudley Allen came to my table to apologize. He said he did not have saffron to properly flavor the rice and gave me a coupon for free paella during my next visit.

I would have rather he just told me he was out of saffron before I ordered it. I found it particularly odd that he would serve an incomplete dish, given that he obviously has no qualms about denying dishes to customers.

I also had questions about the Nica Caribbean Fish, red snapper fried whole with fried plantains and red beans and rice. Shortly after I chose it, my server returned to tell me Allen did not have whole snapper but could substitute fried snapper filets if that was OK. It was OK, a little bland but nicely fried, and the plantains were great, but I don’t think it was snapper. It did not have the right look, texture or flavor.

It was kind of the opposite of my overall feelings about this restaurant. 8WW Cuisines has the right look for sure, and that goes for the menu, too, which isn’t too big or elaborate. But the execution and availability were way too inconsistent to make it worth trying again.

Restaurant: 8WW Cuisines

Address: 115 S. Buffalo St., Warsaw

Phone: 574-269-3899

Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday; 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday

Cuisine: World

Handicapped-accessible: Yes

Alcohol: Beer and wine

Smoking status: Non-smoking

Credit cards: Yes

Kid-friendly: Yes

Menu: Belizean Salbute ($7.75), fried jack ($8.25), skewers ($17.50), paella ($19.50), Caribbean fish ($28)

Rating breakdown:

Food: 1/2

(3-star maximum);

atmosphere: * (1 maximum), service: 0 (1 maximum)

Note: Categories for price range: $ (less than $20 for three-course meal), $$ ($20-$29); $$$ ($30-$39), $$$$ ($40-$49), $$$$$ ($50 and up).