A little pigtailed girl walked into Tropico Restaurant, in Cambridge, with a shiny Razor scooter. She climbed on, pushed lightly, and slid across the tiled floor to the kitchen door. She pushed again and traced a diagonal line back across the small space, singing along to a commercial on the Spanish channel. A cook leaned out over the counter and smiled at her, holding a huge tray of grilled chicken. Everything about the place bespoke the charm of inelegance: the girl, the scooter, the tray of blackened chicken, the jumble of paintings and posters on the wall (some yard-sale portraits, some gilded-frame landscapes).

The food is similarly satisfying in its straightforwardness. The Tropico Plate ($8.99), for example, fills and gratifies with its combination of chicken, onions, green peppers, garlic, white wine, and two fried eggs. It’s also served with a salad, rice, and fries. Simple ingredients, yes, but by no means modest in flavor. The eggs blanket a heap of rice with the chicken chunks, peppers, and onions. And if the Tropico Plate is a protein bomb, the Tropic Combo Plate ($14.99) is a full arsenal, with grilled beef, two pieces of grilled chicken, four shrimp, two poached eggs, and four chicken wings (plus the salad, rice, and fries). The classic chicken-parm sub ($4.99) is done right — not too saucy, with lots of melted cheese. And the prosciutto-garlic-bread appetizer ($3.95) is more like a sub itself: an eight-inch loaf with melted mozzarella, prosciutto, and tomatoes.

Tropico Restaurant, located at 746 Cambridge Street, in Cambridge, is open daily, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Call (617) 661-0444.