Ubuntu is a Zulu word that means “humanity toward others.” It’s a word Sandy Lawrence learned while working in South Africa and has now brought to Napa in form of the restaurant and yoga studio she has opened on Main Street in Napa.

It has certainly generated a lot of buzz since its mid-August opening A combination yoga studio and restaurant? And not just any yoga studio, but one offering more than 50 classes each week from favorite local teachers and experts from around the world. And not just a granola and smoothie bar restaurant but a fine dining vegetarian one dedicated to using the best from local purveyors, prepared by a renowned chef. Add in an international wine list and a stunning setting, and you have the creation — a near purist vision — of Lawrence, a yoga teacher and practitioner, who relocated from Florida to Napa a decade ago.

She has spared no expense in transforming her idea into an elegant reality. Exposed rock walls are enlivened by huge, vivid collages made from Lawrence’s photo collections. A sleek bar is below a wall lined with wine bottles; the kitchen at the back wall is a hub of quiet activity. In the center of the restaurant is a large communal table made of wood salvaged from fallen trees. The smaller tables that surround it are made from reclaimed wood, the flooring is from recycled shipping containers and the patio chairs are recycled from the 1940s. The yoga studio, upstairs on the mezzanine, is shielded from the restaurant by smoked glass windows, which answers a much-asked question: “Do I have to watch people doing yoga while I eat my upscale fare? No.” The resulting restaurant is a mix of serenity and vibrancy, kind of like yoga itself.

I really have only one quibble with the interior, which is a life-sized statue by Mark Chatterly of four people, one of whom is standing on his head. “Alternative Perspective” is made of a crate-glazed technique, which gives the impression the work has lately been unearthed from ancient tombs in Pompei. It’s quite impressive, but my first time there, I happened to be sitting so that one of the quartet seemed to be gazing directly at me in an unsettling way that made me feel he had not eaten in 1,900 or so years and that I should offer to share my salad. On a subsequent visit, I solved this by sitting with my back to the statue, but it had the same effect on my companion, who was facing it. On my third visit, I sat in a corner far away from this fine work of art.

The centerpiece of Ubuntu, however, is the ever-changing menu, much of which is created from Lawrence’s organic, bio-dynamic gardens, created by Jeff Dawson, who also planted Copia’s organic gardens. The offerings are unapologetically, unabashedly vegetarian, and the menu notes which dishes are also vegan or can be adapted for vegans. Chef Jeremy Fox, formerly of Manresa in Los Gatos, said the menu changes every few days depending on what’s good in the gardens that day. New menus are printed daily.

Our initial meal at Ubuntu, soon after the restaurant opened, was an eye-opening indication that here was no standard fare, but an imaginative foray into fine dining, vegetarian style, incorporating a range of unusual ingredients, seasonings and combinations. A mint-infused Watermelon and Lemon Grass Soup ($7) got a touch of richness from a dollop of goat cheese. A Grilled Peach Panzanella ($9) was a twist on the usual bread soup, with green beans tossed with sweet peaches, and cubes of bread, all in a basil-vinegar sauce. A Black-Eyed Peas and Fuji Apple Salad ($9) with marinated cipollini onions and baby red Russian kale was an unusual but extremely effective combination.

Less successful were the “hot” plate entrees we tried. A Biodynamic Risotto (offered in two sizes of servings for $12 and $17) was made with wild and garden greens, including nasturtiums and nettles — nice, but more of a side dish than an entree. The Ubuntu Carta da Musica ($11), described as a flatbread with porcini, pecorino and summer truffle, proved to be an odd creation, with razor-thin slices of its adornments scattered, unanchored on a disc of flatbread; everything fell off when one tried to break off a piece. It was useful, however, to scoop up the risotto.

The star of this meal was the desserts, which are created by Deanie Fox, who just happens to be married to the executive chef. They are consistently inspired, decadent and delicious. We tried the Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache which was served with a malted banana milkshake and a wedge of praline ($8); and Brown Butter Crepes with Nectarines, Bourbon Butterscotch Ice Cream and Pecans ($7). I’m sure the total caloric consumption of these was about a billion, but as my companion that evening put it, “If you’ve eaten nettles for dinner, don’t you deserve it?”

A second visit was in a large group, a chance to taste the pizzas that are on the menu at both lunch and dinner — just now, a mushroom pizza, made with royal trumpet and oyster mushrooms on a thin, crisp crust ($13), and a Round Pond fig pizza, ($13) with local figs, Point Reyes blue cheese and braised beet greens, one of those additions that sounds strange but adds a distinct fillip to the creation. (These pizzas are a great favorite, I learned from a friendly young busboy. “I’m not vegetarian,” he explained, “but I’ll always eat pizza. These are great.”)

Far and away the most successful meal I enjoyed at Ubuntu was lunch with a vegetarian foodie, who, after a few bites proclaimed, “I’m enjoying this so much all my analytical ability has just gone out the door.” This meal began with a sample of “bites” — olives ($4) marinated in wild fennel and orange, and a dish of marcona almonds dusted with lavender sugar ($4). Heirloom Tomatoes, Caprese Style, ($9) had wedges of gorgeous tomatoes served with burrata cheese and a dressing of olive oil and sherry vinegar and a drizzle of colorful orange-leek aioli. Equally beautiful was a salad of fingerling potatoes, ($10) dressed with a green onion puree and truffled crème fraîche. It was served with a tiny egg, which we learned had been cooked in an immersion circulator at 65 degrees for an hour or two, giving it an unusual consistency, neither hard-cooked nor soft-boiled but somewhere in between. It was almost extraneous for an already satisfying dish, and vegans could ask that it be omitted.

We also tried a dish that has been garnering raves, Cauliflowers in a Cast Iron Pot ($11), which served humble cauliflower in three forms — pureed, raw and steamed — in layers in a tiny black pot. It gets its intense, Indian-style flavor from a Vadouvan spice, which Chef Fox gets custom-blended from a local purveyor. It’s also rich with cream and butter. Savory, absolutely — but probably not the dish for calorie counters.

Again the desserts were stellar. We tried a Vanilla Bean “Cheesecake in a Jar” ($7) that has a thin layer of fruit preserve and pine nut sable, and will doubtlessly become a classic. All resolve to take just one taste and stop vanished after the first bite. This was also the case with the Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache ($8), which came with a scoop of delicately flavored fresh mint ice cream.

The staff is gracious and quietly enthusiastic and not the least annoyed by an onslaught of questions about the unsual ingredients on the menu — “What’s saba?” “What’s in Vadouvan spice?” “Why Anson Mills faro?” and “So, what wine goes with nettles?” (The answer here, for the record, was an inspired one, Derthona, a crisp Timorasso from Vigneti Mass in Italy, $11 a glass. It’s good even without a dish of nettles to go with it.)

Ubuntu is probably not for everyone. For example, my 17-year-old son, a meat and potatoes guy, read the menu, rolled his eyes and told me he’d wait for me at Cole’s Chop House, just down the street. On the other hand, it’s not just for vegans and vegetarians either, although it must be a delight to have a menu to choose from rather than to be searching for something to order. I understand the restaurant has quickly become the place for vegan birthday parties, and Deanie Fox makes a killer vegan birthday cake. For non-vegetarians like myself, who puts herself in a class of “will try anything once,” it has been — each time I’ve been through the door — quite an adventure, and is likely to remain so.

Ubuntu, at 1140 Main St., Napa, is open at 7:30 a.m. for breakfast, Monday through Friday. Lunch is served daily, beginning at 11:30 a.m. The restaurant closes between 2:30 and 5:30 and opens again for dinner each night at 5:30. For reservations, call 251-5656.