A nude female figure lies on an altar. Plaster faces jut from the craggy walls. A scowling god greets you on the way to the nonsmoking area. Sundaes are named for demons and goddesses. Each booth is its own little subterranean hideout, and the whole place looks like a cave.

The Archetypus Cafe in Edgewater is not your grandmother’s cafe. Call it a crazy cross between the local coffeehouse and Beetlejuice.

“We want people to let go of their everyday image of life and of themselves,” said manager Po (whose birth name—first, last, and middle—is A P O). “We let them slip away from the day to day. If people are out for just a cup of coffee, it could be Archetypus or Starbucks, but most people are here for the environment.”

The mind behind Archetypus is Warren Sonberg, a graduate of the New York Studio art school who designs environments for public spaces in urban areas. Twenty-five years ago he opened Enigma, a grotto-style haunt down the street. In 1992, he moved to larger quarters, opening Archetypus.

“One of the major impulses for me is to create spaces that give a sense of peacefulness and otherworldliness,” Sonberg said.

“I like the architecture,” a twenty-six-year-old Hoboken resident told the Star-Ledger. “The first time I came in here, it felt like I was going into another dreamy, spacey world. The rest of the evening wasn’t so great because I got dumped.”

The menu includes hummus, lahmajun (a Turkish variation on pizza), and veggie burgers. Sundaes come in six varieties, including the Cocodemon chocolate meltdown, the Dharma with green tea ice cream and red bean topping, and Nerthus, a fruity dessert named for an earth goddess. There’s vegan ice cream by the scoop, five flavors of milk shakes, and herbal teas. No alcohol is served. Archetypus is popular with high school and college students, but the cave-bound cafe attracts people of all ages.

“Those who are free spirits,” Sonberg said, “come in here.”

The Archetypus Cafe is located at 264 Old River Rd. in Edgewater; phone (201) 941-0609.