To
go to Ombra is to go to the theatre.
Situated
on the shoulder of a hip East London street Ombra, meaning 'shade' of
wine in Venetian, occupies a space in the East London community that
fills the 'La vita è bella' gap in our hearts.
Out
front its wood lined decks house bathing beauties sipping on their
Aperol Spritz and making noise over their perfectly formed Cicchetti.
If you are lucky you arrive on a day when their Burrata salad is
scrawled across the chalkboard. This heavenly offering tears away to
reveal the creamiest centre, pairing perfectly with the tang of
bitter leaves and balsamic dressing. Bite sized bread from the local
e5 bakery is served up in charming paper bags, somehow making the sin
of eating bread wholly virtuous. The house speciality, Baccalà
mantecato, isn't for the faint hearted. It comes with a side of
polenta to cut through the saltiness. It's simply divine.
Ombra
hosts events. Mostly in the form of their head chef Andrea Michelson
cooking up huge pans of freshly made pasta that he dishes out to the
sound of glasses clashing and punters cheering. Frittura di pesce
misto gets served up on the decks, the crunch and the chew melt in to
your mouth as you sit back and dream of the Rialto.
Every
time you visit Ombra, whether behind its steamed windows in the dead
of winter or catching the rays on a spring like morning, the Teatro
is never far behind you.
