Ombra

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.