THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Caffe Umbra

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Caffe Umbra Restaurant Review:

By savvy, South End standards, Caffè Umbra is the ultimate neighborhood place. Across the street from the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, it partakes of its neighbor's dignified ambience; Laura Brennan's French- and Italian-influenced cooking, however, bespeaks exuberance. Take the antipasti, a collection of small plates that revel in intense flavors---fried lemon and stuffed blue-cheese olives, peaches roasted with peppered ricotta, terrific tuna-and-tapenade-stuffed eggs. Entrées pack no less a punch, from crispy trout with fried green tomatoes and aïoli to steak frites with a side of mushroom-blue cheese salad. And the sticky toffee pudding's a decadent doozy. Meanwhile, the wine list, like the menu, changes with the seasons. Despite the name (umbra means shadow), not much outshines the dining here.