Ombra

A canalside restaurant that wears its scuffed edges and imperfections with pride, Ombra just might be one of Hackney’s most well-loved restaurants. Since Milanese super-chef Mitshel Ibrahim took over in 2018, this unapologetically ramshackle neighbourhood Italian has gone from being a local favourite to a city-wide smash. Not that the decor’s changed. Ombra still exists within a shabby bit of 1970s retail space, with an idiosyncratic stepped structure meaning Mitshel and his team are elevated above diners in a sort of culinary panopticon. If you do that dumb ‘wobble test’ on your crème brûlée, you best believe the big man is going to see.

Unlike the setting, the menu has undergone a head-turning, seasonal makeover under Mitshel. Ombra specialises in high-end but fun dining. Everything is striking, creative and substantial. There’s evidence of attention to detail and flair in every dish, but also the desire to provide unpretentious, hearty meals. Like the music of weirdo power-trio Primus, it’s clever but you can still scrunch your eyes and rock out to it.

Perhaps the rocking-est dish was the cauliflower mushroom with ’nduja and egg yolk. A startling combination of complex flavours and addictive textures that managed to be deep and meaty while mysteriously remaining light and fresh. I was also charmed by Ombra’s take on gnocco fritto, warm and golden pillows of lardy dough, which came wrapped in elegant yet chunky blankets of wild-boar mortadella. The regulation burrata, meanwhile, was supercharged by strands of preserved lemon running under it like electrical cabling. 

Make way, also, for Ombra’s crispy Roman artichoke. A brittle, fragrant ornament that you pick apart while eating, this thing was part-food, part arts-and-crafts activity. The whole thing is fried and the whole thing, including its creamy bottom, is edible. Who among us could ever pass up an edible, creamy bottom? Not I.

On our visit, the pasta did not live up to the standards set by earlier dishes. Gnocchetti with octopus, mussels, potatoes and ’nduja was sadly meek, while the pappardelle with gorgonzola was merely nice. A nice gorgonzola dish is like a tasteful cabaret act or a light-hitting cage fight – pointless. I want to be thoroughly battered by blue cheese, not romanced by it. Ombra, despite its cheeky, down-at-heel ambience, is by no means a cheap restaurant, and a 20-quid pasta dish has to hit the mark.

Thankfully, Ombra does enough right that a night within its eccentric orbit could never feel wasted. Service was perky, the vibe was playful and most of its dishes demand your attention. Word to the wise: turn up with an appetite. Like the home of some domineering feeder aunt, no one leaves Ombra un-stuffed, such is the preponderance of rich (and in the case of the glistening cicchetti section, fried) dishes. 

The vibe Cheerful and shabby. It feels a bit like you’re eating in some old shop space… because you are!

The food Punchy, clever Italian food. Ombra offers a lot more than pasta. In fact, the pasta is the least interesting part.

The drink A great selection of wines as you’d expect.

Time Out tip? Only an idiot would miss out on the fried artichoke. Also: the canalside outside bit is heated. No need to wait for summer.