Cafe Amore

Urban sophistication on Shrewsbury Street

by Margaret LeRoux

Cafe Amore 92 Shrewsbury St. Worcester (508) 757-3104 Hours Sun.-Thurs. 4-10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. 4-11 p.m. Major credit cards Full bar Handicap accessible

Seated at a corner table of a busy, urban restaurant on a Saturday night, I surveyed the room. Across the way, in large, cushy, black booths -- the kind you'd have seen in cocktail lounges back in the '60s -- groups of diners sipped from martini glasses. The noise from their conversations drowned out strains of Sinatra coming from the sound system. Next to our table, another couple huddled. Suddenly there was the unmistakable bleat of a cell phone, and a third, unseen, voice joined their conversation. The gentleman signaled for a waitress, and gesturing across the room, ordered drinks for a group he sought to impress. I almost had to pinch myself. Yes, this was Worcester -- on Shrewsbury Street at the newly renovated and re-named Café Amoré, formerly Arthur's and, before that, the Black Orchid.

The restaurant's owners and the chef are the same, but the place had been completely re-done. You'll be impressed with the sophisticated décor. One wall is exposed brick, the other is done in gray, the pressed-tin ceiling gleams with a coat of black paint. The lighting is dim, the noise level is high. It has the feel of a happening place.

But what of the food? We shared an appetizer that was nothing short of sensational, and a salad course that was almost great. In the entrée category, we scored a hit and a miss. Courteous and friendly service, a commendable selection of wine (including good choices by-the-glass), and an outstanding bread plate tipped the scales. We're willing to give this Café Amoré the benefit of the doubt.

In a stroke of good luck, a friend and I waited but a few moments for a table. The diners who came in the door just after us, we noticed, had a much longer wait. If you come in a group, request one of the booths on the restaurant's (slightly) upper level -- a couple steps up, but if you want to be seen, it's the place to be.

The sophisticated tone is evident in Café Amoré's appetizers. No buffalo wings or fried mozzarella sticks here. Instead, retro-trendy offerings such as shrimp cocktail ($8), oysters Rockefeller ($9), on-the-half-shell servings of littleneck clams ($7) and oysters ($8), proscuitto and melon ($7), and a misto platter of roasted peppers, provolone cheese, calamata olives, and artichoke hearts ($8). Fried calamari is served in herb-butter sauce ($7) and fresh crab-cakes come with chipotle cucumber sauce.

We shared one of the evening's specials, Calimyrna figs with proscuitto in blackberry coulis ($8). Wow, what a presentation. An oversized, white dinner plate held four quartered, pale-green figs decorated with bits of fresh strawberries atop paper-thin slices of proscuitto folded like petals. The figs and ham blossoms floated like an arrangement of water lilies in a sea of blackberry sauce. The combination of tastes -- sweet fig, salty ham, and tart berries -- gave our jaded tastebuds a much appreciated boost. It was a product of the kitchen staff at its best, We hope they sustain the effort.

Just before our appetizer arrived, our waitress brought us Café Amoré's bread plate -- slices of crusty, firm baguette and whole-grain, peasant style bread along with pesto, herb-studded olive oil, and cute little flower-buds of butter. We couldn't resist dipping the bread into the berry coulis -- a grown-up version of bread and jam. With our appetizer and meals we sipped two satisfying wines, a pinot noir from Pepperwood and pinot grigio from Ecco Domini, (both $5.75).

Salads include antipasto ($9), fresh mozzarella and tomatoes ($7), Caesar ($6), and our choice, romaine and gorgonzola ($7). This was a large bowl of greens tossed with strawberry-balsamic vinaigrette -- too much oil with not enough taste -- with sliced strawberries and slivered almonds. Despite the rather bland dressing, the composition made it a nice change from the standard mixed greens.

There's a good selection of pasta -- this is Shrewsbury Street, after all -- and several of the main courses offer pasta as an alternative to potatoes.

Ravioli alla amore ($14) is filled with spinach and ricotta in cream sauce with mushrooms, artichokes, and sun-dried tomatoes; agnolotti alla crema ($14) are half-moon-shaped pasta stuffed with chicken, walnuts, and spinach in vodka-cream sauce; orrechiette and broccoli ($13) are fresh pasta "ears" tossed with diced tomato, black olives, and parmesan cheese.

Steaks include tournedos ($22) and sirloin ($19); veal is offered in a choice of five sauces; chicken selections range from parmigiana ($14) to "imperiale" ($10), with lobster, mushrooms, broccoli, and hollandaise sauce over pasta.

I chose veal paillard alla brace, a grilled scaloppini. Unfortunately it was tough and tasted more of Worcestershire sauce than of meat. But the lightly battered, fried artichoke hearts that decorated the plate were crunchy, and the side dish of red-bliss potatoes and onions was quite tasty.

My companion's capellini faraglioni, one of five seafood offerings, featured sautéed bay scallops, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and the tiniest shrimp you can imagine in white-wine sauce over angel-hair pasta. The scallops were nicely al dente, but we'd be hard pressed to describe a taste for the micro-shrimp.

We passed on dessert, but noticed the couple next to us feasting on martini glasses of marscapone cream swirled with marsala and studded with lady fingers. From the looks on their faces, Amoré seemed to be working its magic. Our bill was $76.65 before tip.