The ambience inside the restaurant is warm and comfortable giving the impression that you are a guest in someone's home with portraits and artwork on the walls, candles on the table, incredibly high ceilings, and antique pieces of furniture decorating the single room. It took a bit longer than was comfortable for the hostess to seat us at our corner table just far enough away from the other diners. I first decided to browse the wine list, surprisingly extensive for such a small establishment. Most of the wines were served by the bottle only, a few by the carafe and half carafe, and even fewer by the glass ($3.25-$5), mainly just the house wine and a couple of others. I selected Sokol Blosser Evolution No. 9 ($5/glass), a wine I had never heard of but with an interesting name, and was immediately warned by our server that it was a rather sweet wine. A very nice gesture as most people do not enjoy sweet wines like I do, so naturally I was very pleased to hear that. The delectable wine, which turned out to be a happy medium between a Riesling and a Gewürztraminer, arrived promptly along with a wooden cutting board topped with freshly sliced wheat bread and butter.

The menu for the week of December 15th comprised of seven entrée choices, and six appetizer selections. I chose the Caesar Salad with Garlic Croutons ($4) to start while my friend tried the Organic Mesclun Salad ($3). Both salads were excellent, greens completely tossed in dressing and just the right size for a starter. The Caesar salad had no anchovies, which I prefer, and the dressing was saturated with fresh garlic. My friend's mesclun salad came with a vinaigrette type of dressing that he loved and described as having a hint of soy. An interesting dressing to put on a salad without offering a description on the menu. Other tantalizing appetizers presented on the menu included a Roast Garlic and Cambozola Pizzette with Rosemary ($6), Grilled Shrimp with Coconut Curry Peanut Sauce ($6), and Oven Roasted PEI Mussels in Garlic, Red Wine and Chili Flake Broth ($6) a seemingly popular item amongst other patrons on this particular evening.

Our entrees were a bit mediocre but the exceptional salads and dessert made up for the lacking main course. I tried the Penne with Grilled Eggplant, Roasted Red Peppers, Arugula, Garlic, Calamata Olive Paste and Asiago Cheese ($9) while my date had the Shitake Mushroom, Spinach, Broccoli and Goat Cheese Tart with Tucsan Bean Salad and Grilled Belgian Endive ($10). From the complex descriptions on the menu, I was expecting a dish rich in flavors and variety but unfortunately it did not turn out to be the case. My Penne was decent, a little heavy on the eggplant, which is usually typical of vegetarian dishes when eggplant is thought to be a substantial meat substitute, and the cooked arugula was an interesting ingredient that I am not sure I would want to have again. Although he thoroughly enjoyed his entrée, my friend had to dig to find a mushroom in the Shitake Mushroom Tart but was overwhelmed with spinach and heavy pastry dough. He enjoyed the grilled endive, comparing its consistency and flavor to a mild grilled onion. Perhaps if we had ordered one of the offered meat dishes, such as the Asian Marinated Ribeye Steak with Gruyere Scalloped Sweet and Russet Potatoes and Asparagus ($16) or the Almond Encrusted Salmon on a Butternut, Cippolini Onion, Rainbow Chard, and Yukon Gold Potato Ragout ($13), we would have been more satisfied. We ordered two of the three vegetarian entrees on the menu for that week.

parking
reservations
wheelchair accessible
vegetarian selections
vegan selections
beer
wine
liquor
most credit cards accepted

On this particular night I was craving dessert so when our server offered us the dessert card, I happily agreed to peruse our options. They offered about five desserts all ranging in price from $4-5. There was a tempting Apple Berry Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream and an enticing Crème Brulee but we decided to try the Pumpkin Cheesecake with Sour Cream Topping. It was superb! The pumpkin cheesecake filling, embellished with cinnamon and nutmeg, was set in a rich crunchy graham cracker crust and topped with a layer of creamy sour cream/whipped cream. It was mouth watering. We both devoured the dessert in about ten seconds.

I would go back to Café Uffa again considering that the menu changes every week. I find this to be a common yet wonderful trait of several small restaurants here in Portland. It keeps diners intrigued and wanting to return for another try. As Café Uffa's distinguishing red and white sign indicates, the restaurant is open for breakfast and dinner Wednesday through Sunday.  

      Tracy B. Wheeler is a classical flutist and freelance writer who lives in Portland.