When I embarked upon the torturous, tantalizing road of vegetarianism last April, I knew there would be challenges, and I knew there would be regrets. But never had I felt pangs of regret so sharp as the ones I suffered upon reading the description of modernized Italian restaurant Teatro's namesake burger: "10 oz. All Natural Niman Ranch Ground Beef With Fontina, Crispy Pancetta, Oven Cured Tomato Jam, Onion, Arugula, Roasted Garlic Aioli & Rosemary Fries."Holding back additional groans at the sight of pappardelle with Marsala-glazed veal meatballs a little further down the menu, I turned my attention to the varied selection of piattini, or small-plate appetizers intended for sharing. My similarly vegetarian-if thoroughly regretless-dining companion and I selected the eggplant caponata with Parmesan toasts after briefly considering other fresco plates, like the tangerine and shaved fennel salad, and caldo plates like porcini butter and Parmesan risotto. We did not choose poorly. Studded with briny olive halves and papered with fresh basil, the caponata took eggplant, an often capricious vegetable that can be tough and bitter in the wrong hands, and turned it into a tender, mouthwatering complexity mixed with a shot of sweet caramelized onions. Although we loaded as much as possible onto the mere three thin toasts provided, we were left glancing surreptitiously at the ample remainder, wondering whether good manners forbade us from forking caponata directly out of the dish.

We were forced to glance because the bread, a heartier three slices, arrived simultaneously with the main course rather than with the appetizer: The service was not poor, but it was absolutely oddly paced. I might attribute this to the fact that the dining room, a softly blue-lit, arched-ceiling Art Deco interior that was originally a synagogue (take note, approximately 50 percent of Brandeisians) was packed to the brim, leaving little room to maneuver and causing a few scares when the server at the table next to ours poked an elbow dangerously close to my head.

At first, the efficiency of the service was, in fact, worrying. The speed at which the piping hot plate of spinach and mascarpone ravioli dressed with craeme fraiche and parsley arrived led me to speculate, briefly, that the ravioli might have become tough and dry after marinating under a heat lamp. But one bite of the tender pasta stuffed with tangy green filling dispelled all fears. Cutting the ravioli in half to nobly sacrifice a taste to my friend, I glanced at the ceiling of the former synagogue and pondered whether Solomon would have decreed that the ravioli be split or that she who loved the ravioli more allow her friend to enjoy the whole dumpling. My friend opted for a simple tomato pizza with fresh mozzarella and oregano, and although the dish itself is almost plebian as far as Italian dining goes, the perfectly crisped crust and complex sauce made it a delight.

If the entrées and appetizer were any indication, the desserts should have been delicious. But none was compelling or creative enough to induce us to have one; vanilla panna cotta with fresh berries and even the mocha semifreddo just seemed standard, and we opted to splurge only so far as having wine with our meal rather than try an unadventurous dessert.

Teatro is just upscale enough to jazz up a night on the town-for which it is conveniently situated at 177 Tremont St., across from the Boylston T stop, next to the movie theater and minutes away from theaters and concert halls-but not so upscale as to be intimidatingly priced. A shared appetizer and a main course and glass of wine each, plus tip, cost me and my dining companion $34 each, a reasonable rate for our classy evening. And passing through the dining room that, an hour and a half later, was still full to capacity let me preview the pile of calamari with lemon aioli, grilled asparagus and wild mushroom pizza, and vegetable polpetti that I'm going to try when I go back.