Uovo

Los Angeles, CA (The Joy of Food) — To better understand the Italian restaurant Uovo, you need to look at the Japanese restaurant Sugarfish. 

Sugarfish is the west coast’s Shake Shack of sushi, a beloved chain of restaurants that deliver a mid-level omakase experience at a reasonable price. 

Like many habits, the pursuit of good sushi can be costly; in L.A. omakase checks northward of $400 are not uncommon. What’s a sushi connoisseur without a bank account in the Caymans to do? 

Sugarfish strives to be the answer, offering à la carte or tasting menu options — “Trust Me” meals, as they’re called. This is a variant on omakase, which roughly means “I trust the chef,” and is, essentially, a set menu served in waves. Efficiency lets Sugarfish keep prices low, the volume high, and the rice warm, a hallmark of what Jonathan Gold termed the School of Nozawa.

Now at Uovo, Sugarfish co-founder Lele Massimini has determined to do the same with Italian food. So perhaps it makes sense that he opened Uovo in Santa Monica, a place that hadn’t seen a decent pasta dish priced under $20 in my lifetime.

At Uovo, it’s all about the egg, but not just any egg. Uovo sources its eggs in Bologna, Italy, where a certain magical red egg is produced. The pasta is made there (yes, in Bologna), cut, loaded onto a plane, and flown to the shop daily. Their next stop is boiling water in the Uovo kitchen for dishes like cacio e pepe, all’amatriciana, tortellini in brodo, and lasagna. 

Only a dozen mains and a handful of appetizers and roasted sides comprise the menu. And you can pick up a lesson in geography and history during lunch or dinner — pastas are listed according to where in Italy they originated.

If this is a first visit, you might stick to the basics and try the tonnarelli al pomodoro. If you’re a fan of heat, the arrabbiata kicks the basic sauce up a notch with some added chili pepper. Almost everything else is from central and northern Italy where meats and cheeses turn simple sauces into hearty ragùs. Flavors for the most part are stark and cater mainly to a purist mentality. 

You will notice that the noodles are al dente and very long. This is pasta done in the style of spaghetti alla chitarra, except it’s called tonnarelli in northern Italy. Pasta-twirling skills will come in handy here.

The seating is on the bare side of minimal. There are no reservations so you line up for one of the barstools or booths that line the perimeter. The space is narrow and warm, obviously put together with care but still sparse enough to mimic the basic, rustic dishes served here. 

The open kitchen gives you a vantage point from almost any seat in the house, and the pasta is plated in front of you when it’s ready. Again, efficiency and volume allow Uovo to keep prices on the affordable side. You’ll likely be in and out in 30 minutes.

For exceptional Italian dining in L.A. there’s always the trifecta: Mozza, Bestia, and Rossoblu, but Uovo offers something special and is worthy of many visits. And, it can say something no one else can: it’s the only restaurant in the U.S.A. in general and L.A. in particular serving fresh pasta hand-made and hand-cut in Italy.

Written by Joy

Thanks for reading. The Joy of Food blog celebrates eating well, traveling often, and living la dolce vita. San Diego, California is home base, but thoughts are from all over. Reviews and photos help to highlight wonderful (or not) food experiences from around the world.

Leave a comment below or get in touch with me via my About page.