UOVO

About UOVO

UOVO — pronounced WO-vo, Italian for egg — opened its Pasadena outpost at The Commons on South Lake Avenue as the fifth West Coast location in a small group of pasta-only restaurants built on a single, specific proposition: that the pasta of Emilia-Romagna cannot be improved upon and should not be adjusted for American palates. Eggs are sourced specifically for their yolk colour and albumen ratio. Doughs are laminated daily by an operation trained in Bologna. The result, served in a compact room with a white marble counter and an open view into the pasta kitchen, is as close as Pasadena has to Osteria Francescana's neighbourhood cousin.

The menu is short. Nine pastas, on a normal evening, with occasional specials. Tagliatelle al ragù alla bolognese — the anchor dish of the city the restaurant is trained in — comes with the meat browned properly, the soffritto cooked long enough to disappear into the sauce, and a finish of Parmigiano that is grated to the plate rather than dumped. Tortellini in brodo is the technical showpiece: the pasta is filled tight enough to float correctly in the broth, and the broth itself is a three-day project that reads on the tongue. Lasagna verde alla bolognese, built on spinach pasta and a proper béchamel, is the dish to order if the dining companion has not been converted to the proposition that lasagna is a pasta dish rather than a casserole. It is a revelation for most first-time guests.

The wine programme leans Emilia-Romagna and neighbouring regions: Lambrusco served correctly cold and correctly dry, Sangiovese from producers who understand that Chianti is a place before it is a brand, a Trebbiano-based white that handles the ragù better than a sauvignon blanc ever could. Glass pours are thoughtful. A quartino — an Italian half-carafe — is available, which is the polite way to drink solo and the correct way to drink over a one-pasta lunch.

The counter seat is the correct order at UOVO. The pasta kitchen is open and visible from it, which turns dinner into a demonstration, and the operation has been engineered for efficient single-diner service in a way American pasta restaurants routinely fail at. Ordering at the counter is quick. Pasta arrives at the correct temperature. A glass of wine, a pasta, a cup of espresso, the bill — the whole sequence unfolds in under forty-five minutes, which makes UOVO one of Pasadena's most useful solo-dining rooms.

Price-wise, UOVO sits in the $$ band, which is a quiet bargain. Pastas run in the $22 to $32 range — honest for the quality — and the lunch window offers smaller portions at proportional prices. Reservations are recommended on weekend evenings; weekday lunch walks in easily. Counter seats are typically held for walk-ins. The Commons location offers validated parking, which removes the one inconvenience that South Lake Avenue restaurants otherwise share.