There are countless restaurants that serve pasta in New York, however Aww It should stand out when it makes its New York debut at NoMad on Thursday, May 28.
“We don’t make comparisons with other restaurants because we are very unique in what we do and very specific in what we do,” Uovo’s head chef, Germano Menin, tells the Observer. “We do this thing day in and day out. We’re fanatical about quality. Our focus is just on pasta.”
Minnen is responsible for Uovo’s food in Los Angeles (where the restaurant has five locations) and New York. Uovo also has a kitchen led by chef Pino Mastrangelo and pasta maker Stefania Randi in Bologna.
Minin does not misuse the word “unique” when describing Operation Uovo. Uovo, which opened its first location in Santa Monica in 2017, serves pasta that is handmade in Bologna and then shipped in a temperature-controlled chamber to the United States.
Uovo also sources Italian ingredients such as 24-month-old Basilicata and Parmigiano Reggiano tomatoes. With a menu that includes Bolognese, Amatriciana, Cacio e Pepe, Carbonara, Arrabbiata and Vongole dishes made from time-honored recipes, Uovo’s goal is to be the most Italian restaurant you can find outside of Italy.
“I work on the ground and talk to people almost every day,” Uovo operating partner Christian Bertolini tells the Observer. “I’m at Uovo six days a week, and have been doing so since we opened. I can tell you that I see a lot of Italians coming in, and they all end up becoming regulars. The comments they make are about how good this pasta is like the best places in Italy.”
Like the Los Angeles locations, the new Uovo restaurant on West 28th Street will have a seating area with a direct view of the chefs preparing the pasta. Whether at the counter or at a table, you can order a la carte or choose from different tasting menus that include three types of pastas plus an appetizer and dessert. But there’s nothing secondary about Uovo. Pasta is the main event.
“What we want to do in New York is replicate the quality, consistency and experience that we have in Los Angeles,” Carlo Massimini, co-founder of Uovo, tells Observer. “We want it to be exactly the same.”
Uovo is about taste memories. Bolognese recipe is from Bologna Antica trattoria della GigginA It dates back to the 1950s. Carlo and Lily Massimini, the Rome-born brothers who founded Uovo with Jerry Greenberg and Lowell Sharon, have recreated their mother’s vongole on their menu.
Uovo is undoubtedly a serious restaurant focused on precision, but it’s also a casual and approachable place for dinner. No reservations. You can order a tasting menu for $50 or less per person, including hospitality. We also strongly encourage you to come for a plate of pasta, a glass of Italian wine and absolutely nothing else. Uovo is all about traditional dining without the frills.
“We are old-fashioned,” Lily Massimini tells the Observer. “We were eating around Italy years ago, asking ourselves why we couldn’t have pasta in America that was as good as the best places in Italy. Then we just said, ‘Well, we should do it.'”
And if you want to create a game-changing restaurant, you better strive for perfection.
“We all have the same goal,” Minin says. “As a chef, it’s a pleasure to be able to work with like-minded people. We try pasta every day, three, four, five, six times. We do it because we love it. We want to make sure that every dish our guests will enjoy is exactly what we want to serve.”
Uovo is located at 13 W. 28th St., New York, NY, 10001, and will initially be open from 5:30pm to 11pm Sunday through Thursday and 5:30pm to 11:30pm Friday through Saturday. All-day hours will follow in late June.
