Fantastic Fast-Casual Pasta - Uovo (Santa Monica) [Thoughts + Pics]

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IMHO, this is a very apt way to compare to Pasta Sisters vs. Uovo. Pasta Sister feels like youā€™re eating at someoneā€™s home (and I donā€™t mean the ambiance); Uovo has a (much) more ā€œcommercialā€ feel to its prep. I do think Pasta Sisters bolongese has a greater depth of flavor but, sometimes, I donā€™t mind a light prep (Uovoā€™s food didnā€™t make me feel like taking a nap afterward).

I really liked the cacio e pepe at Hostaria del Piccolo (and much more than the one at Uovo). But one at Uovo hits the spot well enough for me. :slight_smile: Agree that the ragu is way better.

Only tried Bulgariniā€™s pasta once maybe 2 yrs ago. Really liked it, but I actually Uovo better (but would place Pasta Sisters ahead of both).

Lots of people ordered the ravioli last night. Hope it was better than yours! :frowning:

Glad you liked the broccolini!!! :slight_smile: Will have to try the cauliflower next time.

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Great report, as always. The tortellini en brodo looks sounds wonderful. My son really likes that dish, itā€™s not very commonly found at restaurants. Iā€™ll probably take him to Uovo as soon as the weather cools off a bit (and hopefully the crowds ease up a bit).

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I would like the tortellini in brodo . Maybe itā€™s time to turn back the clock in the food world . Simply hard food to cook with great flavor . Unpretentious with great taste . Stacking , overdressed plates , showmanship just gets in the way for me . That dish says it all.

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Good / reasonable wines available by the glass? For me that is a key element of a pasta meal.

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Thanks @paranoidgarliclover. Yah, overall for a lunch pasta spot? I think Uovo stacks up really well against whatā€™s available - itā€™s very fast, decent QPR, good quality Pasta & Sauces, just not the best, but sometimes you donā€™t have time to drive out to the better places (in this case, Uovo on the Westside is awesome for convenience). :slight_smile:

Definitely try the Cauliflower next time, and thanks for the heads up on Hostaria del Piccoloā€™s Cacio e Pepe. :slight_smile:

Thanks @Bookwich. :slight_smile: Yah I really liked the Tortellini en Brodo, hope you get a chance to try it and let me know what you think. For lunch it was only about 50% full? (We didnā€™t have to wait, but @paranoidgarlicloverā€™s visit at dinner sounds like itā€™s much more busy.)

Hi @DTLAeater,

So far they have:

White
Pinot Gregio$ 7 | 28
Bertani Valente

Vermentino$ 9 | 36
Belguardo

Sauvignon Blanc$ 11 | 44
Torre Rosazza

Chardonnay$ 14 | 56
Planeta

Red
Chianti Superiore$ 8 | 32
Castel Trebbio

Barbera Dā€™Alba$ 10 | 40
Pio Cesare

Corvina Blend$ 12 | 48
Bertani Secco

Super Tuscan$ 16 | 64
Grattamacco Bolgheri Rosso

Iā€™m not a wine expert, so I leave that up to you and others to decide if thatā€™s a good deal or not. Thanks.

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All I know is if kazunori or this uovo joint opened up in studio city, it would print money for the owner.

I mean Novo Cafe is fineā€¦but this sounds amazing.

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Hi @Ns1,

Yah I agree. :slight_smile: Theyā€™ve taken lessons learned from Sugarfish and in terms of relative quality (Sugarfish sushi vs. best sushi, compared to Uovo pasta vs. best pasta), Iā€™d say Uovo is performing much better. Just good quality, tasty sauces (sans the ravioli).

yay!

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I believe both branches have been closed for some time.

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Yes, was about to write that to @Chowseeker1999. SaMo one has been closed for 2 yrs already. :frowning: Which is why I need to get my cacio e pepe elsewhereā€¦ ::sigh::

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I am also not a wine expert, but freaking 800 Degrees charges $12 for a glass of sickeningly sweet, basically undrinkable Chardonnay, so I would say Uovo is a good deal. :wink:

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will check out uovo eventually but not jumping at it. If it were in west Hollywood would def go much more quickly. Judging from the reports I will be hitting pasta sisters for a more casual and looking forward to my sat night res at Felix this weekend :smiley: (4th visit)

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Hi @skramzlife,

Yah. Itā€™s not worth driving halfway around town for, but if you were in the neighborhood, itā€™s definitely worth considering if you were in the mood for quality pasta for lunch. :wink: Hope you have a good visit to Felix & Pasta Sisters. :slight_smile:

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Oh snap, I completely missed your review. Iā€™ll post a link to mine here.

The Amatriciana was our favorite too. Completely agree re the wonderfully porky guancale.

Also agree 100% about the cacio e pepeā€™s needing more of a pepper punch. And maybe a little more cheese?

Such a bummer reading that the raviolis were overcooked. They looked so good on the plate. I was looking forward to trying them.

We totally agree re the cauliflower. As great as the broccolini was ā€“ and it was great ā€“ the cauliflower was even more amazing.

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Hi @Bigmouth,

Nice thoughts! Glad you liked Uovo. Yah itā€™s a really nice addition to the area. :slight_smile:

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Went here - well, a Bang Bang with HiHo next door - Saturday night and thoroughly enjoyed it.

We had the Amatriciana and the Tagliatelle. Both hit the spot.

I donā€™t know that I would make a drive, specifically, for this, but certainly when in the ā€˜hood Iā€™ll swing by.

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I hate to necro a 3y/o thread, but Iā€™m too shy to post my own. Uovo continually manages to be the most disappointing pasta experience of my life, which is perhaps notable in its own right. Itā€™s pasta. How badly could one fuck it up?

The first time I went, I sat at the bar and marveled at their automated pasta cookersā€“lowering and raising individual servings of pasta with a precision that Andrew Yang, years later, would warn us about. I ordered the cacio e pepeā€“a solid way to judge the basics of a restaurant(/chef? as if thereā€™s even a name behind this joint?). I then marveled as the waiter dunked a plastic spoon into a large bin of pre-grated parmesan, ala Kraft, ladling it merrily over the dish before serving it.

Shit tasted like straight up foot. (I hesitate to say that because itā€™s an insult to feet everywhere, but I lack better words.) It was all the funk of a sock, immediately following a heavy gym session, without any nuance or redeeming qualities. I ordered a couple other dishes, but despite their generally poor quality, I canā€™t even remember a single one of them because of the taste of diabetes feet. Or maybe gout. Iā€™m not an expert on feet.

I went back once after and ordered the spinach ravioli they hadā€“so forgettable Iā€™m not even sure it was spinach now. Dish was served surprisingly cold in a bed of tepid water. It did not disappoint, in the sense that I expected it to be wildly disappointing.

I like to give places three tries before writing them off, so against my better judgment, I Postmateā€™d the vongole tonight. That shit was the crunchiest fucking bowl of pasta Iā€™ve ever had (perhaps a boon if you enjoy sharp texture contrasts). Itā€™s like they didnā€™t even bother to give the clams a cursory rinse to try and rid them of sand. 1/3 of them hadnā€™t opened after steaming. The nicest thing I can say about it was that they included a stainless steel fork in the bag. They have a baked-in 16% fee on top of Postmatesā€™s usual bullshit, by the way.

The only people I personally know whoā€™ve said positive things about Uovo have only ever sauced from a jar. Hell, for ā€œfast-casual,ā€ Iā€™d put any of the offerings at Eataly miles ahead of them.

Iā€™d go in on Pasta Sisters, but that place isnā€™t worth the oxygen required to activate a single brain cell to think about.

Fuck Uovo.

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