Uovo NoMad opens on Thursday, May 28. Lexie Moreland
There are countless restaurants that serve pasta in New York, but Uovo should stand out when it makes its New York debut in NoMad on Thursday, May 28.
“We don’t do comparisons with other restaurants because we are so unique in what we do and so specific in what we do,” Uovo chef Germano Minin tells Observer. “We do this thing day after day after day. We’re quality fanatics. Our focus is on pasta only.”
Minin is in charge of 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 isn’t misusing the word “unique” when he describes Uovo’s process. Uovo, which opened its first location in Santa Monica in 2017, serves pasta that’s handmade in Bologna and then shipped in a temperature-controlled compartment to the United States.
Cacio e pepe at Uovo. Lexie Moreland
Uovo is also sourcing Italian ingredients like Basilicata tomatoes and 24-month-aged Parmigiano-Reggiano. With a menu that features Bolognese, Amatriciana, cacio e pepe, carbonara, arrabbiata and vongole made from time-honored recipes, Uovo’s goal is to be nothing less than the most Italian restaurant you can find outside of Italy.
“I work on the floor and talk to people almost every day,” Uovo operating partner Christian Bertolini tells Observer. “I’m at Uovo six days a week, and I’ve been doing this since we opened. I can tell you that I see so many Italians coming in, and they all end up being regulars. And the comments they make are about how this pasta is as good as the best places in Italy.”
Uovo NoMad features counter seating and separate tables. Lexie Moreland
Like the Los Angeles locations, the new Uovo on West 28th Street will feature counter seating with a direct view of cooks preparing pasta. Whether you’re at the counter or at a table, you can order à la carte or choose from different tasting menus that include three pastas along with a starter and dessert. But there are no secondi at Uovo. Pasta is the main event.
“What we want to do in New York is replicate the quality, consistency and expertise that we have in L.A.,” Uovo co-founder Carlo Massimini tells Observer. “We want it to be exactly the same.”
Carlo and Lele Massimini recreated their mother’s vongole for Uovo in New York. Lexie Moreland
Uovo is about taste memories. Its Bolognese recipe is from Bologna’s Antica Trattoria della Gigina and dates back to the 1950s. Carlo and Lele Massimini, the Rome-born brothers who started Uovo with Jerry Greenberg and Lowell Sharon, re-created their mom’s vongole for their menu.
Uovo is undoubtedly a serious, precision-focused restaurant, but it’s also an informal and accessible place to have dinner. There are no reservations. You can order a tasting menu for $50 or less per person, hospitality included. You are also very much encouraged to come by for a plate of pasta, a glass of Italian wine and absolutely nothing else. Uovo is about traditional, no-frills dining.
Uovo’s pasta is handmade in Bologna, as well as Italian ingredients like 24-month-aged Parmigiano-Reggiano. Lexie Moreland
“We’re old-fashioned,” Lele Massimini tells Observer. “We were eating around Italy years ago and just asking ourselves why we couldn’t have pasta in America that’s as good as the best places in Italy. And then we just said, ‘Well, we should do it.’”
And if you’re going to create a game-changing restaurant, you might as well strive for perfection.
“We all have the same goal,” Minin says. “As a chef, it’s such a pleasure to be able to work with people who are like-minded. We try our pasta every single day, three, four, five, six times. We do it because we love it. And we want to make sure that every dish that our guests are going to 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 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 5:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday. All-day hours will follow in late June.
Dining and Cooking