Introduction to Uovo
Uovo, a precision-focused Italian restaurant that makes pasta in Bologna and flies the hand-crafted noodles in a temperature-controlled compartment to the United States, will open in New York next year. Uovo, which launched in Santa Monica in 2017 and now has five Los Angeles locations, plans to debut in New York in spring 2026, at 13 W. 28th St. in NoMad.
The Concept and Founders
Uovo co-founder Carlo Massimini tells Observer that many Italian people come to the restaurant, and they also have a lot of people from New York visiting. Everybody always says, ‘Oh, you should go to New York.’ The founders think people will like Uovo just as much in New York because they’re going to make exactly the same dishes. Uovo’s other co-founders are Carlo’s brother, Lele, and prolific restaurateur Jerry Greenberg. They immersed themselves into creating a resolutely traditional Italian restaurant.
Research and Development
One R&D trip that led to the birth of Uovo involved tasting 77 pastas in Rome, Bologna, and a couple of places just outside the northern Italian city, all in less than three days. Greenberg tells Observer that by the time they got to the 75th pasta, he thinks Carlo was thinking about not joining them. The Massiminis and Greenberg clearly understand that New York is a city loaded with all kinds of hyper-specific Italian restaurants.
The Pasta-Making Process
The pasta is made with time-honored sheeting and cutting techniques. The original plan for Uovo was to ship over Italian eggs with rich red yolks that are optimal for pasta. Once the team realized this wasn’t possible, they put together a Bologna kitchen and tapped chef Pino Mastrangelo and pasta-maker Stefania Randi to run it. None of the noodles at Uovo are extruded. Everything is made with time-honored sheeting and cutting techniques. And the combination of this process and the eggs Uovo uses results in strikingly yellow noodles that bind well with sauce.
The Menu
Both Mastrangelo and Randi came to Uovo from Bologna’s Antica Trattoria della Gigina, a restaurant so generous in spirit that it also shared its born-in-the-1950s Bolognese recipe with Uovo. Uovo makes its ragu using Gigina’s recipe. But instead of beef from Italy, Uovo gets 100 percent grass-fed wagyu from New Zealand’s First Light Farms. Greenberg, who also runs wagyu-centric restaurants, traveled the world in search of the best beef and believes that First Light is the champion.
Recipes and Ingredients
Sorting out a vongole recipe at Uovo was more complicated than learning the Bolognese recipe. The Massiminis were born and raised in Rome, and Uovo figured out how to re-create their mother’s clam sauce. The challenge was that Carlo and Lele’s mom is a home cook who makes vongole intuitively. For amatriciana, Uovo was inspired by the thick, crispy squares of guanciale that Roscioli uses in Rome. It’s this commitment to precision that led Uovo to source tomatoes grown in Basilicata and 24-month-aged Parmigiano-Reggiano from Parma.
The Uovo Experience
Uovo is light on starters and side dishes, and there are no main courses that come after pasta. Substitutions are not allowed. The focus here is traditional pasta through and through. Adding to the precision: Every order at Uovo is prepared individually. The founders believe they have strong traditional recipes, and they want the food to be exactly as they expect it.
Conclusion
Uovo is working out the details as it prepares to open in New York. An important part of the process is having pasta rest while it’s in transit. Because flights to New York are shorter than they are to L.A., Uovo is looking at how and when to add resting time for its pasta. Rest assured, the Massiminis and Greenberg won’t be satisfied until they get this exactly right.
FAQs
Q: When is Uovo opening in New York?
A: Uovo plans to debut in New York in spring 2026, at 13 W. 28th St. in NoMad.
Q: What makes Uovo’s pasta unique?
A: Uovo’s pasta is made with time-honored sheeting and cutting techniques, and the combination of this process and the eggs Uovo uses results in strikingly yellow noodles that bind well with sauce.
Q: Where do Uovo’s ingredients come from?
A: Uovo sources tomatoes grown in Basilicata and 24-month-aged Parmigiano-Reggiano from Parma, and gets 100 percent grass-fed wagyu from New Zealand’s First Light Farms.
Q: Can I make substitutions or order main courses after pasta?
A: No, substitutions are not allowed, and there are no main courses that come after pasta. The focus at Uovo is traditional pasta through and through.
Q: How is each order prepared at Uovo?
A: Every order at Uovo is prepared individually, with a focus on precision and traditional recipes.
