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Mon-Thu. 10:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 10:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 10:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
"It's a foodie's and oenophile's Paradise! Believe it or not, I went here for the first time ever on Friday morning. I was stopping by to…" read more »
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The pistachio gelato is glorious! The person who scoops the gelato will let you sample as many as you want. I probably tried 10 flavors, but the guy was still super nice and patient.
I also enjoyed the cheese ravioli....though they only give you four pieces, the dish is still very filling.
I like that you can sit outdoors and enjoy the air (would say fresh air, but we ARE in LA).
So I went back this past weekend and it was not the business.
I got the Caesar salad to start which was good, then I ordered the Cannelloni, not sure if they changed it but I don't remember it tasting like this. Also, there was a foreign vegetable in it...it looked like artichoke heart. When I asked my server what it was she told me it was an onion. Not sure where she gets her onions but the ones that I buy don't look like that. When she noticed my change in mood, she went to the manager and told her the situation. I believe the manager told her to give us the leftover piece of chocolate cake, which was super dry and stale. After this experience, I don't think I will be returning.
This place has become my local go to Italian restaurant. They have traditional Italian food that is… Read more »
I"m feeling a little reticent today so I'll keep this review fairly short. I won't be going here again. I guess there's two sides to this whole shindig: the cafe side (which we went to), and the wine bar on the other side which supposedly specializes more in pastas and pizzas or something. We hit up the cafe.
Nothing on the menu in the entree/salad/pasta section really jumped out at me to be honest. The apps seemed decent so my friend and I split the prosciutto/melon app which was admittedly deelicious. But how do you fuck that up? Just wrap some high quality prosciutt around a melon slice. Anyways my spinach salad was bland; the dressing needed some more kick to it, or some seasoning. My friend's goat cheese salad looked better, but also a little disappointing.
Our server was actually quite attentive and cool, but I sat down and immediately noticed a piece of spinach dried onto my fork. I caught the eye of another server and made that "please come over and help me" look with my eyes. He looked away b/c he was talking to someone. Then we made eye contact again, for a LONG time, dude it was so fucking obvious I was a patron in need of help or I had a request, and once again this dude just looks off. Fuck it- so I got up, walked over there, reached by him and got my own damn fork and told him this one was dirty. Thanks for the pointless eye fucking dipshit, and no I wasn't even checking you out.
Whatever, so I guess when the food is disappointing and you have someone else's dinner on your fork it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I just wasn't impressed with this place at all.
Hmm, so much for my brief review.
My friends and I came here after an event in the neighborhood - we were starving and wanted some filling pasta. We walked in around 9:30 - not early but not late - and the host said we'd have to wait a few minutes for a table. It was a Wednesday, not really busy, and I saw a few tables open but whatever. No problem, we'll wait.
A few minutes turned in 30. I was practically having seizures from being so hungry. Thennn at around 10pm....the host comes to us where we are waiting at the bar and says that he's no longer able to get us a table because they are closing in 5 minutes. He offers to take our order for to-go or we can come back tomorrow. Those are really stellar options but you're in idiot.
Ugo? More like Eww-go or better yet, UGH-o. Yeah, I was kind of annoyed.
I got the filet mignon and it was actually a bit bitter from being burnt or the grill wasn't clean :( it was only medium rare for crying out loud! The red cup cake was really good though it had cream cheese topping ... Which is why i'm giving it a 2 star instead of one. Maybe I should only get dessert here next time to be safe.
I've had bad experiences at Ugo before, but because I know the biz and am a forgiving customer I gave them a second and third chance. There won't be a fourth, I'm unfortunately done with Ugo's cafe side for good.
On my first visit they were unapologetically 'out of bread' as well as the first THREE wine choices my wife ordered. haha It was almost comical to see each subsequent beverage run come back with "we're out of that one too." Well not really comical, but forgivable I suppose. The unforgivable thing about Ugo is the totally hackjob food preparation. Each of the three visits produced identical results, and they were spaced out over the course of 9 months. The omellete was obviously microwave reheated, the fruit cup clearly prepped far too long in advance (all fruits were watery and soft, a dead giveaway).
Another simple fix they could do is with the presentation; there are giant oversized white plates but with a small portion awkwardly sitting in the middle.. leaving a huge amount of dead plate surrounding it, no side orders to fill it out. Restaurant 101 teaches that if the portions are small you need a small plate. Large areas of empty white plate are unappetizing.
On my third visit the service was passable, but the first two times it was not good at all. The second time we went was the worst, the order was brought wrong to the table and the server was visibly annoyed with us that we pointed it out.. even though we offered to eat it anyway, no big deal.
Bottomline, Ugo's days are numbered if they don't can whoever is managing. It has all the makings of a great place (the desserts looked nice), its a beautiful location with a good menu, but its painfully honest that whoever is running the show is cutting bigtime corners and just isn't a good fit. The chefs will rise to the occasion under proper supervision, but its just not happening.
Three terrible experiences spread over the course of a year is crazy.. in the words of another customer sitting within earshot of our table yesterday "what's up with this place?"
one star, will never go back.
Hm..came here on Saturday in the afternoon with a group of friends to grab a bite before we attended an event nearby. The cafe is located on a strip of restaurants, but Italian was our pick of the day. I wish we had eaten somewhere else because everything was just average and our waiter was not all there on this day.
However, what saved this review was the bread basket. We filled up on bread since the balsamic vinegar, tangy but sweet, paired well with the buttery-ness of the olive oil. Great combo and I'd probably come here just to consume baskets of bread. But on to the main course...
I ordered the Orechiette (I think that's how you spell it). Anyway, it's oval shaped pasta in a light tomato sauce tossed with pine nuts, red peppers and Italian sausage. Topped with a little parmesan cheese and it was still just alright. Nothing popped and it wasn't comparable to the price that was attached to the meal. However, I do agree that the restaurant was highly visible on the street and the price was supposed to reflect a refined restaurant, but the service definitely did not match the ambiance it was trying to convey.
Let's talk about service. With the menu priced at $-$$, I expected a little more attention to detail. Our waiter seemed like he had a long night the night before and was slowly dragging his feet along through his shift. The food came out on time, but refilling water was an issue. It was at the end of our meal and he came by with water, but only refilled one cup and mine was empty. The server didn't even ask and just walked away. o.O uhh...hello?
The table next to us also had left overs that needed to be boxed up, but only one of the dishes was boxed. When the person asked about their dish, the server said he didn't know that they wanted both dishes to be boxed. Both plates barely had a dent in them. O.O
Anyway, my experience could have been better had I not filled up on bread, or the server could have been more attentive or my water could have been refilled, or ...lots of things.
Meh.
I'm contemplating if I should give it 1 star or 2... I'll be nice and give 2 since even though the service was spotty, when they were actually there the servers were friendly.
But, that's all the good I can say... The service was meh. The food was DEFINITELY meh.
I came here last night for dinner and drinks with some friends. The service was really spotty and the food was just whateverrrrrrrrrrrrr. The chicken was dry... the $8 spinach salad was bland... the bruschetta was just chopped up unseasoned tomatoes on a piece of hard bread that I couldn't bite into.
blah. blah. blah.
I won't be back.
The first time I've sent food back in 10 years! Absolutely putrid.
Why are people waiting in line for this "experience"? It's horrid!!!! Thankfully, I went to the wine room, instead of the restaurant. Yes, they have a very cool do-it-yourself wine tasting situation. It's novel and fun to slide your card and select automatic 2 oz. pours of various wines... I dug it, but the food is rancid! And this is a RESTAURANT review.
We ordered appetizers. The pear stuffed with gorgonzola sounded scrumpious... it was a firm, unripenned pear smeared with cheese. Beyond disappointing. The crustinis were uninspred and seriously lacking salt. (My biggest pet peeve. Hi chef! Meet my friends Salt and Pepper! Get to know them). Next out was a ludicrous peice of burnt rice in what tasted like Campbell's tomato soup. They called it a "Risotto pancake in tomato sauce". I'm ill just thinking about it.
Their food is poison. Also, our waitress had athe worst BO I've smelled on a woman since my last Phish concert. Avoid!!!!!
This place is not good. Been here for brunch - food was not even average, I would put it at slightly below average. Their pizza is essentially bits of meat on what looks like a flatbread/tortilla thing. Why do they call it pizza, when in reality, it is flat bread??
Oftentimes, people give low reviews because they had a negative experience with service. I have come here 3-4 times, and every time, I consistently have a below par experience with the food alone. So it's not mixed with anger or frustration with the staff. They are actually quite nice.
I'd like to think downtown Culver City is the place to be for quality, cutting-edge cuisine, but Ugo kind of brings down the status quo. Sorry.
I'm with Tian.
I've been here twice - first time, ordered linguine con vongole (clams), second time, ordered pollo con funghi (chicken with mushroom).
Both very subpar.
My date's rigatoni bolognese with Italian sausage was good though. Maybe I'll try that if I go here again.
Cute cafe, really friendly staff, pretty decor. Dishes I've ordered: no good. The gelato was ok.
Parking is convenient - 2-hr free public parking around the corner.
Went to Ugo for a peaceful Sunday lunch with the wife and daughter. Being next door to the public parking, resting my car was easy. Nice outdoor seating without too much pollution at 11:30 am. Ordered their set lunch and waited for the bread, and waited... After 15 mins, the food started to arrive but the bread was still MIA. When question, we were informed that the bread will not be ready until approx 12 noon!!! An Italian restaurant without bread????? Very disappointing.
The food was average and the service was above average.
Well, I got talked in going back to Ugo for gelato and the gelato was good. The staff was very nice and attentive this visit. I got a huge serving too. Could barely fit in the cup it was so much so I ate it quickly because it was gonna melt on me if I didn't. Had two flavors and they were both good. Still don't recommend this place for breakfast though. That sucked big time. So with this past really good visit and the first sucky one I'm upping my rating to three stars from one.
Went to Ugo this morning for breakfast with a friend. Never been there before, but the place looked… Read more »
I got a recipe out of a magazine that said it was based on the "delicious Orecchiette with Italian Sausage from Ugo." I liked the recipe very much so when I happened upon a chance to go to Ugo for an early supper yesterday, I took it. I wish I hadn't.
The place was pretty empty, but it was before 6pm, so I thought nothing of it. The minestrone soup was tasteless. They completely forgot to season the broth. A fair amount of salt and pepper later, it was almost okay tasting. I have gotten better from a can.
The Orecchiette was also tasteless. They seemed to forget to season almost everything. The Italian Sausage was very strong on fennel seeds and you could taste little else. The sauce was watery and tasteless. My friend's lasagna was also watery and tasteless until she took a couple of bites into something horribly sour - possibly an unripe tomato. The service was lacking. The waitress spilled Parmesan cheese (also tasteless, BTW) on to my friend without apologies. A waiter also spilled water on her, without apologies. We avoided desert for fear it would be tasteless as well.
I would not go back unless they get a new head chef. The food does not seem fresh and I think their tomato sauce is out of a can. It's not expensive, but there are plenty of places we can get better food for less. A real disappointment.
Wow! What a surprise to find such poor reviews. I thought this place was very above and beyond other downtown Culver City spots. Why adults order pizza at real restaurants is beyond me.
My husband and I went for a late Saturday lunch. We sat outside, had great service and great atmosphere. We ordered the appetizer the waiter recommended. I can't remember the name but it started with an "a" and was basically fried mozzarella in bolognese sauce. Very good.
I ordered the Insalate di Tonno and it was perfection! Mixed green, roasted bell peppers and grilled asparagus with seared tuna cooked to order on the side. I ordered medium rare and it was done beautifully. My husband ordered the special pasta with chicken, mushrooms and artichokes and was equally pleased. We had a sundae for dessert, the idea stolen from our neighbors: vanilla gelato, hazelnut gelato, whipped cream, and cookies. Fabulous.
I have yet to sample any of their entrees, but, the apps are not too shabby. Calamari and pizzas. Happy Hour drinks arent' too bad either with $2 blue moons and $5 mid shelf wines and spirits. Oh, and they'll let you sample the gelatos. This is a good place to catch an early happy hour before dinner and/or a night out. Conveniently located next door to the Wine bar of the same name and all the other fine establishments of Downtown CC.
Wish I could write a good review. I'd been thinking of eating here for quite some time. I simply always passed at a time of day when I'd just eaten. The setting looked so lovely when it first opened ( a little more broken in now, but that's not a bad thing.)
So, I can't believe I gave this place 2 chances in One Night, each more disappointing than the next.
I was meeting a girlfriend for one of the Thursday night Culver City Music events. She was going to arrive exactly on time, and I was going to eat first. Of course I was going to eat first. Yelpers understand this. I'm relatively new to Yelp .... not to the reading of it. I've been doing that for a few years ... just to the posting. I've just started to post. I need to catch up. And I need to get me some Yelp friends ... people who understand you have to eat before, during and after everything.
So, this was a perfect time to finally stop at Ugo's. I would have time for a couple apps b4 the concert. Both appetizers were thoroughly edible, I'm not going to lie and say I didn't finish them, but they were totally boring and instantly forgettable. See, I've already forgotten them. I don't know what I ate. The waiter was a little out of it, so his service didn't make up for the blandness.
I then met up with my friend. We spent a couple of fun hours at the outdoor concert. There was a Cajun-Zydeco Band that night. Then with all the fresh air and dancing I'm hungry again.
Here comes my big mistake. Since we're still only 2 blocks away from Ugo's, I say let's go to Ugo's for dessert. The desserts looked so beautiful in their bakery section. I wanted to go back. Afterall, desserts can be a whole other thing than food.
She gets a gelato, and I ask one of the guys at the counter about the different cakes. He's abrupt, and clearly uninterested in describing their wares. Being greedy when it comes to pastry, I finally point at a large slice of something that looks visually appealing. He never could be bothered to describe the contents of the cake.
He removes the piece I pointed at from the 'cake window', puts it on a plate, then slices 1/3 of it away, and puts it back. "What's that all about?" I demand to know, being a person who likes to have my cake and eat it too. "The slice was too large." he said emphatically.
"Duh, that's why I picked it. It looks good AND it's large. Works for me."
"It shouldn't have been sliced that large. It was a mistake." he says, never having heard of the adage the customer is always right.
"So, you're kind of mis-representing the product." I say. "Making it look like a great deal more than what you actually plan to give the customer for the price."
I should point out that I'm not the woman in my Yelp photo. I'm a very normal weight, still somewhat athletic person, but even if I was the fatty in the photo, fat people deserve to be treated well too, especially if they're doing their part to keep your restaurant in business. Anyhow, I'm a mid-weight angry woman and I want my full slice of cake. He's not giving it to me. We're having a stand-off.
I now tell him I don't want it. Put it back. He looks surprised. Even though I'm unseated, still at the counter, and haven't taken a bite, I can't walk out. My friend is down at the other end, and she's already started eating her gelato. She looks like she enjoying it as I walk towards her. "Where's your cake?" she asks. I tell her what happened. "I don't believe it!" she said. "He actually tried to shave off a piece and make it smaller? I've never heard of such a thing. That's just plain stupid. Even if it was sliced too big, he still should've let it be."
I ordered some gelato from a very friendly server at that end of the counter. He smiled a lot and gave me extra large scoops. Maybe he'd overheard how things were going for me at the pastry counter. I sat down next to my friend. The gelato was tasty .... not as good as Scoops, my favorite ..... but both flavors were pretty decent. Also what we tasted out of each others flavors was pretty good. Still, after my boring appetizers earlier, and the stingy cake slicer, the restaurant won't be seeing us again. There's no lack of places to go in Culver City.
U-go? Me...no-go. Unless I have to.
Some of my friends like to eat at this place. I don't know why. Some of my friends say they are true fans of Italian cuisine, so they choose this place.
In which I say, "Ugo? You want to go to Ugo?"
To which they reply, "Yes, it's authentic Italian food"
WRONG-O!
The food here is mediocre Italian food at best. If we were in Italy, the food here would be compared to the likes of the Autogrill.
(For those who don't know what the Autogrill is, it's a rest stop/fast food/convenience store along the Italian highways. You can purchase a hot Italian meal along with a can of hairspray, if need be.)
I hate to say it, but the food at the Autogrill is better than this joint.
If you're in the mood for good Italian food, check out Cafe Paradiso in West LA. If you're in the mood to people watch, then go to Ugo, but don't expect a meal that satisfies your dire craving for the most authentic Italian food out there. This is not it.
Do check out their Gelato. It's well worth it on this side of town.
On the outside this place is adorable and has so much promise. Once on the inside, well the patio, it all went down hill. We got an assortment of appetizers and some drinks. It was good, nothing fancy. Service was nothing to write home about. My opinion went down hill when I became sick from the previously mentioned appetizers. I boycotted the place for a year until I recently went back for a going away dinner with friends. if it weren't for the special occasion I would have passed. Things went better this time...I only ate the bread and ordered some veggie soup. It was bland, but on the plus side it didn't make me sick.
You know a place is bad when you wish they had Newman's Own Marinari instead of the monstrosity accompanying your calzone, which was food court quality, almost.
Checking in was a nightmare as they operate two restaurants within one...one is a cafe and one is a restaurant, but they don't have the same menu, just similar. Confusing and annoying!
Service was terrible, took forever, hard to flag down waiters, and none of us were pleased with what we ate. I don't know what passes for a great restaurant in downtown Culver City, but we should've gone to Del Taco on Venice instead.
Ugh-o.
Don't get me wrong, I love Italian food but that's just the problem. Ugo is nice but for someone that goes to a lot of Italian restaurants...Ugo is neither spectacular nor terrible. On a warm Sunday afternoon Ugo is a fine place to have lunch outdoors while watching all the people out and about in Culver City. When I went, it was "poppin" as those with street cred would say. It seemed to be the restaurant where everyone was eating so there had to be something to it. Plus, Camellia C. pointed out their delightful display of desserts and that'll get me every time.
It's just not very good Italian food. I had the Rigatoni Bolognese at around 11 dollars which was pretty bad...it was "nast" as my sister and an old friend Sally* used to say...so nasty it doesn't even merit the "y".
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
I couldn't even eat half of it and I normally inhale Italian food...especially anything with marinara sauce..ugh-o indeed.
Fortunately, the Panino special of the day was fine and like Forrest Gump once said, "that's all I have to say about that."
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
But it was the gelato bar that was a highlight on this day. The people working the gelato bar were extremely patient as Camellia C. decided to try almost every flavor until we decided on Amadeus Dream and Pistachio which the server was kind enough to put half/half of each in a small size at $4.25. Camellia C. told me that the server "hooked it up" ...which is a phrase they say in the 'hood apparently (even though I'm pretty sure Camellia hails from Fremont).
With a name like "Amadeus Dream," you better be a great flavor and it was. It was a chocolatey treat with almonds and hazelnuts and pistachio. The Pistachio flavor itself was o.k. but had full bits of pistachio in it so that was nice. Overall, not the best gelato but pretty good.
After we finished, I looked around and realized that not many people were actually there for the food, rather, they had opted to have beverages or the gelato. If I ever come back, it'll be for the locale..in the middle of downtown Culver City, while keeping cool with a frosty treat. I just don't know if that's enough.
I went yesterday for my yearly calzone, and was not disappointed. I went with the phallic ingredients (sausage and mushroom), and loved dousing it with red sauce. A well-crafted latte served as a delightful appetizer, and the heat lamps kept my date and I warm in the perfectly spaced outdoor seating.
Ugo to me is bad americanized italian diner food.
There are two positive things about this place.
GOOD PEOPLE WATCHING. It's in the heart of culver city so it's fun to sit on a busy night as you dine and watch everyone go by, and for the ladies the bartender dudes look like rugged models.
COFFEE. The espresso drinks here aren't bad in a pinch, sit outside it smells better.
Negatives
FOOD. The food does not taste fresh, and the flavors are mediocre to bad.
SMELL. Both times i've been it's smelled like ammonia, sweat, and lard.
SERVICE. The waitstaff has an overall "greater then thou" snobby attitude, they are un-attentive and look like they'd rather be anywhere but at work.
Don't waste your money at Ugo, there are so many places in the area with better food.
Oh one last thing, they have amazing looking cakes I haven't tried any of them yet i'll have to report back. I have tried their gelato's, they were OK but not unique or special in any way.
I brought a girl here, my first date in about 28 years (jk), and it was a nice place to bring a date. We sat inside but they have pleasant outside seating. I ordered the Risotta Al Mare and I recommend it for seafood lovers. There was an ample amount of scallops and shrimp. The girls ordered some type of cheesy ravioli dish that looked mediocre, no meat and she eats like a bird. We had calimari for an appetizer and it was very good. I like the ambiance. Not too loud, not too quiet. Downtown Culver City is legit. If I went back to Culver City, I would probably try a different place, but if I were to recommend a place in downtown Culver City, this would get the nod for sure.
The most accurate adjective I can think of to describe Ugo would be *uneven.*
I can't figure out why, and that bothers me. The atmosphere is pleasant, but the service is lacking. The food is good, but the prices are way too high ($12 for a salad with no meat?). It's a place I really want to love, and on paper it seems like the perfect, little neighborhood Italian Cafe, but up close and personal, it's easy to see its faults, and fixate on them.
Everything started out okay. We ordered beverages--a Limonata and water with no ice for me. The waitress immediately brought out a glass of water *with* ice, and later a glass of regular, fake-tasting Minute Maid lemonade: no good.
Lunch was comprised of the Insalata Capra, with herb-encrusted goat cheese, panchetta and dried cherries over a bed of greens and it was extremely tasty--so good! It was upon its arrival that I asked the server to switch out the lemonade for the Limonata I ordered, to which he replied that they were out. I sent the lemonade back and five minutes later came the waitress with a bottle of Limonata in her hand and a glass of ice, and no explanation.
My friends' food was good, too, especially the house-made meatball "tapas," which *claim* to be the best around, but clearly these Ugo folks have never had my mother's meatballs, but that's another story ...
For dessert, we each ordered a kid's-sized gelato, which, I did not know until today, came in a much larger glass than the little plastic to-go cup--but then the gelato was half-melted by the time we got it, so ... again, like I said before, uneven.
What can I say? I think Ugo is best when you want to stop in for a gelato before running across the street to catch a movie. Lunch was just okay and I probably would not come here for dinner, and definitely not drinks. Their Negroni was $12! Even at the Association it's only $10. C'mon, guys, who do you think you are, Fraiche?
The food is whatever.
The gelato however is awesome. Even though I'm slightly lactose intolerant and dairy makes me feel sick, I am a glutton for punishment. Who can say no to gelato? Definitely not me. I'll happily eat my small bowl of Amadeus Dreams and deal with the consequences later.
Ahhh, Ugo. This place has a special place in my heart. I love the outdoor seating, the extensive collection of wine, and the decent and inexpensive Italian food.
I've come here so many times and haven't been let down. For one, the restaurant is in prime people-watching territory. On a warm summer night you can't beat the outdoor seating, and in the winter they turn on their heating lamps and dim lighting; it's tres romantic.
They have an extensive list of wine and cocktails; my friend got a pomegranate martini the last time we were there and it was delicious.
In my opinion, pretty much everything on their menu is "decent" or "good." I have had the lobster ravioli, the shrimp & caper pasta, the veal, the steak, all of the appetizers, and almost every flavor of gelato (not in one sitting!) and they are all solid. Of course, it's not fantastic food, but you're not paying for rock-your-world cusine either.
I recommend it for dates or for a get-together with friends - you can't go wrong.
I didn't have the same experience that others described. Our server was great on a crowded and loud Friday evening. I had the Insalata Di Tonno. The grilled marinated slices of tuna were seared perfectly and went well with the mixed green salad topped with roasted red bell peppers and grilled asparagus. It was plated beautifully too. Perhaps there was too much dressing, but I finished it all. My friend had the soup of the day, which was a pureed roasted vegetable soup. It was a bit bland, but would probably be fine with some fresh ground pepper.
I saved room for dessert. You have to with their impressive options. I decided to skip the cakes and pastries and went with a mango sorbet. It was incredibly, unbelievably creamy (not coarse or icy) and just the right level of sweet, kind of delicate. YUM.
The prices are quite decent, even weirdly decent for a "white table cloth" place...so it's definitely affordable. I was hungry, so I pretty much ate it all, but my pasta wasn't aldente--it was kinda fall-aparty...
It was kinda romantic, but then it got kinda weird when the waiters started dragging all the tables around really loudly--metal on cement--excrutiating! For like 20 minutes!
Other than that the staff was great, but I will not be going back--just because the neighborhood has so many choices right there! If the place was isolated, I might go back. It's so freakin' hard to find good Italian in Los Angeles. I did not find it here.
After a nice dinner at Rush, we decided to head over and wrap the night up at Ugo's Wine Bar in the rear. Sitting is limited in this part of their establishment, so larger parties might wait before seats become available (plenty of standing room though).
The bar follows a pay-up-front model and allows you to be creative with which flights of wine you taste. The wine is dispensed automatically from the machine (the novel concept that sets it apart from Press Club in SF) and credit deducted from your little charge card. I enjoyed the whites and the icewine but I felt the reds were a little stale. In any case, it's a great closer for a chill evening. I'd recommend this as a first-date venue.
Please note, I've only had Gelato here.
I don't know why I did though...I'm not really into Gelato. But my friend was very keen on the flavor she got to taste test. So I decided why not, I picked pear.
It tasted like furry ice cream. I'm sorry I just can't describe it any other way. It had a pear taste yes, but it felt furry...the guy working the counter was very nice though!
$4 ? For something I didn't really enjoy that much...meh.
I expected a little more because downtown Culver City offers many very good restaurants. To the left you have Tendergreens and on the right is Fraiche. Both have excellent food. Ugo, not so much.
The prices were very promising since it was less expensive that I would have imagined from such a nice space. We sat outside where people watching added to the experience. Then came the food. The potatoes were pretty, but they were soggy and needed more seasoning. My frittata was fine, but the panini wasn't a panini at all. The bread was a French roll that was way too thick and not very interesting.
Servers were nice, but were a bit forgetful on my visit. I'll try their wine bar - maybe - but I don't know if the restaurant will get another visit.
Ugo's is kind of a weird cross between a retro cafe and an old school Italian place, and it doesn't really hit the mark at either.
The food is decent, but it's pricey and there aren't a lot of selections. The service is good, but I can't help playing the pricing game whenever I go there and compared to the portions and quality of meal, it isn't wroth it unless you're ready to blow a lot of money on a girl and expect something in return.
Okay bar and wine selection. The desserts are probably the highlight of the place, but it's not worth the sit down bill. You can find plenty of other good places around downtown Culver.
What's up with this restaurant being $$? It sure doesn't taste like it. Most of what I had tasted like ass.
The bread was average, but I expected better. (I prefer Mama D's bread and dipping whatever it's called..)
I tried the salami cheese meatball .. it tasted like goat cheese and rice.... I wouldn't order it again.
Then came the vegetable lasagna with side salad. The side salad was full of that purple leaf that no one seems to like... The vegetable lasagna was pretty good. I liked it.
Afterwards, I had some GELATO. MmMM. I tried three different flavors. The white chocolate was way too sweet. The blue (La Dolce Vita) tasted like black licorice (ehhhhhhhhh).. and the Mint Chocolate Chip tasted like cough syrup. I settled with the least worst one and got the Mint Chocolate Chip, all the while thinking, MAN, I'd rather be getting gelato at Melt Gelato.
The service there was kind of slow. The staff were okay. I didn't find anything wrong with them.
If I were giving the chance to go eat there again, I would probably go to Chipotle across the street, or find some other place nearby. Maybe the Tokyo 7-7 cafe. I haven't been there yet. .. but they're closed on Sundays I think.
The grilled chicken entre is really great. Also, the staff is really friendly and helpful. everytime i have gone in there the manager has come by our table to check and see that everything is alright. the food is great and i have never been unhappy with the service. it is one of the best restaurants in that downtown culver city area.
Good Italian food, moderately priced. Didn't really do anything to separate itself from the pack as far as Italian food is considered though.
I'll probably go here again and enjoy it equally as much, but it's definitely not a priority.
It does have a nice outdoor seating area though, and our service was great when I went.
We went to Ugo on a late Sunday afternoon. The service was super slow and honestly the food is pretty bad. Will not be going back.
This was my first experience at Ugo. The food was delicious, and the service was great. The waiter was really nice and knew what he was doing.
Sitting on the patio enjoying a nice lunch was great.
This place is definitely nice and I will go back whenever I am free.
Get the Vongole clam and pesto pasta!
That's what I normally stick to because no one else seems to get it right like Ugo. They use a ton of pesto and the clams are fresh 99% of the time. I have to say 99% because the last time I went, I was slightly disappointed. But hey they have a wonderful cheese selection and wine and cheese at the restaurant wont cost you an arm and a leg so I can't complain. Eat lunch or dinner on the patio outdoors for a couple hours and you can get by with spending under 40 bucks - pretty good!
Went to the restaurant with my friend. We had the mediteranean salad and Ugo pizza, we both thought it was really good. I won't say it's the best I have had, but it definitely hit the spot. The wait staff was pretty attentive and nice, I would eat this meal again, but I'm not fiending for it.
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Neighborhood: Downtown
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Neighborhood: Koreatown
Neighborhood: Culver City
Category: Italian
Neighborhood: Culver City
Neighborhood: Culver City
Category: Italian
Neighborhood: Culver City
Category: American (New)
Neighborhood: Culver City
Category: American (New)
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