Ugo: An Italian Cafe - Culver City

One Waitress was friendly and bubbly the other was the complete opposite.

Minestrone soup was so salty we didn’t finish it. Prices for pasta seem very high.

The food is always excellent. You can't go wrong Ugo"s

Ugo is one of our go-to restaurants in Culver City. Delicious Italian food and gelato.

One's first impression is this is not a dine-in restaurant. Inside, we were led to a small isle of about six tables along street facing windows. We were seated at one of those, a scarred wooden table and wooden chairs with cracked plastic seat cushions. While waiting for a fourth guest to arrive, we ordered a bottle of wine and an appetizer. The wine list was minimal, but I chose what appeared to be their best offering, a Brunello di Montalcino from an unfamiliar producer. Our server first brought a wrong bottle, not the Brunello, and went back for the correct one. When she inserted her waiter's corkscrew, the cork immediately began to crumble, not a sign of good storage. She left with the bottle, presumably to get a different one, but another employee returned with the same bottle, apparently having more expertise with opening wine bottles. I expressed concern about the dry cork and asked if the bottle had been stored upright instead of on its side? She said all their wines were stored upright! I said to go ahead and see if the cork could be removed without crumbling into the wine, and I would taste it to determine if it was still good. Fortunately, the rest of the cork was removed and appeared to have maintained a secure seal between the wine and air. There was no off taint on the nose and it tasted free of oxidation- OK to drink. Our calamari appetizer arrived and we were pleasantly surprised after our initial impressions. The calamari rings were lightly breaded, perfectly prepared and served with a very flavorful and nicely spiced dipping sauce. Our fourth guest arrived and we ordered our entrees. We had never received a bread basket, which was finally noticed by another employee. Three of us had different pasta dishes and the fourth chose salmon with vegetables. Those of us with pasta, all enjoyed our meals; but my other guest thought her salmon was too bland. Bottom line: Food was good, service was poor, and not for wine lovers.