Ummo

Like a Negroni with a cocktail umbrella, Ummo in River North is both serious and playful. On any given night this Italian restaurant is full of blazer-clad business types sipping espresso, and twenty-somethings in Gucci polo shirts pregaming with pasta. It’s a loud, busy, and fresh alternative to old-school red sauce spots that have been using the same white (perhaps now off-white) tablecloths for decades. 

photo credit: John Ringor

Glasses clink, funk music blasts, and conversations about Montessori tuition and CDMX work-from-home trips are overheard. Servers zip from table to table. The menu is a mostly successful mix of classic and creative Italian dishes. Pastas are generally good—like cacio e pepe, or lobster ravioli swimming in creamy butter ragu. Steak drizzled with herbaceous bagnetto verde and roasted chicken with polenta are cooked to juicy perfection. And the pomodoro e basilico is a stunning dessert cosplaying as a tomato. The “pomodoro” is filled with yogurt mousse, tomato and raspberry compote, and comes with a scoop of basil sorbet. It’s sweet, it’s savory, it’s delicious, it’s not a tomato.

photo credit: Neil John Burger

Ummo is fun—but has some issues. Tortellini al pesto comes out undercooked. The impressive wagyu tartare (served on a giant bone that looks like it’s on loan from the Field Museum) is bland. Plus, when it’s busy, you’ll wish your order came with a tracking number. None of this totally ruins dinner, but the eye-catching dessert loses its luster when it’s 20 minutes late.

Despite its flaws, Ummo is still a safe bet if your friends put you in charge of a big night out. Especially after 10pm on the weekends. That’s when the late-night DJ set starts on the second floor, which goes until 2:30am on Saturdays. So if you're going bar-hopping after dinner and don't feel like playing “Where's The Shortest Line?” you can just stay here.

photo credit: John Ringor

Food Rundown

Cacio E Pepe

The cacio e pepe is simple yet satisfying. The pecorino sauce is creamy and there’s a hefty sprinkling of pepper in case you forgot the second part of this dish’s name. Ummo mixes things up by using mafaldine, and the wavy pasta ribbons do a great job of carrying the sauce.

photo credit: Neil Burger

Ravioli Di Aragosta Al Nero Di Seppia

It’s a bit anticlimactic when the server dramatically removes a large lobster shell only to reveal a little pasta purse. But, that pasta purse is tasty, served with juicy pieces of lobster and surrounded by a rich butter sauce.

photo credit: Neil John Burger

Batuto Di Manzo

After the initial shock of seeing tartare served on a massive bone, the first bite will bring you back to reality. The meat is bland and the pickled vegetables, onion aioli, and gnocchi frito can't salvage it. Skip this.

Tortellini Al Pesto

The mix of nutty pistachio pesto and fluffy ricotta is great, but the pasta edges are too al dente. Each tortellini feels like chewing Juicy Fruit.

photo credit: Neil Burger

Steak

You can almost cut the steaks with a spoon, and they're complemented by a trio of bagnetto verde, charred radicchio, and roasted garlic. Whether you want a 7oz filet to yourself or a colossal $150 34oz piece of meat to share with the table, it’s a solid meat option.

photo credit: Neil John Burger

Pomodoro E Basilico

If you keep tabs on fine dining then you might notice an eerie resemblance to a renowned dessert from Italy. We can’t confirm if Ummo's pomodoro e basilico tastes anything like the source material. But we can confirm that the airy yogurt mousse coupled with tomato, raspberry, and basil sorbet is a deliciously sweet and savory combination.