Avo
Italian restaurant · West Riverside ·
Regional Italian dishes, handmade pasta, and cocktails
Regional Italian dishes, handmade pasta, and cocktails
"After 10 years in Uptown, this sophisticated restaurant that pays homage to chef Nick Lama’s Sicilian roots will close on December 23. Named for the Italian word for grandfather, it offered a refined, elegant experience that honored traditional Italian cuisine rather than the Creole-influenced Italian fare found at places like Irene’s and Pascal’s Manale, and Lama expressed “deep gratitude” for everyone who supported it along the way." - Beth D’Addono
"Chef Nick Lama’s Avo shines with regional Italian goodness. Reserve a table in the window-lined renovated dining room Tuesday through Saturday, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Lama’s menu reflects his Sicilian heritage, but he wanders the boot, offering the likes of veal Parmesan, charred Calabrian chili-glazed octopus, and homemade gnocchi topped with pork ragu and gremolata." - Beth D’Addono
"Chef Nick Lama’s sophisticated Uptown restaurant, with its gorgeous dining courtyard, pays homage to his Sicilian roots in many artful ways. Avo serves handmade pasta, beautifully composed plates of lasagna rich with short rib ragu, black squid ink mafalda, and bucatini cacio e pepe with jump lump crab. All of the food is special here, but the pasta is beyond dreamy." - Beth D’Addono
"There’s nothing Creole Italian about chef Nick Lama’s upscale Avo, which means “grandfather” or “ancestor,” in Italian. The third-generation Sicilian spotlights regional Italian cuisine and ingredients like figs, gorgonzola, Calabrian chilies, and every manner of homemade pasta. The food is gorgeous and informed by passion and allegiance to pristine ingredients. Get the meatballs, get the charred octopus, get yourself to Avo." - Beth D’Addono
"Chef Nick Lama, a third-generation Sicilian, offers modern spins on traditional recipes at Avo Uptown. The tuna crudo is a savory example, raw cubed tuna belly atop a pool of aqua pazza, a divine blended sauce of jalapeno, basil shallots, lime, garlic, and olive oil. Finished with a drizzle of lemon oil, this crudo is elegant and so flavorful." - Beth D’Addono