Tom K.
Yelp
Osteria da Ugo, while not as grand as a ristorante ( think all white linen and formally dressed wait staff) is at the top end of the next level. The main menu changes with each season in the Italian style of emphasizing ingredients that are fresh and peak flavor. An internal dining area is matched with a smoking allowed, outside, dining area. Each holds about 16 x 4 person tables. Dining noise, in the European custom, is minimal. Children are welcome. It gets 5* for succeeding completely at what it is trying to do.
We were greeted cordially and offered a viewing of each seating area. Menus in both Italian and English were presented promptly and graciously and questions sought and answered in both English and Italian. We made reservations on a summer Saturday night while an Alpini festival was going on in Verona but wouldn't have needed them. Although recommended by a local and opening at 7:30 to suit the foreign trade, it didn't fill until 9:00 PM.
The menu follows the Italian custom of division into 5 Antipasti choices, 8 pasta or primi piatti, 10+ meats or seconding piatti including chicken, rabbit, pork, calf's liver, duck, 5 beef options, tuna, and calamari and 4 vegetable and salad choices. They also offer two different, fixed price, four course, tasting menus for 35 and 30 euros each that, if paired with house chosen wine compliments, cost 40 and 45 euros.
As expected, the wine list is heavily tilted towards the wines of the Veneto with 8-10 each of Valpoicelli Superiori, ripassi, and amarone. We had a wonderful Tedeschi Ripasso for 22 euro that opened nicely and kept us at the table another 20 minutes to finish it, after dessert was cleared.
An "amuse bouche" of a thin slice of a vegetable fritatta was presented prior to the first course.
We started our ordered meal with chicken liver pate with onion balsamic compote and marinated salmon carpaccio. The pate was two, flavorful, triangular, slices that were 2" square, when combined, and 1/2" thick. It was smooth with the texture and a hint of the flavor of butter. The compote was a tablespoon of thin sliced onion densely pickled in balsamic vinegar. This was served with 3 inch long half rounds of 3/4" thick, sliced, grilled, coarse crumb, white, toast. The salmon had 7-8 thin slices that were 1/16 of an inch by 2 inches by 6 inches with a house made mayonnaise and 6 x 1/4 inch thick de-crusted triangles of a fine crumb toasted white bread.
We split a plate of torelloni da Ugo ( if you don't recognize this, think of ravioli with 3 times the filling. ) It was stuffed with a paste of cheese, egg plant, almonds, and herbs and was served on separate plates for us in an herbed butter sauce.
We then split a salad Nicoise that was about 2 cups of mixed greens with 4 tablespoons of Italian tuna, a quartered hard boiled egg, 10-15 small Nicoise olives, 3-4 x 1 inch mozzarella balls, cut in half, 8 tomato slices, and 2 tablespoons of grated carrot with a vinegrette dressing. A pepper and a salt mill were at the table as well as bottles of aged balsamic and a fruity olive oil.
The dessert menu doesn't rotate with the seasons except those desserts featuring fruit are only offered in their season. We had a tiramisu ( literally "pick me up" ), and a lighter than air white cake with chocolate cream and blueberries between 3 layers.
Our total bill, with wine included, was 82 euro.