or fresh pasta without the fuss — or the price tag of a full-service restaurant — DaMò Pasta Lab in Rittenhouse is one of Center City’s best bargains.
The pasta is made in-house, cooked to order, and served in a sunny, counter-service setting in the lab’s 20-seat dining room. (BYOB is allowed.) The menu is also available to go.
Much of what’s here is imported — the flour, the cheeses, and even the owners: Danilo D’Eugenio, from Abruzzo, and Monica Fenocchio, from Rome. (He’s the Da; she’s the Mò.) They’ve been in town since 2019, when they opened their first location on 12th Street after falling in love with Philadelphia during a vacation trip. The 12th Street location closed last winter.
Their mission is to serve pasta as Italians know it, rather than heavier, saucier Italian American versions. Consider chitarra Teramana, an Abruzzese specialty of square-cut spaghetti with a hearty tomato sauce and tiny beef meatballs perfumed by a hint of nutmeg, and topped liberally with Parmigiano Reggiano. It’s spaghetti and meatballs, all right, but probably not the kind you grew up eating.
The pappardelle ai funghi pairs broad ribbons of pasta with a savory sauce of porcini and button mushrooms. There’s a proper cacio e pepe, a rich tagliatelle Bolognese, and several variations of mezze maniche, the short rigatoni whose name translates to “half-sleeves.” Fenocchio’s own creation, pesto DaMò, takes a light, vegan approach, tossing the mezze maniche with grape tomatoes, basil, roasted zucchini, and garlic.
They’ve made some concessions to American tastes. You can specify your pasta’s firmness and there’s a build-your-own section offering such decidedly un-Italian options as Alfredo sauce, pink sauce, and chicken.
It’s a sensible compromise. Purists can explore regional Italian cooking, while everyone else can have pasta their way, and just about everything is under $20.
Damò Pasta Lab, 100½ S. 21st St., 267-951-2050, damopastalab.com. Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Friday, noon to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
