Trending restaurants around Pasadena: early November

As November gets rolling, three tables around Pasadena keep coming up in the current roundups, each for a different reason. Uovo, in The Commons on South Lake, is the fresh-egg pasta bar whose pasta is handmade daily in Bologna and flown in, a favorite of the city's dining guides; Bone Kettle, on Raymond Avenue in Old Town, is the Southeast Asian kitchen built around a 36-hour bone broth, still a fixture in Eater's Pasadena guides this fall; and Neighbors & Friends: The Kitchen, the new dinner spot on El Centro Street in South Pasadena, is the one everyone calls a hit since it opened in May. I am Alejandro Espitia, a Broker Associate and REALTOR with Apex Realty and Investments, licensed in California (01213999) since 1996, serving Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Gabriel, and Riverside, fluent in English and Spanish. I keep a running list of the best new places in the neighborhoods I serve, and every spot below comes from the restaurant's own site or current local coverage, with sources at the bottom of the post.

Uovo: fresh egg pasta bar in The Commons on South Lake

Uovo at 146 S. Lake Avenue, Suite 103 in The Commons is the Los Angeles pasta bar whose gimmick is the best kind: the tagliatelle, tonnarelli, ravioli, and strozzapreti are handmade fresh every day in Bologna, Italy, shipped overnight to Los Angeles, and cooked to order in front of you at an 18-seat oak pasta bar. Dishes sit mostly under $20, the service is quick and friendly, and the menu stays pleasingly simple: a few sauces, a few pastas, and a handful of sides and desserts. It is the kind of meal that makes a South Lake shopping trip feel like a small celebration, and Pasadena's dining guides keep it on their current lists. Hours and the full menu are on the Uovo Pasadena page, and the Pasadena Weekly wrote an early love letter to the concept, while Eater LA covered the opening. It is an easy add to any weeknight.

Bone Kettle: a 36-hour bone broth in Old Town

Bone Kettle at 67 N. Raymond Avenue in Old Town Pasadena is a Southeast Asian kitchen and bar inspired by Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore, centered on a broth simmered for 36 hours. The menu runs from savory oxtail dumplings and Singapore-style chile-fried lobster to shareable entrees, with a cold bar of oysters and steak tartare and a thoughtful sake, wine, and beer list. It has been open since 2017, and Eater still calls it one of Pasadena's staples; it keeps surfacing in the editors' guides this fall, including the Eater Pasadena map and the October best new restaurants heatmap. When the weather turns, a steaming bowl of that broth is about as cozy as Old Town gets. The Bone Kettle site carries the menu, hours, and reservations.

Neighbors & Friends: The Kitchen in South Pasadena

Neighbors & Friends: The Kitchen at 1009 El Centro Street in South Pasadena opened in May 2026 as the second location of the Pasadena cafe, and it has been called a hit ever since. Founder Kaiy Smith-Biesman blends her Black Southern and Italian heritage on the menu: hushpuppies, oxtail ragu bianco with paccheri, pickle-brined roasted chicken, a French dip burger, citrus-pepper wings, and brisket meatballs, with a front counter called South Pas Smash turning out smash burgers, fries, and beer. Dinner runs Thursday through Saturday from 5:00 to 9:00 pm, with a Sunday brunch from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm and an evening service from 5:00 to 8:00 pm; the kitchen is closed Monday through Wednesday, and reservations are on OpenTable. The NF Kitchen site has the details, and Eater LA covered the expansion. It is worth planning around the hours, and it is worth the plan.

A note on details: menus, hours, and reservation systems can shift, especially at newer kitchens, so please confirm directly with each restaurant before you go, and use the links below for the latest. One opening to watch: Lodge Bread Company, the naturally leavened bakery, is expected to open its Pasadena outpost on Lincoln Avenue near the Altadena border any day now (we first flagged it here). If you have a favorite Pasadena table I have not covered yet, text me and I will add it to the next edition.

Sources: Uovo Pasadena, Uovo, Pasadena Weekly, Uovo opening, Eater LA, Bone Kettle, The Best Restaurants in Pasadena, Eater LA, Best New Restaurants in Los Angeles, October 2026, Eater LA, NF Kitchen, Neighbors & Friends expansion, Eater LA, and Neighbors & Friends, OpenTable.