Ugo Santa Monica - Santa Monica, California

Rodica Carroll “Rachel”

Delicious quinoa & grilled vegetables salad, delectable tiramisu & cannoli. Friendly, knowledgeable, helpful customer service. Great ambience, right in the heart of the 3rd street Promenade.

Christopher Estep

Cute little cafe in the middle of the 3rd Street Promenade.

You order what you want at a little window and then they will call your name to come forward and collect it at the other window.

Convenient and quick for when you want a small bite/dessert/drink on the go. This location in particular has a nice indoor/outdoor vibe with small tables.

M X

I give this place a solid three stars. And one of the main reasons for that is because the price is fair for two flavors, coming in around $8.50 as of May 2024.

Take it or leave Ugo. It's basically a dessert kiosk.

You walk up, and order your items. It's prepped on the spot, and then handed to you. They do have some tables and chairs.

I don't know if it's a post pandemic thing, but it seems like the staff that works at these type of places is kind of spacey, out of it, just not aware of how to engage customers.

For instance, there were about eight of us standing around in a semicircle, because we didn't know that there were two lines, 2 cashiers, and none of the staff was clear about saying anything like, "hey can I help you?" Or, "hi, welcome to ugo's, what can I get for you?"

Engage your customers if you're one of the staff people here, or one of the managers trying to train your staff properly. The staff was literally just standing around. And then I don't think the staff realizes that the more you engage your customers, the better your tips will be. Just saying!

Gelato is "ok" at best.
My main gripe is that it really doesn't have the texture or the taste of true Italian gelato. I don't think you're going to find that anywhere outside of italy. But for the ones that are here in the United states, this Gelato at this place tasted more like ice milk. It was like nonfat milk, par frozen, and then blend it up in a blender, then refrozen again.

Either the ratio of sugar to Fat to cream isn't correct, or they're not using the proper technique or machine to properly freeze it.

Also, one thing that was really annoying to me was that the hazelnuts were not toasted properly. I felt like I was eating raw hazelnut gelato. The hazelnut gelato specifically had no depth, or body, or notes of roasted hazelnut at all. The way you bring out the flavor in the hazelnut is by roasting it long enough, and correctly.
They do mix in whole hazelnuts in that flavor, and you could absolutely tell that they were not roasted, or not roasted long enough.

One good thing about the location is that it is about a block away from Santa Monica parking structure #4, which has a bathroom on the lowest level.

So if you want a place to park for about an hour for free, and be within walking distance of the heart of the Third Street Promenade, I'd say this place could satisfy your generic ice cream craving. I believe Yogurtland is right across if that's more your thing.

In summary, if you're on a date, or just enjoying a Santa Monica afternoon in the area, this is one of those okay spots. Is it worth it to drive somewhere to get a different experience, or go literally 50 ft to Yogurtland right next to it? You'll have to decide for yourself.

Cody Loia

I found the atmosphere of the place very nice and the staff polite. I got a nice little chicken pesto panini, a nice flakey buttery pastry, and some macarons. The pastry was wonderfully crunchy with a soft buttery inside, the panini filling and with perfectly blended ingredients, and the macarons were a delight. The seating I picked was semi-indoors, but I noticed since they announce your order by calling your name, some people seated fully outside had a hard time hearing their orders called. Still a very nice little diversion

alus nova

So I love this place for the Afogatos and canoli and decided to treat my friend to one. We bit into them and they were awful. The filling had gone bad. I went back and asked them to taste it as it was really bad. A snooty skinny girl had the nerve to ask that it was made from ricotta cheese and if I “knew what that was”?
I told her I did and went ahead and talked to the cook. He tried it and confirmed that the filling had gone bad. He made two more with fresh filling and the cashier (sweet girl, don’t remember her name) offered my friend a bottled water after the same rude girl said they didn’t give cups of water only sold bottled. Although I appreciate the cashier and cook’s actions, my friend will never come back to this establishment.

Aida King

Perfect little spot as it sits in the middle of the shopping area of Third Street Promenade.

Have been coming here in the mornings for a large cup of delicious coffee & a special dessert treat for later. Their friendly morning staff makes it an even better visit! Pictured is their coffee up & their Nutella cream cake. The Nutella is wonderful light & not overwhelming in sweetness. A perfect combo. I would come back again for BOTH!

I have had their gelato before when they used to be located at Santa Monica Place and can vouch that the gelato quality is high and legit.

If you’re looking for a shopping break stop - this outdoor cafe would be it!

(find me on Instagram @aida.loves )

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Dan Moodley

Great location and fair prices. The cheesecake I had was lesser than most while the strawberry gelato was just average so unfortunately 3 stars from me. Stunning venue though, great for people watching and just chilling.