Union Restaurant

Handmade pasta is the reason to come to this 50-seat storefront on East Union Street in Old Pasadena, with exposed brick, big windows onto the street and some shared tables. Chef Andrew Mercado cooks Northern Italian food with California produce, and two plates have survived years of seasonal menu changes: squid ink lumache with Maine lobster and truffle butter, and tonnarelli cacio e pepe under a soft 63°C egg. Bread arrives with house-cultured butter and giardiniera. The wine list sticks to small Italian and Californian producers, with skin-contact bottles among the pours by the glass.