Best Dishes at Primo Passo

The signature dish according to Fujioka. Made with just tomatoes, basil, and olive oil, no cream or heavy sauce. The pasta is made fresh daily and cooked to precise al dente. This dish exemplifies his philosophy — respect the ingredient, don't over-engineer. Reviewers consistently praise its delicate balance and how the sweetness of ripe tomatoes shines through.

Tonnarelli — similar to spaghetti but slightly thicker — tossed with earthy matsutake mushrooms and the bright, fruity notes of green yuzu. The pasta carries subtle umami from dashi-infused sauce. This is Fujioka's approach in action: Italian pasta form paired with Japanese seasonal ingredients (matsutake is prized in autumn) and Japanese flavor building (dashi, yuzu).

Capellini — the thinnest of pastas — served chilled in a clear broth built from kombu and clam dashi. The broth is intensely flavored but clean, not heavy. The cold pasta provides textural contrast to the warm dashi experience. Multiple reviews cite this as one of the standout dishes on the omakase menu, showcasing how Japanese dashi technique elevates Italian pasta.

Handmade ravioli filled with a delicate cheese blend. The pasta sheets are thin enough to be nearly translucent. The filling is rich but not heavy — likely featuring subtle Japanese touches in the sauce. This appears as part of the 12-course omakase and provides textural contrast to the thin pastas that precede it.

Reviewers specifically call out this dish as memorable — spaghetti coated in a tomato sauce made with carefully chopped meat cooked low and slow. The sauce clings to the pasta without being greasy. This is where Fujioka's Italian heritage shows — a classic preparation executed with precision. The meat is quality and cooked until tender, building umami depth.