Pelago Cafe opens in Highwood with handmade Emilia-Romagna pasta

Pelago Cafe brought a family story, not just a restaurant, to 325 Waukegan Avenue in Highwood on May 14. Ruthie Amidei and Mada Ugolini Hitchmough, cousins and Highwood residents, opened the cafe in a former nail salon with a menu shaped by Emilia-Romagna pasta traditions and by the Italian village roots that run through both sides of their family.

The name Pelago is a nod to that lineage. Amidei’s father was from Pieve, Pelago, and Hitchmough’s father was from Sant’anna, Pelago, towns the cousins said are about 10 minutes apart. Their mothers are sisters, their fathers knew each other in Italy, and most of their extended families still live there. Their parents met in Highwood, which gives the cafe’s opening a distinctly North Shore arc: a family that spans Italy and Illinois now has a dining room of its own on Waukegan Avenue.

A handwritten family recipe notebook that belonged to Alberto Ugolini, Hitchmough’s late father, underscores how personal the project is. The City of Highwood previewed the opening on April 28 and described Pelago as a neighborhood cafe that had been thoughtfully planned from the ground up. That framing fits the concept now taking shape inside the space, where the cousins have talked about a casual counter-order setup during the day and private dinners with wine pairings in the evening.

The menu leans into the food identity of Emilia-Romagna, the north-central Italian region tied to Bologna, Modena, Parma and Reggio Emilia, and known for dishes built around rich agricultural products. Emilia-Romagna is especially associated with tagliatelle, tortellini, lasagne and ragù alla Bolognese, along with Parmigiano Reggiano and balsamic vinegar from Modena. At Pelago, that heritage is expected to show up in handmade pasta and lasagna, plus Schiaccia focaccia, seasonal paninis and flattinis, and homemade biscotti. Social media posts also showed lasagna and tortellacci being made, a detail that will matter to pasta-focused diners looking for something more specific than a standard red-sauce menu.

The cafe sits near the Highwood Metra station and joins a stretch of Waukegan Avenue that already draws diners to places like The Toadstool Pub, Tapas Del Lago and The Cuisine American Bistro. With outdoor seating confirmed, Pelago Cafe gives Highwood another reason to linger, and it does so with a menu built from memory, family recipes and the regional pasta culture of Emilia-Romagna.