Assaggi Restaurant — Restaurant in London

Excellent food, slightly overpriced, naughty extras on the bill at the end

I went here very recently to celebrate the birthday of my Father who was shortly to leave to return to China where he normally resides.

The setting is lovely, intimate restaurant in a nice area of London, waiters were friendly and attentive and the quality of food was superb all the way from the Focaccia at the beginning to the Seabass main. Very impressed with the fresh ingredients

The bill came to just over £165 for what was essentially two starters, two mains, an extra side, a bottle of wine, two soft drinks and one dessert. Not astronomical by any degree, however arguably slightly overpriced given the size of the order.

The price tag could all very much be forgiven in lieu of the excellent food and service, however two items on the bill at the end proved slightly irksome and I wish I had reviewed the bill more carefully before leaving. An oversight perhaps as I assumed a degree of transparency and trust given the welcoming nature of the staff.

Classically, this is one of those places which will ask if you would like to have still or sparkling water with your meal and it is assumed you will pay for the water at the end. Understandable in a place like this - however having only opted for sparkling, it was a great shame to see that I had been charged for both a bottle of sparkling and still water, when the latter was not consumed.

We were charged for 2 freshly squeezed orange juices on the bill (at £7 a glass might I add), however what I actually ordered was 2 glasses of cranberry juice which I was informed came from a package. Again somewhat cunning and a behaviour which left a retrospective sour taste on the palate. I'll assume that the premade stuff and "fresh" juices are not equally priced at £7 for the purposes of this argument, given the presumed added value of "freshly squeezed". And even if they were the same menu price, it seems absurd to charge £7/glass for cranberry juice from a carton.

To conclude, I can only sing praises about how delicious this food was in a lovely venue, hosted by attentive staff. But it's with great regret that I shall not be patronising this restaurant in future given the indiscretions on the bill which seem petty and unfitting for such an...

We stumbled in after a tiring day trekking around London, no reservations, but it was early and we were given a nice table. We had assumed we were heading for a good but usual restaurant, but it is everything but! It is a lovely space…open, bright, simply and elegantly decorated, with large windows that were open wide on a mild night. On the second floor (a bit hard to find… we totally missed it at first and had to double back), but that added to its private and quiet atmosphere. First we were served an amazing crisp bread dressed with olive oil and rosemary that was utterly addictive and a delicious Prosecco. Then we had both a delicious monk fish wrapped in pancetta with a crispy topping of frizzled samphire, simply but beautifully done (again delicious) spinach, and an extraordinary pasta with a pesto of herbs and walnuts, the best pasta either of us have ever had, (and that includes in Italy). Our waiter was a lovely man…who was very attentive and friendly. Hands down the best place I have been...

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Food: Italian

A beautiful yet simple first floor dining room with west facing windows allowing for excellent natural light. A well curated menu with a small number of daily specials all of which were cooked to perfection. Combined with excellent service this neighbourhood local is an absolute gem and is of a Michelin standard. A place to watch and somewhere I’m looking forward to returning to.

What I liked:

• A warm, welcoming team • A lovely, comfortable dining room • Small menu • Delicious food

What I didn’t like:

•Hard to fault really

Do I recommend going? YES Will I go again? YES Was it good value?...