Assaggi
Our dinner at Assaggi was truly a surprise. Now, I don’t get surprised often, to be fair. I’m doing this whole Eat And Tell Amsterdam thing with my own money, so I obviously research places quite a lot before deciding where to go. Most of the time, I know if something is going to be mediocre, good, or amazing. I never plan on going somewhere bad (again, my own money here), but of course that happens too.
Assaggi is located in the middle of Jordaan, on a small and busy street – as Amsterdam-ish as it gets. Here’s what I think about most places on these streets: they have to be pretty good because rents are damn high, but they don’t have to be great, because tourists are easy.
Therefore, we headed to Assaggi thinking we’ll have a decent Italian dinner. Their full menu is not available online, unfortunately. The prices were a bit higher than I expected, but hey, we’re here now – let’s indulge!
We started with a nice and generous glass of house wine, and I took my sweet time trying to decide what to eat.
Thankfully, they had a pasta of the day special that caught my attention and made me say “I’ll just go with that”. The special of the day was Spaghetti alle Vongole, with cherry tomatoes and herbs.
First of all, this looks B E A U T I F U L. Second, it just blew my mind. The vongole and tomatoes tasted good and fresh, but the pasta itself! Perfectly salted, perfectly creamy without anything dripping. I thought I knew how to make spaghetti, turns out, I totally don’t. I don’t remember having better pasta in Amsterdam, or in Italy (it’s been a long time since I’ve been to Italy, don’t shoot). Totally taken aback by Assaggi with this.
Oh, you also get unlimited grated cheese on your pasta. I love when they do that.
Hayden played it safe with Carbonara, after I told him that I read they make it the proper way – meaning with guanciale and no sort of cream. He devoured that plate, but I got a bite, and was again pleasantly surprised. Using actual guanciale and the right amount of salt makes all the difference.
Carbonara is my absolute favorite, and I could probably just order that every single time I find myself in an Italian restaurant, but this blog would probably be a bit boring that way.
Hayden also claimed this is “the best Carbonara“, and I was only a bit hurt. He was probably right, though. Delicious!
None of us left a single piece of food on those plates, but we did not leave stuffed either. Perfect portions, amazing food. I get the slightly pricey menu. I totally get it and support it.
Staff was also helpful and nice, although I asked about the specials about 3 times. Oops.
Assaggi was a fantastic surprise when it comes to Italian restaurants in Amsterdam. In fact, I can only think of 2 other places that blew my mind so far – La Perla (located right across the street) and Cut Throat (old menu). Therefore, Assaggi gets my third ever 10 and a sincere recommendation to all of you.
Update 2023: I’ve since been to Assaggi 3 more times, and the experience was never the same. I’m sure they now have a different chef, and if I were to rate it again, I wouldn’t give it more than a 7.
Value for money: 10
Food Quality: 10
Location: 10 (Tweede Egelantiersdwarsstraat 6)
Service: 8
Website: http://www.assaggi.nl/
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