Assaggio

Brought my fiancé here on a Saturday night for his birthday and it was nice. The service was great it. We had reservations and it was a bit tight and loud upstairs so I asked if we could sit downstairs instead the hostess accommodated us with no issue. Our waiter was awesome he was attentive and very friendly answered any questions and made suggestions. The lasagna is huge and my lobster ravioli was perhaps the best I ever had. The drinks were the best, not watered down or overly strong. My only complaint was the bread was so dry and had stale taste.
We wanted an affordable romantic place and Assaggio is well priced, and the setting is beautiful the mock vineyard is a nice touch. We were sitting next to a loud obnoxious family that kind of killed the romance but not the restaurant’s fault. We were also over dressed a little. Though it’s a nice setting there majority of the restaurant was in tshirts and sneakers.

Absolutely phenomenal lobster ravioli. Servo was great, presentation was spot on, and everything was delicious. Would definitely recommend

I wish I could give this six stars. Before I write a novel, let me just get to the important stuff. This is AMAZING Italian food. Perfected delicious meals; humble as well. They don’t try to distract you with insane portions or overpriced variations on classics… It’s just really well crafted Italian. My friend and I got the Penne Vodka and Spaghetti Carbonara. She got a sweet white wine and I got the Barco red. We followed it up with tiramisu. Everything was refined and tantalizing. We sat downstairs and it was so moody and romantic. Mind you that didn’t mean much to us as it was not a date, but this is a friggen FANTASTIC date spot. It felt like actually eating in some sort of underground fantasy vineyard in Italy… I’ve never been to Italy… Just FYI.
This location is in the beautiful and enchanting North End in Boston. I cannot recommend this place enough, because if I could this review would somehow magically teleport you there after reading. And you’d be like, «ahhhhhh! Where the heck am I!!! I was just in Cambridge with my friends, what the… What’s going on??? Am I going insane?! Somebody help me!!!’ Ahhhhhhhh-​oh… This place is pretty.»

I came here a couple of nights ago with my best friend. We were doing our usual «app and wine hop» across the North End and decided to add Assaggio to our list. We bellied up to the bar and were greeted by friendly staff almost immediately. The atmosphere was so cozy that we decided to settle in and order a bottle of Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc and a caprese salad. After chatting over a delicious glass of wine, we decided to go all-​in and order dinner despite the amount of food we had already eaten that night. I ordered the Chicken Picatta, and my friend got the Linguine with fresh White Clam Sauce.
The Chicken Picatta was insanely delicious and may be the best I’ve ever had. It was served with mashed potatoes and fresh spinach. The mashed potatoes were a little soft and creamy for my liking, but they were really tasty. The spinach was perfectly cooked and seasoned with just the right amount of fresh sliced garlic. When I ordered dinner I thought that I would take half of it home, but this was so good that I ended up finishing everything on my plate. The portion size was just right. Not some super sized «fat American» portion you’ll get at most restaurants, and not a minuscule amount that you get at snotty 5 Star restaurant.
My friend’s Linguine and White Clam Sauce looked heavenly. I can attest to the fact that her dad makes the best version of this meal that I’ve ever had, but she really enjoyed Assaggio’s version. I was impressed that the linguine was served with the clams in the shell, proving that this was indeed fresh sauce and not from a can.
I can never choose a favorite restaurant in the North End, but this was a great find and off the beaten tourist path. It’s definitely at the top of my list. I can’t wait to bring other people here!

I’m sure the food was great but we stopped on for coffee and dessert and we treated rudely by staff. Just because we were not eating a full dinner does not mean our money doesn’t spend the same. We will not return.

Went for drinks, it was a nice little bar, definitely some locals which was nice as a former Bostonian. Bartender has a healthy pour for a glass of wine. Which was also greatly appreciated.
All the food coming out looked awesome. But was just there to buy time before a reservation elsewhere.

The food was awful. What a waste going here, with so many options in the North End and deciding to go here was a big mistake. I ordered steak with mashed potatoes and some green stuff I think it was broccoli. The steak was whatever probably a steak you can get at Shaws. Nothing special at all. The real issue was the mashed potatoes, they looked exactly like the fake ones you buy in a box and added way too much water to them. I could have made them 100 times better and I rarely cook. Very embarrassing to even serve food as bad as I had at Assaggio.
The place is cute has some cool little decorations but that is it. The food was awful and just was extremely disappointed. Go some where else in the neighborhood there is 100 other places to choose from that won’t serve you frozen food you get at a supermarket.

We stopped here for dinner on a Saturday night without reservations. There was a slight wait, and the restaurant was packed. We had drinks at the bar while we waited, but stood because the bar was packed.
The hostess was friendly and it seemed like she had a good handle on wrangling people who were put on the wait list. There are two floors to this restaurant, and we were seated on the ground floor. It’s technically in the basement, but it was too lovely to call it that. It was beautifully lit, and very romantic. We sat at a table for two and it was really cozy.
Our server was very busy but made sure to check in on us and the food came out within reasonable time. I had the eggplant parm dinner and my husband had the Chicken Marsala. The eggplant parm wasn’t the best I’d had and the portions were on the small side, but it was good nonetheless. There was only one Malbec on the wine list, which is what I ordered, and it was okay.
I think this place would be really great for a first date or a romantic night out.

I ate here last night and I won’t be returning. Our waitress was great and the place is cute and cozy but my entrée was terrible. I got grilled swordfish with mashed potatoes and spinach. The swordfish was so dry and then they literally drenched it in balsamic vinaigrette. We did start out with the bruschetta and that was delicious, but my meal was so bad, I left feeling disappointed.

To quote one of my companions, the atmosphere felt «as if I was in Napa Valley.» The abundance of fake grapes and vines strewn about in addition to the incredibly dim lighting made it seem as if we were locked in an ornate, slightly tacky wine cellar.
However the reason I’m writing this review is due to the fact that my party and I, (six college freshmen), were treated horrendously by our waitress. When we asked for another basket of underwhelming room-​temperature bread, which we were only given one of to start, our waitress gave me a look that honestly shattered my self esteem for the rest of the night. She treated us like we were spoiled children instead of customers. My friend’s soda didn’t even come out for a half hour and even that was delivered angrily. Finally our food arrived and was admittedly halfway-​decent for the price. Still, nothing blew us away.
When the bill arrived, a twenty percent tip was added due to the fact we were a party of six. It’s not as if we were not going to tip the waitress, however for such horrible service we were only going to give her fifteen. As college students, there’s not that much money to toss around and every dollar counts. We felt cheated of what could’ve been a great experience.

A compact little place off the beaten path, but had great food and not usually a wait.
Been here and always had a great meal. Usually get one of the chicken or veal dishes. Bar usually has a free spot so I can get in and out. (and fun meeting many locals at the bar). Bartender is great. Every meal I’ve gotten has been great. (Chicken Assaggio this weekend was amazing). Only downside might be many of the dishes have the same bashed and spinach side — it’s tasty, but lacks a bit of variety.
Definitely check them out — you’re be pleasantly surprised!

This place was magnificent 18 years ago. Maybe my palate grew up, and maybe the over salted, poured out of a can chicken broth in the italian escarole soup, or the watery tomato sauce [not gravy] on the spaghetti made the bill unpalatable.
These old school resto’s have steep competition with farm to table, hand made pasta, fresh take on Italian food eateries dotting the North End.
Assaggio, re-​evaluate and start making the Italian food you used to make, when it was authentic, fresh and real.

I am a fan of this place.
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This was my «go-​to» spot in the North End. It still is. Namely, I get the spaghetti carbonara. They make it very well here. It’s what I had last weekend. It’s a heavy dish — big portion, cream sauce, lots of ham and onion and mushroom in there. It’s good stuff.
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Skip the bread and oil they give you. The oil doesn’t taste EVO to me. It tastes old.
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But, of all the places in the North End, this is the one I’ve been to the most. I’m a little tired of the menu, which hasn’t changed, but it’s all good stuff on there. If you’re in the area, you have my stamp of approval to go here!

In short — food is terrible, the place should be avoided and it’s a shame it’s in such a nice part of Boston.
Food:
Hot Italian Stuffed Cherry Peppers — is your $ 7/​jar crap from market basket, I kid you not. They serve it on the bed of what could be a garden salad, not sure why those two go together. Peppers them self are over-​soaked in vinegar and are disgusting.
Crabcakes — should be called WhiteFishCakes, because there is next to none crab in them, mostly fish.
Stuffed Mushrooms — are 99% your Trader Joe’s appetizer. They are not disgusting, but very plain, almost no taste, mostly bread crumbs.
We also made a mistake of ordering what they call «Minestrone» soup. You may call it chef’s inspired, but it’s a very odd recipe — garbanzo beans, white beans, black beans, almost raw (very crunchy) carrots, celery, some pasta. That’s it. I uploaded the picture of it so that people can see themself.
Service: it was OK, but you could see waitress being annoyed with me asking for some hot water for my mom on the cold summer day. Not a big deal, but didn’t make it better.
Until today I was never disappointed when visiting North End — some places are better and some are worse, but this one just should be avoided, it’s a joke, not a restaurant.

Good service, great food, okay ambience.
I ordered ravioli with creamy pesto sauce and highly recommend this dish – it was absolutely delicious. They serve bread before your meal, but it was hard so I guess stale.
Our server was attentive throughout the night.
We sat downstairs, which had a faint but still unpleasant odor. I would still return, though, for the delicious ravioli and attentive service.

A little hidden gem. Food was delicious and fairly priced. The lower section of the restaurant has a really nice atmosphere but can be loud. Def will be back.

We accidentally happened upon this little gem whe we were going to pizzeria Regina for lunch and the line was ridiculous.
We came for lunch and everyone’s meal was amazing. We each tried the others: gnocchi, lasagna and chicken pomodoro. All on point and not typical tourist Italian.
It’s small, so perfect for lunch. Not sure of the dinner vibe or ambiance.
We didn’t have a lot of expectations. But it was really great food wise. Would definitely recommend for a meal without the tourists and all that.

Service and ambiance was fabulous. They were no horrible lines either!
However food is alright. The appetizer we order was calarami with some beef skewers and i wished i hadnt ordered that. The calamari and sauce was great but the beef skewers were so cold and the crabcakes ruined the palette.
Otherwise the mains we orderes were pillo de ricotto? And it was yummy! Sadly we were too overwhelmed by the appetizer by then. And the sides of spinach and mashed potatoes were distractinggly yummier than the chicken!

A totally fine place if you’re looking for reasonable prices and a quick table.
We made the horrible mistake of wandering into the North End on a summer Saturday night with no reservations. Most places had a solid hour wait, but this large-​ish restaurant was able to seat us right away. The basement décor (stones painted on the walls, grapevines hanging from the ceiling) was cute, if a little kitsch. The downside was that it was super loud down there– they’d really benefit from some sound-​dampening ceiling tiles or wall units.
The food was eh. I started with a Caesar salad, which was sort of bland and appeared to be topped with store-​bought croutons. My husband got the caprese salad. The mozzarella was ok, but also just tasted store-​bought. Our mains varied a lot in quality. My husband’s cheese raviolis were actually great, while my mushroom risotto was totally tasteless. And I was really up for mushrooms! :(
Anyway, the servers were super nice and the prices were cheaper than most North End restaurants. If you’re looking for that perfect «Boston North End» homemade pasta meal that everyone raves about, skip this place and wait for one the more popular restaurants. If you’re nearby and need a quick bite, get the cheese ravioli.

After day two of my conference, some new friends told us about a restaurant in the «Little Italy» of Boston. We’re all about new grub and if the food is good, why not?! I was just excited to get out of the hotel and venture!
Assaggio is located on Prince street right in the heart of the Italian district. Rolling up to the joint you know its going to be good on the inside! Little red awnings and wooden panel give a very authentic Italian feel. When you enter, you go through a narrow hallway, pass a steep staircase going downstairs and then you’re seated in a jaw dropping dining area. Low lit lights, Roman looking statues, mural ceilings and walls giving the feel of an old century European town. This place was pretty! The staff was alright. They were nice and cordial but didn’t really take time to make a memorable experience. At one time, we ask for some recommendations as the menu was pretty extensive, but it didn’t seem like the server wanted to give us some suggestions. No worries, we decided on things anyway. Here’s what we got:
We got the Elk Cove Vineyards, 2011 Pinot Noir bottle for $ 50. To me, I wasn’t a big fan about it. Although I got the cherry notes in flavor and scent, it was more of a tart flavor. The finish was more sour than smooth and savory.
For dinner, I got the Three Mushroom Risotto for $ 16.95 and added chicken to it for an extra $ 5. Risotto rice, cooked with shiitake, portobello and button mushrooms. This was THE BEST risotto I’ve ever had. The arborio rice was perfectly cooked al dante, not too creamy but certainly not dry. The mushrooms really took the dish to new heights with its earthy flavor. I HIGHLY recommend this dish!
Listen, if you’re in Boston’s «Little Italy,» you really need to try this place out. Talk about a joint that offers authentic Italian food in an authentic Italian setting. I will for sure try this place on my next visit!