Assaggi

This place has lost its charm. The food is blandish and the service is very lacklustre
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Paolo
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Thursday, September 06, 2007

Informal, friendly staff. It helps if you know your way round an Italian menu and order quickly. First courses of stuffed zucchini flowers and ricotta stuffed ravioli were classic and expertly executed, and tasted extremely fresh and well seasoned. Main course of carpaccio was generous, the fritto misto good too, all fresh and hot. The Panacotta was faultless.

It's an expensive place yes, but just about worth it to experience classic food made with really fresh ingredients.

An observation; we sat down, glanced at the menu and ordered the food and wine quickly. Our service from then on was prompt and professional. Those tables who laboured over the menu, and had to have everything explained to them in English, seemed to be taken less seriously.
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Nick
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Monday, May 14, 2007

Do Not Go! Why the otherwise pretty reliable Michelin Guide awarded a star to this restaurant remains a complete mystery to my wife and myself who went there for lunch on a Saturday. The food offers nothing special, let alone justifies its horrendous price. It pales in comparison with virtually every Italian Restaurant in London. Locanda Locatelli is likewise expensive, but the food offers these fireworks for the palate which you expect from a star-awarded cuisine. As the Michelin Guide rightly points out it is rather the quality of the ingredients than intricate preparation techniques which characterize good Italian cooking. But a nice presentation of the food could not hide that Assaggi had neither and was more comparable to Zizi than L'Acento or Via Condotti. The latter two restaurants offer superb Italian dishes at very competitive prices. Finally, the poor service makes the experience of having been overcharged for average Italian food even worse. We had to wait for a while and ask repeatedly until one waitress was kind enough to translate to us the Italian-only menu. The level of disorganization was such that we were asked for our dessert wishes before we even had received our main courses. And while we were paying our overblown bill, the waitress could not even stay with us while I was typing in my pin number, as she "had to" join another table where she was enjoying a glass of wine with some friends of hers.... Do Not Go!
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Dirk Wiemer - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 0
Sunday, May 13, 2007

This so called restaurant is terrible! The Maitre-D was so rude and arrogant, really spoilt my 40th birthday holiday. The menu is limited and quite bland for Sardegnian cuisine. and at over $US250 per person I have had better Italian in texas with fresher ingrediants.
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Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Thursday, May 10, 2007

I am very surprised at the negative comments - we had a splendid and delicious meal with delightful service. One waitress was a little clumsy and inattentive but the headwaiter was charm and grace personified. The restaurant is very "casalinga" so I expected warm and human service rather than professional polish. The food was sublime - at the waiters recommendation we started with a shared plate of culatello (delicious). I then had a terrific seafoof lasagna and roast lamb. This is a great and fun night out - I recommend it highly.
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peter james hall
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, April 18, 2007

I went to this restaurant for dinner with my girlfriend and close friends.

The building itself is very nice and has a homely feel to it. As you walk in there is a sign which says no smoking. This put our minds at rest as we dont like to taste smoke during the meal.

The food was very nice and the staff were very friendly. They were not as attentive as they could have been and at these prices they should be.

We all had three courses with wine and there were no complaints.

At the end of our meal however the table next to us started smoking cigars much to our displeasure. Apparantly the sign downstairs is stuck to the wall and cant be removed until June when it is law anyway.

Overall a nice meal but worlds apart from Gavroche and other top end places.
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Richard Stabler
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Thursday, March 29, 2007

How this restaurant receives the acclaim it does is beyond me. After an initially warm welcome we were then completely ignored for ther est of the evening as there were a few Z list celebs in. The food was mediocre - I am hypercritical as I am Italian, but this was an embarrassment. Cramped and shabby with no personality - over priced and gen a poor experience
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Claudia
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, February 20, 2007

I agree with the last comment, I too do not understand how this place has a michelin star.

It is small and cramped with average food and over the top waiters. The wine list has about 20 wines? Not really anything great!
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Anna
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Friday, February 16, 2007

This place is a joke!

How can it have a michelin star for a Sardinian restaurant when not even a true Sardinian Restarant has received a michelin star?

It is way over-priced and the decor at best is comparible to a cafe. If you like pine then this is the place for you. They must be giving stars away cheaply these days.

I have been twice, the first time, regrettably as the staff were overconfident and rude. On the second occaision I was taken by business colleagues, the staff were pampering someone from big brother or the likes and had forgotten about the rest of the customers. I am guessing the bill came to approximately £400 for a table of 4.

Now for that kind of money, I would prefer to go to Cagliari or the Emerald Coast for a night and i would still receive some pocket change.
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Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Had a wonderful meal in here on Saturday night. Service, food and setting were all perfect and we couldn't ask for anything more.

Yes, it's on the pricey-side but - compared with somewhere like Chez Bruce - this was an altogether more pleasant and less pretentious experience for the money.
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Adam
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Monday, December 18, 2006