Gourmand Gunno has had a long-held mantra that bad service trumps good food. Every time. What about the inverse? He and his long-suffering vegetarian dining comrade recently visited Assaggi, a Notting Hill Italian stalwart. While the venue gained a two-out-of-three success rate (just about) on my trio of dishes, my comrade’s culinary score was a big round zero. A return visit would, however, be in order. Full marks to Assaggi for atmosphere, service and drinks, even if the kitchen could do with upping its game.
Assaggi opened its doors when your reviewer was still at university, in the mid-1990s. Gourmand Gunno remembers being sent a list of go-to London dining venues on a Palm Pilot (remember those?) fairly soon after he started work in the city. His first visit was in the early 2000s, and his most recent – prior to last weekend – would have been in 2007. The world has moved on quite a bit in the intervening period. In some ways, it’s reassuring Assaggi hasn’t. Once you’ve found the restaurant and realised that the dining room can only be reached by a staircase tucked around the corner of the building’s front, diners find themselves in a beautiful space. It was as good as previously remembered. There are full length windows – which let light into the room to grand effect in midsummer – lots of fresh flowers and some simple prints on the walls. Every table was full on Saturday night, and many diners seemed to be regulars. This is place where you can relax in good company, without getting beyond your comfort zone or seeing your wallet emptied unnecessarily.
Cooking is far from an after-thought at Assaggi, but do not come to this venue expecting to be wowed by a modern approach to Italian food. Even the menus (for food and wine) do not look as if they have been meaningfully updated since the venue’s opening, both in terms of choices and even the physical document – think laminate in mock leather. Optimists might assert that if it ain’t broken, why fix it, especially should Assaggi be able to elevate classic choices through premium ingredients. If this was the intention, then it didn’t totally deliver. Bread (garlanded with rosemary) admittedly set an initially positive tone, but my comrade’s courgette flower starter, was more batter than anything else. My crab and celery salad – a 1970s classic – was made by the olive oil dressing, which redeemed a dish that was pleasant but lacked any major lasting taste sensation. Mains were a similar story. Monkfish wrapped in pancetta was the day’s special, which I selected. It was almost like another trip down memory lane. Maybe this fish – out of fashion for some time – is making a comeback, or maybe it never left the Assaggi repertoire. Its flesh was tasty but the dish’s overall enjoyment was undermined by the kale topping being overly salty. For my comrade, her herb and nut pasta dish was sufficiently unmemorable (and stodgy) that the plate was not finished. Tiramisu to close was an abject failure, lacking in both structure and flavour. At least the bottle of Terlano Chardonnay and a Donnafugata Ben Ryé digestif helped things along. Perhaps different menu choices might show the Assaggi kitchen in a better light on a future visit. Do not rule a return visit, even if it may be some years away.