Dinner at Assaggini in Edinburgh

21:00
January 5, 2023

pr invite // All thoughts and opinions are, of course, my own.

Assaggini is the newest addition to the Italian food scene in Edinburgh. It’s located on Rose Street and is focused on smaller plates so that you and your company can order a variety of dishes to share and the idea is that you won’t have to pick amongst your Italian favourites.

The food at Assaggini

It was a very rainy Thursday evening in January when we visited the restaurant so it was fairly quiet but we got a great welcome from the staff. Between the two of us we decided to opt for a glass of red wine each, a pizza, the cheese gnocchi, parma ham, garlic bread and a lasagna to try a variety of dishes. Unfortunately they were out of the buffalo mozzarella which is usually my must-order at Italian restaurants, but I guess that’s just a reason to come back. It was interesting to see that they actually had Scottish buffalo mozzarella on the menu as I know they are making mozzarella in Scotland but I’m not sure I’ve actually tried any local version. Gnocchi is always a favourite of mine and I love the combination of gorgonzola and walnuts – which you might remember from our visit to Civerinos – and enjoyed this dish but found the gnocchi to be tad too flour-y. I would’ve wished for them to be more silky if I’m being picky.

The wine which was recommended by the waiter was the mid-price range wine and it was bursting with flavour and really pleasant both on its own and with the food. I must say that when we ordered the garlic focaccia I was expecting the fluffy risen type, but this thinner variant was really tasty too – I mean who doesn’t like warm bread?

We were way too full for dessert but there was options like cannoli, affogato and tiramisu so classic Italian options which I’m sure many people would enjoy.

If you are going out to dinner with friends or your partner and like both Italian food and sharing dishes then I think you’d enjoy Assaggini. Most main dishes are around £7-9/each and they recommend about 3 to share between two which I’d probably agree with, but if you’re not super hungry one each could do as well – especially if you are also ordering sides!

Second Visit

17th May 2023

For our second visit to Assaggini we both ordered a cocktail each, one pasta each and then shared a pizza. This amount of food was great for two people and we still got to try a variety of flavour.

The Gnocchi was with Italian sausage, king prawns and garlic in a spicy tomato sauce. The Fettuccine was with truffle oil, mixed mushrooms and garlic and The Pizza was with fior di latte, mortadella, pistachio and burrata. The Fettuccine was the stand out dish for me as it had a lovely creaminess and the truffle and garlic had a nice balance which was not overpowering at all. I’m always intrigued by gnocchi and found this to be superb as well, but I wouldn’t say it’s very spicy (to my benefit) so would definitely consider ordering both of these again. This time around I didn’t find the gnocchi to be flour-y at all, they were soft, silky which a bit of chewing resistance, just perfect! The pizza is a flat bread style pizza, and the only thing missing for me was a little bit more salt or another layer of flavour to lift the finish. Next time I’d love to try the Gorgonzola, walnuts and pancetta pizza.

The drinks were both good, and the mojito that I chose is definitely of the less sweet kind so if you like a refreshing but not too sweet mojito then this is the one for you.