Assaggio

Quaint, small restaurant also with small outdoor terrace for dining. Service exemplary. Tremendous selection of entrees on both the menu and the specials. Dinner comes with a quite nice salad. Our party had fish, steak, veal and pasta. My selection was a veal ad mixed with angel hair pasta in a red sauce. Spectacular! Decent selection of desserts. Certainly a restaurant to which we will return.

A pleasure to dine in a quite romantic setting. Food always great, Service friendly and knowledgeable. Thank you Billy. Also background music you can dine to. One feels special and appreciated. A must go to restaurant.

This was my 1^st visit and the experience was wonderful from walking in the door we were greeted well later found out it was the Owner Ryan. Giovanna assisted the waiter very nice young lady. Everyone was very nice and Bill our waiter/​server was delightful attentive and we took the special which was good. The Salmon over Couscous and Tilapia over Broccoli Rabe rice. Was not drinking so had the Cucumber Basil drink without alcohol very good will be amazing with the alcohol the next visit. I will be BACK.

I’ve been to Assaggio over a dozen times and I’ve always had a good meal — and I mean to say only «good.» The place has always been busy, service is overall generally slow and the restaurant is small and therefore loud. For reference, everyone I have always been with has greatly enjoyed the meal, so I am the odd one out. To me, the slow service and the fact you cannot have a conversation easily with your dining companion.

I’m surprised to see this place only received 3.5 stars. Dinner here was great. I got the house made gnocchi, which was fresh and tasty, and added chicken to the dish (which they sliced and mixed in — most places just throw the breast on top). Drinks were well made. The service was excellent and efficient without feeling rushed. It’s classy yet smart casual. Looking forward to returning!

Foods incredible, great staff. They pay a lot of attention to detail and you can taste the passion they put into every dish each which is unique and delicious in its own way ! Been here a few times and will definitely come back

I’ve been going here for years. I must say my favorite restaurant. The food is always amazing and the atmosphere is lovely for a night out or even better for a date night! You must try it!

We’d never been before because a lot of the reviews aren’t too great; but a Living Social promotion persuaded us to try it on a Saturday night, and we were pleasantly surprised! The house salad could use more ingredients. It was just greens and some nuts. Our entrees were shrimp and diver scallops over spaghetti and egg-​battered veal layered with prosciutto, eggplant and fresh mozzarella over angel hair pasta. The entrees were delicious, our waitress Tara was very friendly and our water glasses were kept filled by the staff. We’re glad we tried the restaurant.

Third time here. Tried to like this place. Really. Staff seemed nice. Water glasses kept full. Like that. Good attention to food allergies (one of my party has severe).
The problem: Food quality.
Iced shrimp cocktail seemed room temp.
Salad was browning on all edges, flavorless and boring. No dressings on it or offered up.
Pork Chop — not a chop really, but pretty much standard supermarket type pork chops. Too dry and bland.
Others in party felt pasta dishes had too much sauce. Thought maybe that was just a stylistic thing. Also, overpriced.
Sorry. We tried to stay positive. Really.

I see the mixed reviews and it’s so confusing to me. I’ve been here at least 10 times and the food and service has been great every time. Maybe they make certain things better than others? The sea bass is always good, almost all of the apps you can’t go wrong with, pasta dishes have always been great particularly the lobster orchiette. Good wine list. I am giving it 5 stars. Always yummy!

Our first time here and probably our last time. Our waitress spoke very fast at some times, we got more attention from the man pouring water than anyone else. The food was alright it was very over priced for what we ordered. The salad barely came with any dressing on it at all it felt like I was eating grass or leaves. Many people had bread on the table we had to ask three times before the waitress said «oh you didn’t get any yet?» People there really need to step their game up if you want more people to come back. I will make sure I tell my friends/​family not to go to this restaurant. I wasn’t impressed at all. I hope other people don’t have the same experience we did. I probably would have enjoyed mc Donald’s than eating here.

Food wasn’t great and extremely over priced. Only reason I gave two stars was our waitress was very friendly. Otherwise the food is pretty gross and I definitely would never go back.

Slightly mixed!
Had a reasonably good dinner apart form a couple of things which bring my rating down. LONG wait time for waiter then for food — not sure why. Discussed with waiter that I was going Atkins and would like double vegies rather than potatoes — but the potatoes came anyway despite this. Some of the dishes were less than spotless (a big goober of something on hot water tea pot that should have been headed off at the pass). On the other hand — portions generous, well priced, and food good — so if you put this all together you’d get a 3 star — used to be better

I first came to Assaggio on my boyfriend’s insistence. I can’t really say I was thrilled, initially — I’d looked over the menu online and there were two vegetarian entrees, tops. That said, Assaggio makes some of the best pasta and gnocchi dishes I’ve ever had in my life. I consider a trip to this spot to be a special treat, and we’ve yet to be disappointed.
The boy usually gets this fish dish that’s served on top of lobster risotto… and ever since he tried it, that’s all he will eat there. I tried the gnocchi for the first time a few weeks ago. Talk about tender and delicious! I’ve yet to have gnocchi that I felt was life-​changing, and theirs is life-​changing! They serve everything piping hot and everything cooked to a delicate tenderness that I just can’t get over.
I will admit, I’ve embarrassed myself a few times while eating at Assaggio, my face clearly displaying my awe at the delicious food — the waiters have indeed noticed. But let me just say, we have always had super friendly staff here, who have impeccable memories — they will tell you the specials without hesitation, which I find thoroughly impressive. They know their stuff — kudos!
Everything from the drinks/​wine, to the salads, the entrees, and even the dessert is just some of the best I’ve ever had. As for the entrees, I always have more than enough to bring home and eat again twice. I feel there is value there, even though I admit this is kind of a pricey restaurant to be visiting more regularly than we do.
I find the atmosphere to be warm and intimate — the kind of place I’d go with a date, rather than with family, but that’s me. Make a reservation and bring your appetite, Assaggio is sure to delight :)

Excellent service. Hard to get in. Food did not live up to expectations.
I have been to Assagio before and I remember a great overall experience; this time however I left slightly disappointed. First, I have tried to make a reservation several times over the past few months, but because of the small size, seating and time choice is limited. This time it all worked out and I was very excited to go. A friend always raves about his experience here and I wanted to duplicate it for my girlfriend.
First, the salad was bland. I was confused because for a Gorgonzola salad, the cheese looked was dusted on and flavorless. It should have been more punchy.
For dinner, my girlfriend and I ordered two different chicken and pasta dishes. In my dish, the chicken was supposed to be «julienned» but it was cut very large and some pieces were tough. The accompanying mushrooms and roasted red peppers were blah and didn’t add too much. In the other dish, the chicken was again cut inconsistently and the sundried tomatoes overwhelmed the vodka sauce, while other flavors were missing. The pasta was slightly overcooked in both. Based on my experience last time and my friends enthusiastic recommendation, I would have expected higher quality ingredients and more sophisticated technique.
Despite the lower food quality, the waiter was very professional and properly theatrical. He added pepper with a flair and dramatically turned the bowls to present the food.
There is a lot of competition for Italian in the greater New Haven area and Assagio needs to step up its culinary game.

I love Assagio! This is my go to resturaunt for all special occasions including birthdays and anniversaries. The drinks are always delicious and the food is wonderful. The owner is an absolute sweetheart! Upon one visit we had to wait in the lobby for a table. The owner kindly asked if we would like a cocktail and brought it to us while we waited. I have never had a negative experience and I can’t wait to celebrate my 25^th birthday here!

Let me get this out of the way. Staff was a bit to «smooth» for my liking. I thought this place would have that small town feel, It did not but that is ok. The fried calamari was great to start. The salmon dinner was fantastic! It was with pesto and angel hair. I also had the NY strip the second visit and it was top quality with the port wine reduction. Wine and cocktails were fairly priced. One opportunity is the staff. Need to tighten that up and smile more.

Ryan and his staff are terrific! Ryan, the owner isn’t afraid to step in to be the host, deliver a cocktail or clear just to give him an opportunity to check in. I have never been disappointed. Food is always prepared to perfection. Highly recommend this place, flavor, portions and service are the best!

This place hosted the rehearsal dinner for my wedding and did an outstanding job. 35 people came in, and they were all in love.
I’ve eaten here a few times and always been impressed. Next to Le Petite Café, it’s the best food in Branford

Not only was the service extremely slow, a personal discussion with the owner demonstrated that he had a weak concept of customer service. After waiting 90 minutes for dinner and several attempts to determine the delay, the owner appeared to have a difficult time understanding why this was unacceptable service. With the sun going down, the heaters out of propane and our party sent home to warm up we gave up and took the food to go. Really unbelievable. Sad part was the little food we had was pretty good.
P. S. Not a classy move sending out the waitress with the check instead of coming out himself.