Assaggi might mean “little tastes” in Italian, but the long-standing Illovo restaurant of the same name is definitely big on flavour. This Joburg institution is one of my favourites and serves the best bowl of pasta outside Tuscany. Last Friday, after rushing from the airport and missing the turn-off, I made it just in time before the kitchen closed.

I quickly ordered the Parmesan-crumbed artichokes, with the stems attached. They were crisp, piping hot and scrumptious alongside an authentic Caprese salad (the tomatoes were tasty and blood red), which had definitely not spent weeks in the cold room. After that, I went for the porcini and truffle tagliatelle. It was delish. Simple and honest, it was served in a heavy-duty bowl, which I’m sure had been piled with tons of pasta through the years. The pasta was rough and enriched with egg yolk, smothered with a light but creamy porcini and truffle sauce.

I resisted the dolce as I was heading straight across the way to La Patisserie (no disrespect to Assaggi’s desserts!). There I filled a box with violet macaroons and chocolate petits-fours studded with crystallised roses and admired the most gorgeous cake that had cloudy puffs of mauve meringue icing. It’s definitely my next birthday cake, but maybe I’ll find an excuse to try it before then…

Happy eating! 
Abigail