Assaggi Bistro

ok My wife and I had not been here in quite a while and were excited that we could get in for two the night before at 7 pm perfect !
so saturday arrives we show up and we get a primo table next to the front window– perfect again !
we order a couple vodka rocks drinks and then the largest rocks pours we have ever seen show up — yeah us ! so generous !
we take our time drinking these massive drinks and eventually order our fave pizza bianca– an appetizer that is basically french onion soup taste on a pizza 3 cheeses and cartelized onions– awesome ! so far so like we remember
next up the roasted tomato soup– very good as well
then we hear the specials and they include a filet with twice mashed potatos and green beans — we order this plus scallops and risotto with mushrooms
food arrives after quite a bit (no problem we were not in a rush) also got a yummy glass of wine–
steak was «ok» mashed we very cheesy — and there were just a few green beans overall a «meh» dish — but then when the bill came and I saw it was $ 42 not so «meh» more like not worth it–
wife scallops were solid but risotto way too buttery
then we ordered dessert the beignet special ! love beignets ! they arrived and what a bummer literally they were deep fried HARD pieces of dough yuck ! not light at all like a good beignet
coffee was good
so overall prob a 3 ½ but we have had way better in the past so it was a bummer !
but we will be back I am sure

Another fantastic meal! Asaggi never disappoints, service, food and drinks were great. If you’re looking for a bistro that features unique dishes and a great dining experience, look no further. Support your local business and give it a try!

The place is beautiful, the waiter was attentive without being intrusive, and the food was amazing. I had the steamed mussels with pancetta and a beurre blanc, the cold octopus salad, and seared sea scallops on a bed of butternut squash risotto with crispy mushrooms.
Amazing.

Some of the best italian food in Ferndale. The owners are super nice and come by to check in on how the food is. We got the hot olives and charcuterie for a starter which were all amazing. The olives were super tasty. I got the chefs special which was a grilled fish with beet dumplings. It was amazing the beet dumplings were soft and super flavorful. We got a bottle of wine to accompany dinner and it was perfect. For dessert I got the chefs special which was a large cookie with ice cream. The cookie had fresh cranberries and blueberries.

If your stated hours on a Saturday night are until 11, you really shouldn’t be turning away patrons at 10:25 saying that you are «closed».

Located in the heart of Ferndale, MI. Best Italian cuisine I have ever tried. It’s a family owned restaurant with very friendly staff. Their interior décor it’s beautiful, I recommend the outside back patio for group parties or a date!

Best food in Detroit. Ambience is a bit quiet on off days, but the food is spectacular. Get the short rib, duck or butternut squat ravioli. The same food in NYC would cost 3x. Simply amazing

Great food, ridiculous service.
Our waiter was just rude, gave us attitude with everything from when to take orders, splitting the bill, no questions about additional drinks, didn’t get bread for an hour, he made comments how his staff wasn’t cooperating with him, 8 of us got food and my friend who got side salad didn’t get hers for another 20 min. On top of that, he added 20% tip, which he manually wrote in when he split the bill. We were there for a bday so didn’t bother finding a manager to argue with but that guy (older gentleman) does not belong in the restaurant, hope manager sees this comment and addresses it.
It’s really too bad because the food was great, beet salad, veal nochy, and steak were delicious

If you have not been here… you are definitely missing a hidden gem of Southeast Detroit. Especially Ferndale. The garden patio is lovely and private. And then lets talk about the food, the salmon is delicious, the egglplant is scrumptious (order your own)…and end the evening with their Affogato… you will not be disappointed.

This place has great food but a bit if a stuffy atmosphere. It is overpriced but the pasta dishes were amazing, although the salad was not spectacular. The service was great but that is to be expected at place like this. Although, we did not dine outside, it looked beautiful. They also have a garden from which, I assume, they pull ingredients; which is kind of cool. If it is warm, I recommend going at dusk and sitting outsise. Decent beer list.

Had dinner there yesterday again. Forgot how good the food is here. I mean seriously good.
Started with the Antipasti for $ 16. It’s a huge board filled with cured meats, cheeses and a delicious artichoke/​caper side. I typically do not like artichoke, but this was delicious, and made the dish.
Also ordered the gnocchi as an appetizer. Perfect texture, perfect mixture of sauce to slices of mushrooms, just perfect dish.
Cioppino: just perfect. All the seafood was perfectly cooked, including the half lobster tail. In fact, the lobster was the most tender and perfectly cooked I ever had. Great proportion of broth to couscous to seafood. I asked they make it spicy, and they did.
Here is the best thing about this place: their wine list and the fact they mark it up literally pennies. Ordered the Sodaro cab. Menu price $ 85. I vivino’d it and it retails for $ 75. That a tiny markup.
Interior seems less tired; not sure if it was updated or if the food was so delicious I did not notice.
Wait staff: old school professional — formal, but warm and friendly.
I should go here more often.

Amazing go see Brad and or Chris. Refreshing to have an owner in The game day in and day out. kootos to the boss lady.

I have never had a better pasta dish. The norccina (I think that’s how you spell it) is by far the best pasta dish I have had. The owners are very welcoming and there fire oven bread with olive oil is fantastic. The price is slightly higher than most but quality typically is.
Great for a date or a just a good meal.

This place is a joke. It’s been a while since I’ve been here, but farting around on Unilocal made me remember. First off, we waited about 20 minutes for a table of 3. No big deal. I expect that in ferndale on a Friday night. We get seated and the lady who sat us seemed a bit rude. I and one of the other people have a lot of tattoos, and looking around, we stuck out like a sore thumb. I got over it, because fuck it… I was there to eat, not have my feelings massaged.
We started off with a cheese/​veggie/​dip platter thing. The hummus was good, as was the cheeses etc. I then ordered the filet mignon, my girl got the duck, and I out friend got a salmon dish.
First the food: I ordered my filet rare. It came out medium, and had an overwhelming peppery taste. My girlfriend tried it, and the look on her face confirmed I wasn’t crazy. Just a sprinkle of salt n pepper is all you need to cook a steak. It’s not hard. My girlfriend got the duck. It was decent. But for the price, not so much. I’ve had better duck at hole in the wall Chinese places. The salmon dish our friend got was very bland. However the fishy flavor of salmon really stood out. I prefer milder salmon like king or even the farm raised Norwegian. This had to be a sockeye or coho. Not the worst, but for the price… meh.
The service: our server wasn’t necessarily rude, as she was borderline nonexistent. Getting a second drink was more difficult than signing a mortgage on a house. The icing on the cake was when I had to use the restroom, and instead of wandering around while people were eating, I approached a manager who was talking to what it looked like a customer. I waited until he was done and asked him where the restroom was. He glanced at me, then ignored me then began talking to the customer. The customer even sensed he was being a dick and said «hey, this guy has a question.» I asked him where the restroom was and he looked me up and down without answering, as if saying «what the fuck are you doing here?»
So the customer stepped in and told me. Our bill came to well over $ 100, and was by far one of the worst dining experiences I’ve ever had.
If you want to treat yourself, I’d recommend going to Bistro 82. The staff is very friendly, and the food is incredible.

One of the best dinners I’ve had in a long time. The waiter was professional, offering recommendations on everything from wine to dessert. The owner walks around making sure everyone is happy. The food is delicious… Delicious! The ambiance is old school, romantic. It was great, can’t wait to go back.
Get the eggplant appetizer, you will not be sorry.

I am a self proclaimed restaurant snob. More often than not I am let down and irritated by the money lost.
So Thank You Assagi Bistro for putting me in my place. Your service was amazing. Your food was absolutely delicious. That fresh baked hot puffy complimentary pita bread was the best start to a meal I’ve ever had. I initially thought you a bit stuffy but I found that what I thought stuffy simply translated into impeccable service. And AGAIN the food! I had the Cioppino. Every piece of seafood was cooked to perfection, I loved the Israeli couscous and especially loved that it wasn’t a sweet tomato broth but just slightly warmed with spice. My date had the scallops, which were cooked perfectly and laid on top of the best risotto I’ve ever had.
I would say it is closer to $$$ in the price range but I don’t even care, I’d pay the price in a heartbeat.

On Friday night we arrived with 12 people. Everyone was equally impressed!
We shared delicious appetizers featuring eggplant parmigiana, olives, and several other exciting Mediterranean fusion dishes. All of this was served with hot out of the oven, homemade pita bread. I could have eaten several baskets of that bread.
For my main coarse I ordered 5 perfectly cooked lamb chops. I have eaten lamb chops in several restaurants, these chops are on my favorites list ranking very high.
The service was excellent, everyone agreed. The table was ready and waiting in the center of a beautifully Tuscan inspired courtyard.
I recommend Assaggi to friends all of the time.

I went here on very high recommendations with a some friends, and we all walked away disappointed. My theory is that this is due to different cooks for lunch and dinner as everyone seems to go for dinner and not lunch as we did.
We were seated promptly and able to pick our own little table outside. The meal started off with their warm pita type bread with basil olive oil for dipping, and frankly this was the best part of the meal. The pitas were piping hot and tasted very fresh; the oil seemed to be of good quality as well.
To start we split an order of mussels. I felt that the sauce had too much going on to be able to appreciate the mussels despite the fact that it was tasty. It had pancetta, shallots, tomatoes, basil, and cream sauce; I felt it was too much and too overpowering for mussels. I will say that the portion was fairly standard for the price and it came with some fries that were pretty good, but mushier than I like.
For our entrees we had the grilled eggplant, the chicken francese, and the pasta norcina. The eggplant was bitter, very mushy and I felt was a small portion for $ 13. It was also a bit cold by the time it reached the table. The chicken was in my friend’s words «stringy and off tasting». The pasta that came with the chicken was undercooked, but yet managed to be a bit sticky as well; the portion was also small on this one. As for the Pasta Norcina, it’s typically one of my friend’s favorites, but she said that it was bland, and a bit dry/​not as creamy as usual.
The most off putting part of our meal was probably the service though. It took us almost 30 minutes to get our bill, and we were there for almost 2 hours when the restaurant wasn’t all that busy. I’m all for having good conversation and relaxing while eating, but I feel like this was much more time than was necessary.
I sincerely hope this isn’t a good representation of their normal fare here as I really feel the food and service don’t justify the price.

The first time I had cioppino it was so bad, I swore I would never eat it again… but I tend to be forgiving (and forgetful), so I decided to give it another whirl. Enter: Assaggi.
It was a chilly, rainy day, and I asked the server what he recommended for lunch. He suggested the cioppino without hesitation. Cioppino is a fish stew, served in a tomato broth. The description itself doesn’t create a whole lot of appeal, as it reminds me of stinky fish heads floating in watered down marinara. Wow, I am doing a poor job building a case for the deliciousness of this dish, let me get back on track…
The cioppino at Assaggi features a variety of seafood, cooked to a flawless tenderness. It’s paired with Israeli couscous, and ladled with a rich, savory tomato broth. I cannot adequately describe in words the depth of flavor in this broth, but it is absolutely to die for. Once you’ve used your spoon to scoop out every last possible bite, distract those around you by pulling a «hey look over there!» so that you can privately lick the bottom of your bowl without them judging you. Or, if you’re too fancy for that, use the grilled ciabatta side to sop up any remaining goodness.
The Sauteed Chicken Francese is also quite scrumptious. Tender chicken and al dente pasta, accompanied by tomatoes, mushrooms, and eggplant. The whole meal rests on a generous ladle of lemon beurre blanc. Beurre blanc can make just about anything taste good, but this entrée would be delicious even without the sauce. But seriously, the sauce is really good, it would be foolish to order it without the sauce. In fact, consider ordering an extra mega side of sauce to take home and pour over your next few meals.
Our server at Assaggi was attentive, prompt, and knowledgeable of the restaurant’s offerings. I cannot wait to return!

This is the third year in a row I’ve celebrated my birthday at Assaggi and it never disappoints. A 7:00 o clock reservation on a Saturday night and the place is jumping, in a good way. I love that the owners are always part of the experience. George came over, wished me a happy birthday and opened our bottle of wine. His lovely wife was busy seating people and making sure the tiny bar area remained clear.
The service here is fantastic, neither over nor under done, just the right amount of attention. Even though the place was packed we didn’t feel rushed as we lingered through apps, mains and dessert.
The meal started as always with a basket of hot, flat bread with basil olive for dipping. I should have ordered the knockout calamari but I fell for the special Frito Misto, it was fine, a mix of mostly fried veg but it lacked the punch of the thick cut calamari. Oh well, live and learn.
My entrée more than made up for any transgression with the appetizer. The twice cooked Moroccan duck legs were quite simply one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. Flavorful, moist and falling off the bone. Seriously, insanity! For once I didn’t have to ask for salt and pepper. I didn’t even think about it actually.
Dessert was a mixed bag of crème brûlée, tiramisu, banana wrapped in phyllo dough and cream puff. Everything hit the mark and we washed it down with a bottle of Prosecco. Not a bad way to ring in another year.
Since I live in Ferndale I am soooo happy to have this place in my backyard. Unlike it’s next door neighbor Assaggi is justified in charging what is does for the quality of its food, service and over all experience.