Quick answer: Assaggi is a contemporary Italian degustation restaurant at 77A Neil Road, Singapore, opening on 10 August 2026. It’s the second restaurant from Chef Denis Lucchi, the chef behind one-MICHELIN-starred Buona Terra. Assaggi runs on set menus only: a three-course Lunch Menu at $58++, and two dinner tasting menus — The Signature Journey and The Pasta Journey, at $88++ each, with $18 supplements available on both. Cocktails are $18 and mocktails $12, made with Bar Kakure. It’s open Tuesday to Saturday, 12pm–3pm and 6pm–10.30pm.
A one-MICHELIN-starred chef opening a second, cheaper restaurant usually means one of two things: a casual spin-off, or the same cooking with the tablecloths taken away. Assaggi is closer to the second. Chef Denis Lucchi who has held a star at Buona Terra since 2019, is opening an Italian degustation restaurant on Tanjong Pagar‘s Neil Road stretch on 10 August 2026, with tasting menus starting at $58++.
What Is Assaggi?
Assaggi takes its name from the Italian word for “taste.” The restaurant’s stated philosophy is “imperfect by choice”, the idea that a dish is made memorable by character and instinct rather than by rigid uniformity, and that taste comes before form.
In practice, that means fine-dining technique served without fine-dining formality. There is no à la carte menu. Everything runs on set menus, so you pick a journey, and the kitchen paces the rest.
It’s Chef Lucchi’s second restaurant in Singapore. The Lombardy-born chef trained in London and Rome before moving to Singapore, where he cooked at Gattopardo and Garibaldi, and has led Buona Terra since 2012. The restaurant earned its MICHELIN star in 2019 and has held it since.
Where Is Assaggi Located?
Assaggi is at 77A Neil Road, Singapore 088903, on the shophouse stretch between Craig Road and Everton Park. It’s open Tuesday to Saturday, with lunch from 12pm to 3pm and dinner from 6pm to 10:30pm. It’s closed on Sundays and Mondays.
The nearest MRT is Maxwell (TE18), roughly a four-minute walk.
What’s On The Menu At Assaggi Singapore?
There are three set menus. Both dinner journeys are $88++ and open with the same welcome snacks and housemade bread; the lunch menu at $58++ is a shorter, build-your-own three-courser.
| Menu | When | Price | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lunch Menu | Lunch service | $58++ | 3 courses, choose your own starter, main and dessert |
| The Signature Journey | Dinner | $88++ | Snacks, bread, starter, pasta, main, convivio, frutta, dessert |
| The Pasta Journey | Dinner | $88++ | Snacks, bread, three pasta courses, convivio, frutta, dessert |
Both dinner menus offer an optional $18 supplement: pork arrosticino on the Signature Journey, ravioli ossobuco on the Pasta Journey.
Welcome Snacks & Bread
Both journeys open with two canapés. The tomato tartlet uses a shell made from tomato juice, beer, flour and egg, filled with burrata and topped with French cherry tomatoes. The bruschetta puts charcoal-grilled Wagyu carpaccio over housemade brioche with pickled girolle mushrooms and horseradish shavings.
An amuse-bouche follows: chilled melon marinated with kinome, chilli and lime, then compressed, served alongside a warm duck consommé finished with sage oil. The two are meant to be eaten in succession, so you get the temperature contrast.
Bread is a soft roll glazed with balsamic reduction, duck fat and acacia honey, served warm with whipped salted butter scooped onto a plate right in front of you.
The Signature Journey ($88++)
You choose at nearly every course.
- Starter: Octopus with potato, capers, olives and green beans; or Veal Eye Round with artichoke, quail egg and tonnato. The veal is house-brined for over seven hours and sous vide for three, then plated with the creamy tuna sauce, crispy capers and artichoke chips.
- Pasta: Pappardelle with ossobuco, gremolada and saffron; or fusilli with capsicum and red prawns.
- Supplement (+$18): Pork Arrosticino, a charcoal-grilled Iberico skewer glazed with port reduction, honey and vinaigrette, with parsley mayonnaise, preserved cabbage, and burnt apple and onion sauce.
- Main: Roasted Duck, dry-aged 14 days, seared and glazed with orange blossom honey, with duck jus, roasted peaches, fennel purée and fennel salad; or Stone Bass, dry-aged seven days and charcoal-grilled, over parsley-yogurt purée with charcoal-grilled zucchini scapece and mugnaia (a lemon brown butter sauce).
The Pasta Journey ($88++)
Same price, three pasta courses instead of a starter-and-main structure:
- Tubetti: small tube pasta in anchovy stock with nettle purée, finished with black lemon, brown butter-toasted sourdough crumbs and lemon zest.
- Linguine aglio olio with mussels and dry tomato.
- Tagliatelle with capsicum, red prawns and lime.
- Supplement (+$18): Ravioli ossobuco with saffron and marrow.
The Shared Courses
Both dinner menus converge for the last three courses.
Convivio is Paccheri Amatriciana, served tableside. A large tubular pasta in a tomato sauce infused with guanciale fat, topped with guanciale and shaved Parmesan. It’s the one communal moment in an otherwise individually plated meal.
Frutta is a palate cleanser of seasonal yellow peach with peach espuma, peach granita and raw almonds.
Dessert is a rum baba. The rum-soaked yeast cake is served with vanilla ice cream, finished with chantilly cream, dark chocolate shavings, lime zest and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
The Lunch Menu ($58++)
Three courses, built to your preference. Starters include a mushroom pork ragu with potato espuma and poached egg, the veal eye round with tonnato, or octopus with potato, tomato and green beans.
Mains split between tagliatelle with butter, cheese, mint and lemon, or linguine aglio olio with mussels and dry tomato and meatier plates: duck with peaches and fennel, short ribs with parsnips and green pepper, or stone bass with zucchini scapece and mugnaia.
Dessert is either the rum baba with vanilla ice cream or a cheese selection.
At $58++ for three courses from a MICHELIN-starred chef’s kitchen, this is the most accessible entry point Assaggi offers, and the one most likely to book out on weekdays.
What Are The Drinks Like At Assaggi?
The bar programme is a collaboration with Bar Kakure, built around seasonal ingredients.
Cocktails ($18 each) — Assaggi Negroni (gin, Campari, vermouth rosso), Basilico Smash (gin, basil, lemon, simple syrup), Paloma (tequila, grapefruit, lime, agave), Sicilian Spritz (Aperol, blood orange, prosecco, soda), Old Fashioned (bourbon, demerara, bitters) and Espresso Martini (vodka, coffee liqueur, espresso).
Mocktails ($12 each) — Verde (cucumber, lime, mint, soda), Arancia Rossa (blood orange, lemon, tonic), Ginger Fizz (ginger, lemon, honey, soda) and Botanico (lychee, rosemary, tonic).
The wine list focuses on natural and biodynamic bottles from small-scale producers, and selected wines are poured from handcrafted clay vessels, a service ritual referencing Roman-era winemaking. There’s also a sizeable premium non-alcoholic wine list, so a full no-alcohol pairing is a genuine option rather than an afterthought.
Who Is Assaggi For?
A few things to weigh before you book:
- It’s set-menu only. If someone in your group is a fussy eater or has significant dietary restrictions, flag it when you reserve. There’s no à la carte fallback.
- $88++ works out to roughly $103 per person after tax and service, before drinks. Add a $18 supplement and an $18 cocktail, and you’re near $145.
- Lunch is the value play. $58++ (about $68 nett) for three courses is well below what a starred chef’s cooking usually costs at midday in the CBD.
- The two dinner journeys cost the same, so pick by appetite rather than budget: Signature if you want a protein main, Pasta if you’d rather have three pasta courses.
- It’s a good non-drinker’s restaurant, which is rarer than it should be at this price point.
How Do You Book Assaggi?
Assaggi opens to the public on 10 August 2026. Reservations and menu updates are being posted via the restaurant’s Instagram, @assaggi.sg. Given the shophouse footprint and the set-menu format, book ahead rather than walking in, especially for weekend dinner.
Assaggi Singapore: Key Information
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Address | 77A Neil Road, Singapore 088903 |
| Opening date | 10 August 2026 |
| Chef | Denis Lucchi (Buona Terra, one MICHELIN star) |
| Cuisine | Contemporary Italian degustation |
| Price | Lunch $58++; dinner tasting menus $88++; supplements $18; cocktails $18; mocktails $12 |
| Format | Set menus only, no à la carte |
| Opening hours | Tuesday–Saturday, 12pm–3pm and 6pm–10:30pm (closed Sun & Mon) |
| Nearest MRT | Outram Park (EW16/NE3/TE17), ~7 min walk; Maxwell (TE18) |
| @assaggi.sg |
Frequently Asked Questions About Assaggi Singapore
Where is Assaggi in Singapore?
Assaggi is at 77A Neil Road, Singapore 088903, on the shophouse stretch in Tanjong Pagar. The nearest MRT is Maxwel, about a four-minute walk away; Outram Park station is around a seven-minute walk away.
When does Assaggi open?
Assaggi opens to the public on 10 August 2026. It operates Tuesday to Saturday, 12pm to 3pm for lunch and 6pm to 10.30pm for dinner, and is closed on Sundays and Mondays.
Who is the chef behind Assaggi?
Assaggi is by Chef Denis Lucchi, the chef behind Buona Terra, which has held one MICHELIN star since 2019. Lucchi is from Lombardy, trained in London and Rome, cooked at Gattopardo and Garibaldi in Singapore, and has led Buona Terra since 2012.
How much does a meal at Assaggi cost?
The three-course Lunch Menu is $58++. Both dinner tasting menus — The Signature Journey and The Pasta Journey — are $88++, with an optional $18 supplement on each. Cocktails are $18 and mocktails $12. Prices exclude 9% GST and 10% service charge.
Does Assaggi have an à la carte menu?
No. Assaggi operates exclusively on set menus. Diners choose between the Lunch Menu, The Signature Journey, or The Pasta Journey, with limited dish choices within each menu.
What is the difference between the Signature Journey and the Pasta Journey?
Both cost $88++. The Signature Journey follows a starter–pasta–main structure with a choice of octopus or veal to start and duck or stone bass as the main. The Pasta Journey replaces those with three pasta courses. Both finish with the shared Paccheri Amatriciana, the peach frutta and the rum baba.
Does Assaggi have non-alcoholic drink options?
Yes. Assaggi serves mocktails at $12 developed with Bar Kakure, alongside an extensive list of premium non-alcoholic wines, so a full non-alcoholic pairing is available.
Is Assaggi related to Buona Terra?
Assaggi is a separate restaurant from the same chef. Buona Terra is Chef Denis Lucchi’s one-MICHELIN-starred fine-dining restaurant; Assaggi is his more accessible degustation concept on Neil Road, with menus from $58++.
*This article is based on a media preview tasting, but all opinions expressed about the food are entirely our own.
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