Every October 6th, noodle lovers across the country find a reason to indulge in their favorite carb-loaded comfort food. But if you’re searching for where to celebrate National Noodle Day in Boston, look no further than our dining room at Assaggio. From old-world favorites to new twists on classics, our menu has something for every kind of noodle lover. Read more below.
Lobster Ravioli
If there’s one dish that encapsulates everything we do here at Assaggio, it’s the Lobster Ravioli. Plump, golden pasta pillows are filled with sweet, tender lobster and finished in a sauce built on rich lobster fumet — the kind of deeply flavored broth that takes time and skill to make right. Cherry tomatoes add a pop of brightness, and a whisper of cream brings the whole thing together into something velvety, luxurious, and completely balanced. It’s indulgent without ever feeling heavy.
Mama’s Homemade Lasagna
There’s lasagna, and then there’s Mama’s Homemade Lasagna at Assaggio — and the two are not the same thing. This is a dish built on real technique and genuine care. Layers of handmade pasta sheets, slow-cooked ground beef, and silky ricotta are stacked with patience and baked until the top turns golden, the edges crisp just slightly, and the inside becomes this glorious, steaming mass of comfort. The aroma alone — a warm, bready, tomatoey perfume that drifts from the kitchen — is enough to make you lean back and exhale. It tastes like Sunday dinner at an Italian grandmother’s table, and it carries that same sense of love and ritual that no shortcut can replicate. Deeply satisfying from the very first forkful to the very last.
Carbonara
A carbonara reveals a kitchen’s honesty. There’s nowhere to hide in a dish with so few ingredients — and our version has nothing to hide. Italian pancetta brings a savory, smoky depth. Eggs create a sauce that coats every strand of pasta in a smooth, glossy embrace. Aged Pecorino adds that sharp, salty edge that keeps you reaching for the next forkful. No cream. No tricks. Just perfect technique and exceptional ingredients allowed to do their thing. The pasta has just enough bite to hold up against the richness of the sauce, and the result is something that feels effortless even though it’s anything but. This is the pasta that reminds you why Italian cooking is so endlessly beloved — because when it’s done right, simplicity is stunning.
Gnocchi alla Sorrentina
If comfort food had a finest hour, it would look a lot like the Gnocchi alla Sorrentina at Assaggio. These are homemade potato dumplings — soft and yielding in the center, light enough to feel almost cloud-like — nestled in a bright, sweet tomato sauce and blanketed under a generous layer of melted mozzarella that pulls and stretches in the most satisfying way. Fresh basil scattered on top adds a whisper of herbaceous freshness that lifts the whole dish. When you drag your spoon through the melted cheese and scoop up a few dumplings with a bit of sauce clinging to them, it’s one of those food moments that you genuinely don’t want to end. Warm, cozy, and utterly craveable — this one earns a spot on every table.
Garganelli Amatriciana
The Garganelli Amatriciana is the kind of pasta that demands your full attention. Ridged garganelli tubes — chosen specifically because their texture catches and holds onto sauce — are tossed in a deeply savory, slow-built sauce of sweet San Marzano tomatoes and soft, yielding onions. The star of the show is the guanciale: Italian cured pork cheek that renders down into something impossibly tender and rich, releasing fat and flavor into the sauce until the whole thing becomes this robust, porky, tomatoey marvel. It’s rustic and unapologetic in the best way — food that tastes like it was made with confidence and patience. Every bite carries that unmistakable depth that only cured meats and great tomatoes can produce together.
Why Our Noodles Are Different at Assaggio
At Assaggio, all of our noodle dishes are made with Gragnano pasta. Gragnano is a town near Naples that has been producing dried pasta for centuries, and its pasta carries a protected designation of origin — meaning it can only be made in Gragnano itself, using local water and specific drying methods. The result is a pasta with a distinctive rough, porous surface that absorbs and holds onto sauce in a way that smooth, factory-produced pasta simply can’t.
Come Celebrate National Noodle Day at Assaggio!
Book your reservation with us today on our website or call 617-227-7380
