Amassame (CLOSED)

Here's a happy surprise in Sants. Just next to the neighbourhood municipal market, Carmen Ramírez runs Amassame, a restaurant inspired by her love for and frequent visits to Italy (mostly when she was working in fashion). It's a lovely space with natural light and comfortable seating, and you get to see how they prepare the home-made pasta. The menu combines Spanish and Italian cuisine with quite good results, thanks to the freshness of the products and the know-how of the kitchen staff. Their goal, which they more than meet, is to present 'healthy Italian gastronomy with Iberian touches', with fresh pastas and pizzas that are made by hand daily, and with options for special dietary requirements.

You might want to start with a selection of Italian cold cuts or cheeses, and if you want something a bit healthier, they've also got a selection of seasonal organic vegetables. All the pastas are very good, though two stand out for their originality: the 'fusilloti al nero di sepia' with prawns, mushrooms, sweet onion, spinach, romesco and spicy oil, and the naked spinach and ricotta ravioli with home-made tomato sauce. They also cook up a variety of pizzas in their stone oven that you can see from the dining room. The focaccia and the 48-hour-fermented pizza dough make you feel like you're in Rome or Naples.