Eataly

Reviews 3

JO

Joe Worcester

Went yesterday against my better judgement which was telling me to wait until the hoopla died down. But just couldnt resist. And so glad we went. First of all, I have to say if you are on here complaining about items being overpriced think about that for a moment....rent for 45,000 square feet of retail space at The Prudential Center + celebrity chef ownership=$$$$$. Saying things are overpriced at The Pru is like saying theres too much snow in Alaska. And, quite frankly, there were many things that were reasonably priced. Second, if you went to this establishment 3 days after it opened and fought the throngs of people who also went because thousands of people have been waiting months and months for it to open, and then you complain about service because you wanted it to be only about you, you probably are a very difficult patron to please. Or somebody who already had an axe to grind and were waiting for the opportunity to post a negative review. Now, with that out of the way, our experience was, aside from the crowds, nothing but positive. We shopped, we ate, we bought and mostly we decided we will come back. We put our name in at Il Pesce and were told to expect to wait for an hour before we would be seated. No problem. Plenty to see here. But, lucky for us, we were able to nab two chairs at the first come first served La Piazza. The city square. And we are so glad we did. We enjoyed excellent oysters (not a speck of shell in any of them and chilled perfectly), marinated olives and a meat and cheese board to die for. We were given extra freshly made rustic bread to enjoy with our meats and cheeses. The prosciutto and salami literally melted in your mouth. The imported parmesan were a heavenly mix of tang and crystal. The wine list was awesome (my wife enjoyed a hearty, moderately bold red that perfectly accompanied her cheese and olives. yes shes a vegetarian) and the two Italian beers I tried (no not your everyday Peroni or Moretti) were flavorful, crisp and new to my palette which was a fun experience in and of itself! Loved the teku beer glasses!! A word about the service. Ill begin by saying the two wait staff that attended to us at La Piazza were "triple A": approachable, attentive, accommodating. I wish I could remember their names so I could give them a shout out, Obviously, they were busy, Extremely busy. But they didnt rush us, brush us off or make us feel any less important than the hundreds of others enjoying La Piazza on a very busy Saturday. Also, the people on the floor were kind and helpful. The baristas, at the café where we began the day, were also kind and customer oriented. And finally, when we inquired about the cooking school, the chef instructor took her time to talk to us about the options available for "classes", as well as giving us some history on Italy (where she had lived and worked for several years) and never made us feel that we were "wasting time" with lots of questions. This was an awesome experience. We will be back. The only reason I did not give 5 stars is because it was so busy that we did not enjoy Eataly to the degreed we think we will when we return. Thanks for reading, and do yourself a favor. Go to Eataly!! :)

AN

Angela Morley

We took a trip into Boston last week to take a look through the new Eataly. When this establishment was built, it required closing down all of the food court restaurants in the Pru that were used by thousands of people a day. We used that experience as our baseline, could Eataly offer a replacement for affordable experiences for the many people who want a quick bite to eat? Overcrowding in the establishment meant that the shopping experience was rushed, we could not properly identify everything for sale, and navigating this place was downright hazardous. Im not sure if the people at the front were actually checking maximum occupancy numbers, but we quickly identified that it was a major fire hazard to be in the building, and we promptly left after identifying it simply wasnt safe to be there. If an emergency or fire had happened while we were there, which is likely with so many restaurants in close proximity, all the people in the building would be forced out TWO emergency exits, the only ones we could find that were open. It was a death trap. We did get an opportunity to browse some selections of items to purchase, however the costs for those items were exorbitant. We searched for quick grab and go dining options to compare with Eatalys locational predecessors, and we really couldnt find much in that category. It seemed they did have some nooks and places with things, but they were sporatically laid out, in a clear attempt to get you to browse items for sale getting to and from the limited selections available. In a crowded space, this was just frustrating. One of the problems that occurs to me is that Eataly is catering, literally, to residents of the area. The majority of people visiting the Pru are tourists. Do you think they want to bring home raw pasta? Cheese? Raw meats? How many local residents do they think will buy all these things? They do have an excellent selection of things like cheese, for example, but theres lots of supermarket style offerings that require cooking, and I dont think people are going to want to buy those things and take them home with them. There isnt a market for it. I strongly feel that the new Eataly location in the Pru has detrimentally robbed the area of all previous low cost dining options for workers and tourists in the area. With the Hynes Convention Center seeing thousands of person attendance for events, and people who want a quick bite to eat, Eataly isnt offering selections to cater to what people will want, instead opting for a higher class shopping experience for at-home cooks. I anticipate that Eataly will have to refocus its sales position and offerings within a year to accommodate for their lack of market research. This, in addition to their disregard for overcrowding hazards, means I can only give this establishment a one-star review at this time.

ED

Edie Stringfellow

Its not my pleasure to write bad reviews. However, this was a very disappointing experience. A friend and I were spending the day in Boston and I selected to go to Eataly Boston for our dining choice. It was an underwhelming experience and the food was bland. If I could turn back time and take back the visit, I would. Everything we ordered (ranging from the salad, to the seafood, to the pasta) had no distinctive taste or any taste. The service was mediocre at best. At the end of the meal, the waiter just put the receipt on the table and walked away. It was not in the typical black billfold that is normally used, or something like that, at a restaurant. He did not give us a pen to use to fill out the credit-card receipt. Everyone has a bad day so we left it at that. Maybe my palate had higher expectations. I am no stranger to fine dining. I love Eataly Chicago - never a bad experience, always consistent with food / mouth watering options / ambience. I also worked in the Lazio region of Italy. Perhaps I should not have made the the comparison seeing that it is a different restaurant. But I was embarrassed in front of my guest because they dont come into Boston often. Unfortunately, we will remember this dining experience however it will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.