Harden's says
The Square Mile continues to up its foodie credentials with the arrival of an Italian 'foodie theme park' from Eataly in April 2021 boasting stores, restaurants, market stalls and coffee shops. Eataly was founded in 2004 by entrepreneur Oscar Farinetti and now has 35 megastores worldwide, including in Tokyo and New York. A London location has been touted in the past but has not materialised until now. Separate restaurants within the complex include La Terrazza, Pasta e Pizza and Cucine del Mercato.
Harden's survey result
Summary
“Big and loud” – this 42,000 sq ft behemoth is part of Oscar Farinetti’s 40+ strong global chain showcasing Italian produce. Many folks “love wandering around and trying all the different snacks available (a great date activity!)” and there seems to be no doubt that “it provides well above-average food”; but there’s also a widespread acceptance that for a lingering meal, it’s “lacking in atmosphere”. Top eat-in option? “Bloody good pizza” with “crisp base and good toppings… why do other places find this so hard?”
Summary
“A great place for anything Italian” – Oscar Farinetti’s “huge” food mall concept has swept the world and its London outpost near Liverpool Street station (a relatively late arrival in 2021) boasts no fewer than 11 restaurants, bars and counters to feed you, alongside shops and stalls where you can pick up goodies to take home. Gastronomically, the sheer scale works against it, so even the flagship Terra elicits comparatively little praise, but the whole enterprise has a pleasant buzz; “staff work hard to please”; and simpler items in particular “benefit from the ready supply of super ingredients”.
Summary
Entrepreneur Oscar Farinetti’s glam food mall concept was a late arrival in London when it opened near Liverpool Street station in May 2021, given that he now has 42 scattered around the world. It offers a “fabulous selection of food and wine”, alongside three restaurants (headed by the flagship Terra, where the dramatic centrepiece grill is apparently fired by wood shipped in from Calabria). Immediately very busy, the offerings include “super pizza”, but, for a sceptical minority, “the whole place looks great but is merely a trap for wealthy, bored customers”.
Summary
The Square Mile continues to up its foodie credentials with the recent arrival of this “excellent Italian food emporium” near Liverpool Street “with a range of bars and restaurants within”. Eataly was founded in 2004 by entrepreneur Oscar Farinetti and now has 35 megastores worldwide, including in Tokyo and New York. It finally opened here in London in May 2021, and very early days survey feedback on ‘Terra’, its pizza and pasta restaurant, was upbeat: “it has a small menu of handmade pastas, wood-fired pizzas, and also specialises in different types of mozzarellas. The food was very good. Service was friendly and the setting busy and buzzy”.
For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Eataly?
135 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M 3YD
Restaurant details
Eataly Restaurant Diner Reviews
"A bad experience here. Although ingredients are good, cooking is below average. The staff were snooty before we sat down (the security staff acted like they were guarding royalty rather than a shopping complex). Pasta was dry, arancini was still frozen in the middle, staff did not act empathetically. The terrace overlooks Bishopsgate, a busy main road, so you can soak up the City’s busy atmosphere, including copious police sirens. You leave feeling you’ve had a poor and expensive experience. "
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £25.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £2.95 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Service | 10.00% |
135 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M 3YD
Opening hours
| Monday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5:30 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Tuesday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5:30 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Wednesday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5:30 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5:30 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Friday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5:30 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Saturday | 11:30 am‑2:30 pm, 5:30 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Sunday | 11:30 am‑3:30 pm, 5:30 pm‑8:30 pm |
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