Eataly is Now Open in Los Angeles, & It’s a Cheese-Lover’s Dream

The world’s largest Italian marketplace is now only a short drive from campus.

Eataly L.A. hosted its Grand Opening at the Westfield Century City mall on Friday, welcoming guests with samples of pizza, fresh mozzarella, glasses of wine, al dente pasta and salami galore. It’s the first West Coast location of Eataly, which serves up hot Italian food or allows shoppers to purchase ingredients to prepare dishes at home. Basically, it’s a carb-lover’s dream come true. 

Mario Batali, Sophia Bush, Jimmy Kimmel and Mayor Eric Garcetti were among those to celebrate with the pasta ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday. We were there and absolutely loving everything from the huge rounds of cheese to the tiramisu gelato. Here’s why we’d rate Eataly a 10 out of 10 experience: 

Eataly makes you want to visit Italy even more than before. With two floors filled to the brim with every Italian staple you can think of, it was truly a tomato and cheese haven. Eataly serves authentic pasta, pizza, espresso and desserts that you can eat at tables located throughout the store or on the incredible balcony overlooking Beverly Hills. The rest of the space is filled with fresh cheese, imported wine, pasta, cookies, bread, produce and fish that you can purchase and take home.

The dark chocolate and orange gelato was not overly sweet and had a slight hint of orange so it wasn’t overpowering. A favorite slice of pizza was topped with salami, mozzarella and basil. But the pasta and the homemade mozzarella—YES! The pasta was cooked extremely al dente, which is exactly the way I love it. The sauce had an incredible basil flavor and was topped with fresh ricotta, something I did not realize I needed in my life until now. The mozzarella balls were so flavorful and nowhere near as salty as the mozzarella you purchase in commercial grocery stores.

While keeping with the authentic Italian vibe, Eataly was clearly designed to be amongst the hustle and bustle of our greatest cities. The interior designs were trendy and contemporary—and the views from the top floor were stunning!

You’d expect the grand opening of a new market to be complete chaos, but it was a very well-organized event, something I always admire as an event planner-wannabe. The lines moved quickly as we waited to try all the delicious samples. From top to bottom, the shelves were stocked with what looked like Pinterest-worthy recipe foods, not to mention the fact that all the products made for great photos. I will definitely be posting a photo on my Instagram later of all of the different pastas. I can only imagine the success Eataly will have in the coming months as the holidays near. Their wide variety of foods, wine and other cooking products and supplies will make the perfect holiday gifts. The atmosphere also makes for an ideal first date spot, because there would never be an awkward moment in a place that has so much to eat, do, and see!

 We’d recommend Eataly to anyone who loves Italian food and is looking for incredibly authentic cuisine. Eataly blew my mind, and I eat homemade Italian food when I go home for the holidays. Believe it or not, two hours was not enough. I will definitely be returning to Eataly in the near future to show it off to my family—and to try those cannolis.

• carbs
• cheese
• eataly
• food
• foodie
• italy
• los angeles
• pasta
• pizza
• UCLA