La Pizza & La Pasta

Terrific interpretation of an Italian bistro. Great pizzas that come out quickly from the superheated copper ovens. Also, one of the best lasagnes you’ll ever have at this price point.

I had spaghetti and it was the worst I’ve ever had. The waiter said there will only be pepper and cheese, so I expected that the noodle will be fresh and good with such a simple sauce. But the noodle is so hard to chew that it’s raw in the middle! The taste is also very flat. With same price there’re lots of much better pasta in loop.

So fabulous. Great service, food and wine. A definite «must visit» in Chicago. Possibly the best meal we had.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch here. We arrived at the peak of lunch hour on a Friday afternoon, but didn’t have to wait for a table.
First they brought out fresh baked bread with olive oil. I was very impressed by the olive oil since I’m an olive oil snob. This was definitely quality olive oil. The bread was okay, but not as exciting as I expected for fresh baked bread. We started with the fresh mozzerella which I loved and my husband hated. This is best enjoyed by someone that appreciates fresh foods.
My husband had the Agnolotti which was a meat filled pasta. The taste was incredible and the pasta was cooked to perfection. I had the Quadrati which was cheese and spinach ravioli topped with a lemon and pistachio butter. Pistachio is so underused so I was excited to see this option. Just like the other pasta it was perfectly cooked and the flavor was wonderful. It was slightly sweet and the sauce was delicious.
The food was a little pricey for the portions even for a downtown eatery, but overall the food was very good.

Not sure where to eat in Eataly? I wasn’t either since there are just so many options. So I decided to Google «Best Places to Eat in Eataly» and this place popped up a few times so we ended up going here. They open at 11am, but there was a line at 1050am to get seated which was good news.
Upon getting seated, we were served bread slices with olive oil. Pretty good, but where was the balsamic!!!
Salumi Antipasto: Meh. 4 slices of prosciutto and 4 slices of 2 types of salami with 2 tiny slabs of cheese. For $ 17, I would expect a little more. I wouldn’t get this again — not worth it.
Pappardelle Pasta with Tomato Sauce, Mushroom and Basil: Amazing. I don’t think I’ve had pasta this good. It was perfectly al dente, perfect sauce to pasta ratio and very light. 5 stars!
Norcino Pizza: Cream sauce pasta. The crust on the edge was very crisp and charred which was good, but towards the middle it was very soggy and wet.
Overall, very good place. I definitely recommend their pastas as their are very fresh and cooked perfectly. Pizzas were average. Our waiter was super nice and friendly!

Not a whole lot of talking went on while we ate lunch here. The food was so delicious that neither of us took a breath as soon as it hit the table.
It was easier than I thought it would be to snag a spot. At the host stand I gave them my number and they said they would text in about 20 minutes when our table was ready. It ended up being closer to 10 which flew by as we filled our time browsing the store.
We got nervous at first because all of the chairs are those see through «ghost» plastic ones which, while very trendy, don’t look promising when holding up to someone my husbands size who is 6’11 and 300 pounds. Somehow he managed it though and we had a fabulous lunch.
We started with sparkling Italian water and their complimentary fresh bread and olive oil. They only bring three to four slices at a time but you can ask for more and they won’t charge extra. We also knew that we both wanted fresh pasta.
I wish I could remember the name of our waitress because she was excellent! She explained that the pastas on the left side of the menu where dried, while all the fresh pasta dishes were listed on the right. I went for a classic pappardelle with tomato sauce and basil and asked if they could leave off the mushrooms. It was absolutely stellar!
My husband got their special pasta dish of the day which was a braised short rib tagliatelle with Parmesan cheese. The meat was so tender that he could cut it with his fork, and the pasta was cooked to a perfect al dente and flavored nicely.
It was the first time in a while that I actually finished an entire plate of food without taking home leftovers. I feel no shame! We probably had an easier time eating here as it was in the middle of a weekday so fair warning that coming on a weekend will most likely yield longer wait times.

We went for dinner on a Friday night. We got a table a bit faster than the 40 minutes they suggested when we first arrived.
The dining area a integrated with the rest of Eataly. It is pretty loud, but we got a table close to the windows and it seemed slightly quieter.
We had both pizza and pasta both were good. I liked the thin crust on the pizza. The waiter was excellent. The appetizers were a bit slow in arriving and the manager came to apologize before we said anything, and he gave us few drinks. This was very thoughtful.
I would definitely go back next time I am in Chicago

After eating here several times, I’m a fan of this place especially when it comes to my italian cravings for fresh italian made from scratch pastas and pizzas. I often dream of the squid ink pasta and the variety of pizzas they serve. Of all the places to eat in Eataly, this is probably my favorite! I’ve taken several members of my family from out of town here and they all love it as well! One who has been to Italy and normally doesn’t like normal American pizza crusts said the crust is just like the pizzas she had in Italy– soft and fluffy!

Eataly is definitely a must stop when visiting Chicago (and the same applies when one is in NYC). And since I happened to go on a rainy day, this was the perfect place to spend a few hours dining, shopping and enjoying the whole place.
La Pizza & La Pasta, as the same indicates, is the pizza and pasta restaurant located within Eataly. They have tables and bar seating. I snagged a spot at the bar right in front of the pizza maker and the wood fire oven, so I got to see all the pizza-​making action.
I opted for the seafood squid ink pasta and it was delicious! The pasta was cooked to a perfect al dente. The sauce was flavorful. And there was plenty of seafood (shrimp, scallops, calamari, baby octopus). Delicious!
Service was spot on and friendly!
Don’t forget to go downstairs to the nutella crêpe bar for some desserts afterwards!

Shared the Quadratic with Robyn and a slice of the Fru Fru pizza paired with a Sangiovese and great friends. Noisy, high energy and loads of fun. Just as fun as NYC!

For work I only had one night in Chicago and even though I would have been cool with Chicago style pizza or a hot dog, the group ended up here. I was surprised how busy this place was on a Tuesday night. Do people in Chicago not cook at home?
Anyway, I went with the short rib tagliatelle because it was one of the few dishes that had actual meat in it. Overall, the dish was tasty, but needed more sauce and short rib. The short rib pieces weren’t that much bigger than bacon bits. My biggest complaint is that the dish came out on the cold side. I dinned with a relatively large party of 12, but that isn’t any excuse for serving food that is cold.
Mario Batali, I hope this was just an off night, because your food always looks so much better when you cook it on TV.

My husband and I had lunch here before leaving Chicago and it was one of the best, most memorable meals I’ve ever had. We had tried getting a pizza here on a Saturday and it was just too packed (and there was a 45 minute wait) so we came back on a Tuesday and were seated right away. The pizza we had was melt-​in-​your-​mouth perfection. It tasted just like in Italy, so authentic and wonderful. We also got a pasta dish, and I’m so glad we did! It was linguine, cooked perfectly, with mussels… everything tasted so fresh and delicious. It was the perfect note to leave Chicago on.

I went with a group of friends for dinner. Our server knew the menu well and helped us decide the order. We ordered the Margarita pizza, Spaghetti al pomodoro and romaine salad. The red wine we ordered so excellent, one of the finest I have had. The food and service was so good. I will be back soon.

I started with the cheese plate. Three varieties, Robiola, San Pietro and Gorgonzola and served with pear chutney. All were delicious, especially the Robiola, a soft, Brie-​like cheese.
For my entrée I had Tagliatelle al Ragù di Manzo. The sauce is made from beef short ribs. I’ve not had such an amazing sauce in a restaurant in a long time. I cannot recommend it enough.
Even the bread and dipping olive oil were great. So great in fact I bought a bottle of the variety used to take home. As others have said, Batali is a marketing genius and I fell (happily) right into his plan.
A pricey lunch but worth every penny. I’ll be back.

This is one of the multiple «eateries» located in the Eataly complex. On the weekends, get there right when they open as it’s certainly the most popular choice inside the market. Every seat was full within 15 minutes of their 11am opening time and the line was very long when we left.
Eataly is often crowded and it seems like they’re experts at churning people through, so I was pleasantly surprised at how fast food arrived and how good all of it was. We started with a cheese plate ($ 13) which included a soft Brie-​like cheese, a Gorgonzola and a hard Parmesan variety, long with some house made chutney. We liked all of the choices but the Brie was the favorite. Meals start with house baked bread and good quality olive oil.
The Mister ordered a salsiccia pizza ($ 16) that was generously topped with Italian sausage and sliced fresh mushrooms. Like pizzas we had in Italy, the crust is crunchy on the ends and lightly soggy in the center. It was a really good pizza — enough for a single person or splittable between two as a snack. I went with Cacio e Pepe pasta — it’s a super simple dish — just pecorino cheese and lots of fresh cracked pepper. This pasta was absolutely perfect — rich, creamy and exactly like versions I’ve had in Rome.
Wine prices range from $ 9 – 12 per glass and the pour was decent. Our server was really enthusiastic about their offerings and made good recommendations. Nothing at Eataly can be described as «cheap» but I did feel like the quality of everything we had was very high and it certainly was authentic.
On the plus side (for Mario Batali’s bottom line anyway) is that if you like what you have Eataly conveniently sells everything you need to make it at home. The man is a genius.

Stopped in for lunch. We figured having options for both pizza and pasta how could they go wrong? Well we were wrong. The prices were for a high end restaurant not a food establishment inside a grocery store. The appetizer selection was slim. We got the mozzarella balls. For I got the seafood pasta and my wife got the truffle tortellini (this was good). All in all you can eat at quartinos close by for about $ 30 less and get better food

Will not be back.
$ 100+ for two small pizzas and two pastas, 3 sodas was kind of to be expected — albeit poor value. The events of the evening were the real reason we won’t be back however.
An unfortunate server spilled a full glass of red wine on my friend. Ruined his dress shirt, possibly his suit-​pants, and also went over his briefcase.
Accidents happen — the young guy was very apologetic. No problem. Was unfortunate, but forgivable.
What wasn’t forgivable? The response from ‘management’. Totally pathetic.
Any self-​respecting restaurateur would have waived the bill.
This manager’s response was to:
1) charge full price (including the glass of wine that my friend didn’t get the opportunity to drink because it was allover his shirt, pants, and bag)
2) Offer her manager’s business card in case my friend «wanted them to help with dry-​cleaning» (tip: the shirt is ruined… you’re going to have to replace it).
‘Manager’ here is a misnomer because she certainly didn’t ‘manage’ the situation at all.
In the end another manager offered a dessert from downstairs and did make some effort to redeem the evening. He did however still charge full price for the meal — again, including the wine that was spilled allover my friend.
I am embarrassed for the owners/​managers of this place.
My advice: take a walk through, it’s a pretty store with nice displays. Take your business elsewhere though.

Delicious Margherita Pizza!
As soon as you’re seated you get hot fresh bread and a plate of olive oil. Yum!
We usually order 1 pizza and 1 pasta to share between my husband and I. (Always the marghertia). They cook the pizzas in huge stone ovens and serve them the same size as all pizza’s in Italy are generally served (1 pizza to feed 1 person). Super fluffy crust and thin skinny body of pizza with scrumptios sauce, fresh tomato, mozzarella cheese and a fresh basil leaf in the middle.
If there’s a wait, they will text you when your table is ready and you can go get a glass of wine or go shopping while you wait.

Margherita Pizza & Pappardelle con Funghi pasta
The pizza was fresh and so good! Wasn’t keen on the pasta. The taste and smell o the funghi was a bit strong.
The seating was a bit snug, but it is in a grocery shop.
I would love to try other pizzas one day.