Eat.it

Came for a very late lunch with a friend — arrived around 3.45pm. The first thing I noticed was that the pasta counter, which I had been highly anticipating, was closed. The server let me know that it would reopen for dinner service at 5:30. That was a bummer, but the place proceeded to impress me in several ways afterward.
First of all, there was a pizza on offer, at $ 32 for a rather generous square pan slice, with no cheese. For a lactose-​free diner like myself, this is a big pro.
Second, the order system is nicely designed. When you enter, you get a card which acts rather like a card in a University dining hall. There are several stations offering different foods, and the card is swiped for everything you order, which stores the value of that thing. At the end, you pay for what you ate. I enjoyed an antipasti (olives, sundries tomato, and anchovy) and a fresh bread (warmed and sliced to order), and my total came to $ 40. Not too bad for a late lunch/​snack. Nice ambience as well.
Like other places in Causeway, especially near Fashion Walk, the prices are a bit too high for my ideal. But it’s a nice place to sit down and has a very versatile menu. I may be back.

Wow! From the moment you enter, you can tell this is a unique dinning scene for HK. Very stylish but fun and inviting décor in the «outside» area that greets you and carries through the inside section.
The concept is a bit different where upon entering you are given a card to scan when you order your items at the various counter — pastas, entrees, pizzas, salads, desserts/​drinks etc — and then you pay at the end. Kind of like a hip/​fancy Italian food court. Don’t worry though, all prices are presented clearly when you order. You’re given a number to place on your table and the staff will deliver your food when it’s ready.
The service is very impressive and amazing by HK standards — extremely well organized and coordinated with headsets. The host will greet you and give you a detailed explanation of how thugs work as you enter and then radio for a table (no reservations) before passing you to someone you will guide you to your table.
I really loved being able to get up and walk around to the different counters to see and pick what I wanted to eat. I felt a bit pressured at the Pasta counter trying to read and evaluate all of the options (picking and mixing pasta and sauce combinations and weighing against the recommended dishes) while there were other people queuing up behind me, but it’s all part of the fun!
Everything we ordered was delicious! The pappardelle pasta was so fresh — no question the best pasta I’ve had in HK. The calzone dough was also the best I’ve had in HK. Although it would have been great to pick my own ingredients, I know it takes much longer to cook fresh and I was not disappointed with the Veggie Calzone. The salad could have used a bit more dressing as some bites were dry, but I wasn’t there for the salad anyways :). We ended with the Honey Cheesecake on the recommendation that it’s lighter than the traditional cheesecake that they also have. It was much lighter and had a nice taste of honey for sweetness instead of the thick ricotta flavor.
Coming from NYC, I can easily say this is seriously some great Italian food. Although the concept is similar to (and probably modeled after) Mario Batali’s Eataly in NYC, but Eat. It focuses more on eating/​dinning than serving as a store and is much more intimate and less crowded! I would steer clear of Eataly as it was a major tourist trap, but I will definitely be coming back here!

It is a cool different dining experience for HK. Cafeteria style — walk in, grab a charge card, order food from the various stations, let them swipe your card each time, and pay on your way out after you finish your meal. From my memory, stations include (in the order of appearance as you enter) a bar, dessert, antipasti, pizza, pasta and panini. From the pasta stations, you can either order from the daily specials or make your own from a list of noodles and sauces.
My pasta was not bad. It was made to order, and I thought the olive oil they used was fantastic! Also tried the banana cream pie with coffee and they were not bad. The pizza was my least favorite. It wasn’t made to order but they still gave me a pager for picking up my slice 5 minutes later.
There is ‘outdoor seating’ in the ‘patio’ area that are suitable for larger groups. Looked like a great place to hang out in a lazy afternoon. Definitely a family and kids friendly place.
Bottled water are kept inside the Smeg fridges, which I thought was a bit confusing coz the fridges were also for sale. I also felt like I was being rushed when the staff at the bar asked for my charge card before I could decide what to order. The layout might feel confusing at first, but they make sure there is a staff person around to help you figure it all out.
I want to like this place but I keep feeling that something about it doesn’t sit well with me. They try to be a market place with things like candy bars, dried pastas, crackers and Smeg fridges for sale, and that just gets distracting. The antipasti station and pizza station always look a bit sad and no one is ever stationed there for me to ask a question. I don’t really like holding the charge cards and pages since I am also not sure how often they get cleaned…

I am from New York and live now in HK.
The Pizza, Pasta, Décor, Veg, meats dessert’
Wine. Brought me back to the quality food I love.
If you have ever been in Italy, you will feel at home.
HK has a new gem.