Massachusetts

A Visit to Eataly Boston

A tour of Eataly Boston, the recently opened Italian food emporium that’s become a global juggernaut.

By Amy Traverso|May 01 2017| Print icon

Eataly Boston

A full butcher counter.

Credit: Amy Traverso
With a flurry of press coverage, Eataly Boston, the Italian food emporium helmed by New York celebrity chef/restaurateurs Mario Batali and Joe and Lidia Bastianich, opened its doors in the city’s Prudential Center in December of 2016. Maybe you visited the first U.S. Eataly in New York, when it opened in 2010. Or in Chicago in 2013. Or in Rome, Tokyo, Dubai, Istanbul, Monaco, or the original store in Turin, which opened in 2007. For lovers of Italian food, this food emporium has become a global juggernaut in less than ten years.
Eataly_sign
Credit: Amy Traverso
Just inside Eataly’s Boston entrance, a sign hints at the bounty of food inside.
Credit: Amy Traverso

A VISIT TO EATALY BOSTON

So what is Eataly Boston? A 45,000-square foot market with sit-down and take-out restaurants sprinkled throughout, it can be whatever you want: a dinner destination, a place to grab a sandwich or a gelato, or a highly functional grocery store supplying both Italian and locally-made staples and gourmet items. In fact, I was happy to see many New England-made products we’ve featured in our Editor’s Choice Food Awards over the years.
Eataly Boston

Romesco and other fancy cauliflowers from the Verdure department

Credit: Amy Traverso
Romesco and other fancy cauliflowers from the Verdure department.
Credit: Amy Traverso
Domestic and imported cheeses at every price point.

Domestic and imported cheeses at every price point.

Credit: Amy Traverso
Domestic and imported cheeses at every price point.
Credit: Amy Traverso
Eataly Boston

A full butcher counter.

Credit: Amy Traverso
A full butcher counter.
Credit: Amy Traverso
Eataly Boston

The focaccia bar.

Credit: Amy Traverso
The focaccia bar.
Credit: Amy Traverso
The diversity of products at Eataly Boston is dizzying: I found one shelf dedicated entirely to sauces, antipasti, and vinegars from Ponti, a Piemontese company headquartered a short distance from where my own great-grandparents were born (I filled up a basket right there). There are aisles of pasta and sauces, and olive oils organized by region–Liguria, Toscana, Abruzzo, Lazio, Marche, Umbria, Puglia, Calabria, Campagnia, Sicilia and Sardegna. Geographical names are usually left in the original Italian here, but the fully American staff are ready to help.
Eataly_aisle
Credit: Amy Traverso
A small corner of the Eataly pasta section.
Credit: Amy Traverso
Then there are the restaurants: Il Pesce, a seafood-centric eatery curated by Boston’s own Barbara Lynch, a pizza and pasta spot, a central plaza where diners can enjoy salumi, salads, oysters, and other snacks (it’s called, fittingly, La Piazza), and a sit-down restaurant called Terra. Sprinkled throughout, you’ll find assorted vendors, including two cafes, a cannoli cart, a crepe counter, mozzarella-making station, a sandwich stand, and a gelato bar. Oh, and there’s a cooking school with ticketed hands-on workshops and free tastings. Overwhelmed yet?
Eataly_restaurants
Credit: Amy Traverso
La Piazza, the eatery at the heart of the market
Credit: Amy Traverso
It is overwhelming, but it’s also tremendously fun to simply wander and take it all in. I heard a lot of “wows” and “Oh my Gods,” as crowds of downtown workers and tourists filled the aisles on the first full day of operation.
Eataly_desserts

Eataly

Credit: Amy Traverso
Fine desserts at the pasticceria.
Credit: Amy Traverso
I also heard a lot of Italian. Nothing can replace the charm of the North End’s small markets and butchers, but there were plenty of picky nonnas sussing out the quality of the meat and cheese.
Eataly_Nonnas
Credit: Amy Traverso
Two choosy Italian cooks at the new Eataly Boston.
Credit: Amy Traverso
For all the excitement, the opening of Eataly Boston wasn’t been without controversy. Some fear it will pull business away from the year-old Boston Public Market, which was 14 years in the making and is dedicated to selling only products grown or made in New England. I’d like to think that Boston is, at this point, a serious-enough food town to support both markets, just as New York sustains its Greenmarkets and emporiums. Sure, our fair city is much smaller, but these two markets are in distinctly different neighborhoods and fully accessibly by subway (though validated parking makes driving in surprisingly affordable). As for the North End, people go there for more than the cannoli. Eataly can’t replicate the salt-air smell or the old men feeding pigeons in the Paul Revere mall. If you don’t like lines, you’ll want to plan your visit around peak mealtime hours.
Eataly_vegetables
Credit: Amy Traverso
Artfully arranged veggies ready for home cooking at Eataly.
Credit: Amy Traverso
In press interviews, Mario Batali described Eataly as a long-term investment, something he hopes to weave into the fabric of Boston’s culinary scene. The emphasis on local goods and seafood will help, as will a well-traveled populace that happens to know and love great Italian cooking. My own visit left me inspired to head home and make a four-course Italian feast, a combination of prepared and from-scratch items that felt like a mid-week celebration. Eataly Boston. Prudential Center, 800 Boylston St., Boston. 617-807-7300; eataly.com This post was first published in 2016 and has been updated. 

SEE MORE: Christmas in Boston | Where to Stay, Eat, Shop & Celebrate the Season 5 Favorite North End Restaurants | Boston Dining Guide Best Places to Eat in Boston

Amy Traverso

Amy Traverso is the senior food editor at Yankee and cohost of the public television series Weekends with Yankee, a coproduction with GBH. Previously, she was food editor at Boston magazine and an associate food editor at Sunset magazine. Her work has also been published in The Boston Globe, Saveur, and Travel & Leisure, and she has appeared on Hallmark Home & Family, The Martha Stewart Show, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. Amy is the author of The Apple Lover’s Cookbook, which was a finalist for the Julia Child Award for best first-time author and won an IACP Cookbook Award in the “American” category.

More by Amy Traverso

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