Behind the scenes at Eataly London

Thea Everett

Deputy editor (audiences) Thea loves to be in the kitchen and has a particular interest in cooking on a budget and deep frying. She thinks Sri Lankan and Indian food is the food of the gods. Discover her recipes and tune in to our Instagram feed, which she runs on a daily basis.

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With an-in house bakery, patisserie, mozzarella lab, salumi store, pizzeria, and three restaurants alongside the modus operandi – the shop – Eataly is a MARVEL of a destination for lovers of Italian food. So it’s fair to say that we were over the moon when the London branch opened in Liverpool Street last year.

The store expands over nearly an acre, houses over 5000 products and has seen over 3 MILLION people walk through its doors since opening in April 2021. See what all the fuss is about for yourself, and read on, prontissimo!

The store

Eataly London is just one of the company’s 40 shops around the world, and it boasts an astonishing 5000 items. From rare Italian salumi to Natoora vegetables, homemade pasta, pistachio spreads and more, the shop is full to the brim with goodies, and you could spend hours perusing the 42,000 square feet. With live demonstrations, tastings, open kitchens and production labs throughout the store, Eataly offers a sensory experience that some have likened to a theme-park for Italophiles, and they’re not wrong…

Fresh pasta bar

Watch fresh pasta being made by the pastai (pasta makers). Simple ingredients become intricate pasta shapes right in front of your eyes, and the pasta experts are on hand to offer cooking suggestions and advice for all the freshly-shaped pasta your heart could desire. From orecchiette to farfalle – you can’t go wrong.

La Pasticceria

We can’t not mention the Pasticceria… A real Disney-land for those who love Italian food, the pastry tunnel is lit like the Christmas markets of Puglia, specifically Bari. This section houses Eataly’s own pastry chefs, who spend the day crafting a selection of Italian dolci: from cannoli and maritozzi to torta to traditional desserts like tiramisu. You can watch them bake, and pick up a box of pasticcini à la Tony Soprano, or browse heritage brands of chocolate and sweet treats which adorn the colourful tunnel. Your friends and family WILL thank you.

Sustainability

From finding a local milk supplier to make their fresh cheeses, to using local sustainably-led greengrocers Natoora, Eataly haven’t let standards slip when it comes to sustainability within their London store.

A lot of mozzarella is produced from curd, but Eataly chose to make their fresh cheeses from milk, meaning it needed to be done with extremely fresh UK milk. They chose Rivermead Dairy in Devon, a family-run farm since 1989, who are committed to producing quality product from the highest ethical and welfare standards possible. Raw milk is delivered each day to become mozzarella, burrata, ricotta and other fresh cheeses found in Eataly’s shops and restaurants, reducing waste and fulfilling an ethos of cooking what they sell, and selling what they cook.

The bakery

Fresh bread is always a joy, and the head baker at Eataly takes his loaves very seriously. He bought his 15-year-old mother sourdough starter over from Italy and rarely leaves its side, even on Christmas Eve. The starter has been with the company since the beginning, and Francesco is not about to let it go AWOL now. The in-house campana, focaccia Genovese, and sweet breads are all made with top quality flour by Italian company Mulino Marino, and the bread oven was even brought all the way from Italy too.

The winery

Whether you’re a Barolo nerd or a Chianti queen, the wine cellar at Eataly (confusingly on the 1st floor), houses over 2000 labels of wine. Their selection includes red, white, sparkling orange and organic wines from all the regions of Italy, as well as a range of Italian beers and spirits, and covers a range of price points.

For real wine fans, Eataly’s wine classes offer the chance to go in-depth and learn even more. In 2021, the brand held their Prosecco Festival, bringing over producers from Italy to share their knowledge and passion with UK customers, and more of the same is set to come…

The restaurants

Why have one restaurant when you could have three? Eataly London take food seriously, including cooking it. Pasta e Pizza is just what it sounds like: the two classics of Italian cuisine under one roof. Pizza dough is leavened for 50 hours in total, and homemade pasta is served just al dente. Terra is all about the grill: expect simple seasonal flavours and perfectly cooked steak. The gorgonzola and maritozzo cart are also not to be missed – a roving wheel of gorgonzola, making its way around the restaurant, for guests to have scooped out on to their plates and topped with a variety of additions including walnuts, dried figs and Italian honey… Urm, yes please.

As the name suggests, Al Fresco is Eataly’s outside option. The menu offers a selection of antipasti and nibbles, carbs by the truckload (fresh pasta, Roman-style pizza, Pizza alla Pala, and focaccia galore). All the dishes are perfect with a spritz, or a glass of Italian wine in the sunshine!

The workshops

From wine classes to baking, cheesemaking to risotto classes, Eataly’s workshops are by no means an add-on: they are serious stuff. Whether you are looking for a group activity or just fancy a different kind of date-night, these events are sure to offer something new and interesting to try. And you get to eat at them too, what more do you want? Ask in-store what’s coming up, or explore the upcoming schedule on Eventbrite.

Order online and find out more about Eataly at their website here.