Eataly - Sad and Awful

Americas - USA West Los Angeles
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Eataly has devolved into a sad caricature and tourist trap, and after today’s experience, I have vowed never to set foot inside again.

When Eataly opened in late 2017, there was Jason Neroni’s kiosk which was excellent and of course Michael Cimarusti’s restaurant, which may not have been earth shattering, but given the options in the area, was a welcome addition. Neither restaurant survived the pandemic.

This afternoon I was at the mall and wanted to grab a late lunch, so I stopped by the Rosticceria counter inside Eataly and ordered roast chicken and brussels sprouts (you get to choose one side and I chose brussels sprouts). The chicken was inedible – dry and tasteless. Maybe the NYC Eataly has gone downhill as well, but back in the day, one of my favorite things was the rotisserie chicken at the Flatiron store, so it is hard to understand the awful chicken in Century City. The Eataly Century City chicken makes Costco rotisserie chicken seem like Michelin quality food. Heck, it makes Ralph’s chicken seem like Michelin. I literally couldn’t choke it down and was going to leave the whole thing, but then I remembered one person who I thought might appreciate dry and tasteless chicken. Yes, that’s right my dog. So I packed the chicken up to give to the dog when I got home and he didn’t seem to mind, although I made sure to soak it in chicken broth so he wouldn’t choke. The brussels sprouts were edible, but not much more.

Equally as bad, I ordered a glass of white wine and it was brought to me warm. Surely a mistake I thought – the counter guy must have opened a new bottle that hadn’t yet been chilled – so I brought the wine back to the counter. The befuddled young kid who must have been just barely of legal age to serve alcohol explained that they have no means to chill wine at the Rosticceria so they serve everything unchilled. He seemed flummoxed when I put the warm white wine on the counter and asked him to replace it with a glass of red wine, although he complied. Surely even all the foreign tourists I saw today at Eataly who are not from wine growing countries are sophisticated enough to know that white wine is not served warm?

Last week, I had an overpriced mediocre meal at Terra and earlier this year a mediocre overpriced meal at Capri, the restaurant that replaced Michael Cimarusti’s space.

Why can’t we have nice things in Century City? Is the rent too high and the unknowing tourists so plentiful as to ensure lack of quality food?

On the way out of Eataly, I passed by Knotted and thought I would try a donut to get rid of the horrible taste of Eataly’s chicken. Alas, Knotted had not a single donut at 5 p.m. and the workers were busy folding boxes. Anyone know where the donuts are made? Presumably off premises and ferried to the store at intervals.

Usual long line at Chagee, which I would have tried if there had not been a line because I am still mystified as why people wait on line for iced tea and I wanted to experience it for my myself.

Downstairs, I passed by Laderach, a new Swiss candy store, which has chocolate brittle bark candies. They gave me a sample of a milk chocolate brittle that they said was their best seller. It tasted okay when I ate it, but it left an unpleasant aftertaste. So instead I headed to See’s, bought two small candies and got my free sample of a third candy (I had completely forgotten that you always get a free sample at See’s). Much happier at See’s than at Laderach.

South part of mall dead as usual. Not a soul at Cafe Landwer, one set of diners at Sweetgreen and a few people drinking at True Food Kitchen, but no one dining.

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If I go to the Century City mall, I go for Gelson’s, and that’s it. After my last few eating experiences there (which were so bleh that they aren’t even worth summarizing), I’ve kind of decided that I don’t want to eat there (which isn’t such a big deal b/c the place in general gives me a rash).

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Hilarious post. Genuinely shocked you expected anything else at a mall. You can get a decent fast food burger at Shake Shack, a good bowl of Ramen at Nagi, Hot Pot at Hai Di Lao, and there’s Din Tai Fung. Not too shabby in my book.

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I eat at Din Tai Fung at CC. I miss Stage Deli and also Gulfstream. sigh

I used to go to Eataly just to get their (once yummy) prepared meals, even those have become inedible. Now I go there only to get Vencchi chocolate bars (the best chocolate bar in the world).

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I like eataly butcher and fish counter

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My understanding is that all the recipes come from a corporate Chef team somewhere and locally there is no room to deviate from that. So theoretically all the Eataly’s should taste the same (yay) I’m guessing that in the past that might not always have been the case with the local chefs you mentioned.

Personality I go once in a while for olive oil, canned goods, specialty Italian flours. They sometimes have nice produce.

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I have heard the opposite that even today each Eataly can serve their own “creation” and have quite autonomy on their menu

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Eataly is still a decent spot for cheese and charcuterie if you don’t want to deal with the hassle of Cheese Store BH.

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The gelato is always good at Eataly

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I’ve always looked at Eataly as somewhere for grocery shopping for particular Italian items or for nice seafood / butchery (prefer Creekstone to Double R Ranch) / produce in one stop shop. I like that they have a bunch of salumis (and various guanciale, nduja, etc.), cheeses, fresh pastas, dried pastas and the like (where I can get Gustarosso tomatoes or Mancini pasta on the regular; they stopped carrying Cavalieri). The restaurants or prepared food have never really been a draw.

EDIT: the tiramisu is excellent. It’s available in the refrigerated case, too, near the homemade sauces, so you don’t have to wait / tip at the dessert counter.

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The food at the bar on the roof has always been good for me. I don’t think I ever got anything from the food court, only groceries, cheese, and salumi.

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I know back in the day, the chickens at Eataly in NYC came from Pennsylvania, which obviously isn’t going to be the case for chickens in the L.A. store, but even counting that there could be access to better chickens on the East Coast, I don’t think the difference in quality between the NYC and L.A. chickens are just the chicken itself, as opposed to the seasoning and cooking. Maybe NYC has gone downhill as well – haven’t been since before the pandemic.

Although I was thinking this morning when my dog happily polished off the rest of the Eataly chicken, that I shouldn’t be so querulous and that Eataly is actually a source of economical dog food versus bougie pet brands like Just Food for Dogs. Just Food for Dogs is so expensive for a big dog that buying a $16 half chicken at Eataly is actually cheaper. And my dog was more excited by the Eataly chicken than by Just Food for Dogs. :slight_smile:

Anyone know if anything at the Rosticceria is better than dog food? I wanted something quick and wasn’t in the mood for a slice of pizza. Nothing else looked particularly appetizing, but it is possible that there are other things at the Rosticceria that are better than the chicken.

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I miss from my childhood Clifton’s and Bob’s Big Boy at the Century City mall. It seemed easier back in the day to get decent quality down or mid-market food in shopping malls. The fried chicken at Bob’s Big Boy was actually good. And Clifton’s was a wonderland.

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I’m a Gelson’s shopper myself because versus Ralph’s or Pavillions, Gelson’s is more likely to have the brands I want, but one tragedy of Gelson’s is how truly awful the sushi is versus years ago when it was decent for supermarket sushi. They changed purveyors many years ago and now it literally tastes like it is sprayed down with some weird chemicals that alters the flavor and texture. A few weeks ago I was shopping in the late afternoon at the Gelson’s on Olympic and Bundy and I was starving, so I made the mistake of sitting down and ordering sushi at the dining bar. They have an actual menu and they will make it for you to order, but it was a bad as the stuff prepackaged on the shelves. Like truly bad – maybe the worst sushi I have had in my life. The Saturday Night Live skit about La Guardia airport sushi comes to mind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d7Vk_qaiB8

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Bacio di Latte > Eataly when it comes to gelato at Century City Mall…

(Non-Japanese) supermarket sushi is awful, no matter what the supermarket…

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I think the sushi is edible at Bristol Farms; head and heels more edible than Gelson’s. I can’t say I have tried any other general supermarket sushi.

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The prepared food at Eataly is mediocre, but I find Terra to be pretty good, and I even think the pizza/pasta restaurant is a solid option. Can’t speak for Capri.

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Oh, wow. Partner and I were thinking of trying it b/c it looks nice and is open late, but maybe not, after reading this…

One of the employees at the deli counter gave me an attitude when she worked at the Santa Monica location (resulting in the only time I have ever contacted management to complain about an employee), so the Olympic/Bundy location doesn’t do it for me… BTW, the bakery there is now “Manolo’s,” rather the Viktor Benes.

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Yep, I fell for the Gelson’s bar area looks so inviting, let me give it a try, how bad can it be? They also have hamburgers. Maybe the hamburgers are better? When I was sitting at the bar having sushi, someone on the other side of the bar was having a hamburger. Maybe that should have been my first clue – don’t eat sushi where they are also serving hamburgers. Although I attended a bar mitzvah lunch this year where they served sushi alongside all the traditional stuff you usually see at a synagogue luncheon and that kosher sushi was like 1000% better than Gelson’s sushi. That just gives you an idea how awful the sushi is at Gelson’s. :frowning:

Speaking of sushi, before I went for lunch at Eataly this weekend, I was really craving sushi and I saw online that there are now two sushi places at the Century City mall. I knew the one inside the food court was not good, but I was thinking the second sushi bar might be better. I believe it’s on the second floor outside the food court. However, after reading the Yelp reviews, I ended up at Eataly for lunch instead.

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respectfully i think supermarket sushi outside of Japan is a nonstarter. expectations have to be set pretty low; the mechanics just don’t really work or add up to passable sushi in real life. the rice is pretty off and the cuts are just weird. the packet soy and fake wasabi are atrocious pretty much always.

poke is a different matter, of course not sushi, but let’s say supermarket sushi-adjacent. Bristol Farms’ poke isn’t bad, especially when they have BOGO and get there early - good for parties.

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