3 days ago
Eataly opens in Aventura this week. Here's what the Italian marketplace looks like
The question you must ask yourself when you visit at the new Eataly at the Aventura Mall isn't where to start.
It's where to stop.
Will a basket suffice? Or do you need a cart? The aisles are filled with so many Italian delights to take home that it's hard to say. Pistachio spread. Calabrian hot chili peppers. Pesto potato chips. Meat and cheeses. Italian cookies and candies. Olives and oils and Italian wines of every hue.
There's yellow cherry tomato sauce. Fresh produce and bread. To-go salads topped with piquant salamis, tiramisu perfectly portioned for four or more (you can pretend to your dinner guests that you made it). And pasta. So much pasta, boxed, dried and fresh, every shape, every size, a wild riot of dazzling carbohydrate color.
The global Italian marketplace and retail shop opens its doors to the public at 3 p.m. June 12 with all the aforementioned items and more, two full-service restaurants and a private dining room available for rental.
La Pizza & La Pasta sits on one side of the 30,000-square-foot space, behind the produce section, while Il Pastaio Di Eataly is strategically located in the heart of the market. It's got tables for groups of more than two, but there's also a long counter where you can watch pasta being made as you sip your favorite Barolo.
You can reserve seats at either restaurant, although Eataly will leave a few tables open for walk ins. This is a mall, after all.
If you're not in the mood for a full sitdown meal, order a smaller snack at one of the grab-and-go counters, which serve gorgeous pizzas, gelato, coffee drinks or pastries and baked goods. There are seats near the counters if you don't want to venture far, or you can sit outside the marketplace in the mall, at tables illuminated by a skylight and blessedly air-conditioned (al fresco dining being vastly overrated commodity in South Florida).
The wine shop features Italian wine, naturally, from every region, with a special 'Riserva' room for high-end wines you won't find elsewhere in South Florida.
Eataly is located near Nordstrom on the third floor. You can park in the parking lot on the south side of the mall near the Esplanade at Aventura and enter through the ground floor. You'll pass the small area that will be home to cooking classes and ride up the long escalator straight into the wine department (call it a stairway to heaven).
You can also access the market via an escalator on the second floor near Nordstrom or come straight in from the third floor of the Nordstrom garage.
Once it's open, the marketplace will be hosting 10 days of free programming starting June 13, with wine tastings and producer demonstrations and more.
Created by Oscar Farinetti in 2007 in Torino, Italy, in an abandoned vermouth factory, Eataly first came to the United States in 2010 — in New York, of course — and now has more than 40 locations around the globe. This is the first Florida location but not the last: Eataly West Palm Beach is due to open sometime in the fall.
Eataly Aventura
Where: Aventura Mall, 19501 Biscayne Blvd., Aventura
Opening: 3 p.m. June 12
Hours: 8:30 am - 10 pm Sunday–Thursday; 8:30 a.m.–11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Full schedule of free programming:
Reservations for La Pizza and Pasta and Il Pastaio Di Eataly: OpenTable
More information:
