Eataly — Restaurant in Paris

9.4.2023, afternoon A terrible experience. That was the worst service I ever received. Less than mediocre food and long waiting time for everything. "Piano Piano" is taken to a hardcore level. DO NOT EAT THERE.

Total disregard from the waiters' team ( they were 7, there were Fewer than 20 - I wanna say guests but for the team, we were even less than customers)

We ordered a mix of cheese and charcuterie board for starters, truffle pasta & pasta of the day for mains We took a bottle of sparkling water and a bottle of lemonade

The sparkling water arrived rather quickly, 20 min after the mixed cheese and charcuterie board We asked for a tab water bottle

We finished eating and waited over 20 minutes for someone to even notice it needs to be taken away When we finally got lucky enough to be noticed, the waiter took the dishes away and asked us if we want anything sweet, we said no and added that we are still waiting for the pasta In the same opportunity, we asked for a tap water bottle

25 minutes passed and the lemonade finally arrived (more than an hour from the moment we ordered it) obviously - we sent it away. We asked again for a tab water bottle we finally received it. The waiter asked us if everything ok, and we said no and explained the situation, he was very nice said he is sorry and explained about the shift change and information that passed badly. He left, to the kitchen to take the pasta from the section, the problem was, we saw the pasta sitting under the heat lamp for over 10 minutes, needless to say, when they arrive at the table, they were cold.

We had a few bites And left to pay. We've been asked how was our meal, we said it was a very bad experience and we will never return. In non of the moments above there was a solution offered. Worst than that, it seems like they didn't understand there was a problem even though we expressed it, in English and French.

We entered the restaurant happy and looking to have some fun, we left angry and sour.

Eataly team, you did not do your job well. Shame on you. I wish i could...

Actually I didn’t understand, which part of the building is the real Eataly, or everything around is belonging to that main shop/restaurant. But we found this little place and was not disappointed. It was delicious and note that portion are very big. 😋 will come back to know the place better.

Update Tonight (18/02/2022) was the third time we visited this beautiful place. The place is ordinary in essence, there is nothing special about it, except the quality of food and products.

The first time it was a small cafe, the second time it was a store where we stocked up on wonderful Italian food to cook "according to Italian traditions" upon our return to Russia. Today there was a cafe on the second floor. First of all we knew that they cook well there and we did not expect any tricks, we liked everything we ordered. But the place was very different today, not by the food, but by the people.

Many thanks to the young man in glasses, who told us about the game by qr code, and also gave us his time, we talked about the beautiful Italy.

But the one who was taking orders that evening and was the only one carrying a “magic” terminal, was very unhappy, obviously didn't want to talk to foreign tourists and behaved very arrogantly, and it is noticeable that not only with us.

At first we were simply ignored and we had to ask someone to take our order, then we did not look like the French, why should he mock us and speak French or pretend that he does not understand when we are trying to show respect and say the name of something in Italian, knowing it exactly. So, I think we were clearly not on the same wave. It would be better if there were more people to take the orders, girls actually,...

I was excited to visit Eataly in Paris, as I was familiar with other Eataly outlets in Italy and the U.S. This one is sadly disappointing from several standpoints. Starting with the service, which many here have already complained about. The staff, with few exceptions, seem totally disinterested and unknowledgeable about the very establishment where they work. As there are restaurants on both the lower and upper level, I asked the "hostess" at the entry how were the menus different, as I saw people downstairs eating pasta, but also saw that they had a pasta restaurant upstairs. Her reply, while frowning, slouching and mumbling was, "You need to look at the menu yourself to find out!" and then just turned away. The service was slow, unfriendly and disinterested, bordering on rude. The quality of the food was just average.

I think the problem here is making this sort of concept work in France, especially in Paris, a city where customer service is still far too often an unknown concept, often still reminding one of the former Soviet Union, with sad looking, grumpy, unsmiling, unmotivated staff who think that you should be grateful to them for being allowed to eat in the place.

I would assume that Eataly depends heavily on tourists and with this kind of indifferent, arrogant and rude service, I doubt that this place will still be there in 2 or 3 years. Sad, as this is a great concept, but an Italian emporium like this needs Italian warmth along with the food and wine. Without it, this place is just like putting a palm tree in the Arctic. It will never grow...