La Pizza & La Pasta at Eataly Chicago

Overall: 3.6Service: 4Food: 4Value: 3Entree: Rigatoni All'AmatricianaThis is what you'd expect from a restaurant in an Eataly. Kind of like an upscale foodcourt. The guanciale and pasta were cooked perfectly but the sauce was a bit soupy and lacking any bold flavor.

Having visited to the other Eataly locations (LA, New York, and Boston), I really wanted to try its Chicago counterpart. Unfortunately, my experience fell short this time. I can't find a better word to describe it other than "MEH". Firstly, my friend and I had to wait over 10 minutes after we got seated for a server to greet us. Second, when the food came, both our pastas were undercooked. Not to mention, the presentation of my ravioli looks awful. It looked like someone just threw a dollop of cream on my plate and sent it off. Service was MEH, food was MEH, and sadly it made both our stomach felt MEH. Eataly is usually a favorite, but I'd skip the Chicago location.

All I can say is, Yep. Oh yeah. Give me more.If you're looking for a cheap, Italian chain restaurant where they'll bring you three pounds of uninspired pasta and breadsticks, this probably isn't the best place to come. What you'll get here is a well curated menu that features several hand-crafted pasta dishes and specialties. The service was great, and you can't beat the ambiance. It's located inside Eataly in Chicago, where you're literally surrounded by a tsunami of Italian smells and flavors. I'm already formulating a plan to call-in sick at work, just so I can go back.

Is it loud? Yes. Is it packed? Yes. Is the service rushed? Also yes. But is the food absolutely amazing. Duh! Perfectly al dente pasta and crispy, juicy chicken milanese you just can't get anywhere else. Paired with unique cocktails and a plethora of Italian wines, go for the food. It's worth it.

Let's get this straight, the food was easily the best part of the dining experience. It sets the bar high for Italian food. What was missing throughout the evening was good service, hence the rating. It took 10 minutes to get water and then we had to ask around for a server to assist us. We had to request napkins and extra utensils. It was a letdown. I would give this spot a second chance for the food alone, the one saving grace.

3.5 starsAfter having other Italian restaurants in the area, Eataly really didn't leave much of a (good) impression. We made a reservation on a Sunday night for 7 pm. We got the fried calamari to start. This was fine. The portion was not that large. Probably 1/3 zucchini and 2/3 calamari. I actually quite enjoyed the zucchini and the lemon aioli was very flavorful. Although there was a lot more breading than actual squid. For mains...Rigatoni alla carbonara: Pasta was perfectly al dente, but THE SALT. IT WAS SO SALTY. Guanciale is obviously naturally salty, but my first bite was just pasta alone. It tasted like if the chef accidentally put 1 tablespoon of salt instead of 1 teaspoon of salt. The salt + cheese + guanciale made the dish extremely hard to eat. Pappardelle alla fungi: best flavor out of the three pastas, but the worst plating. For a nice place, this dish was plopped messily on a dish that didn't match the rest of our pasta dishes. It literally looked slapped onto the plate and brought out. There were multiple types of mushrooms and had a well-profiled flavor. Linguini alla scoglio: we had to send this dish back. This pasta wasn't just al dente, it tasted like it was barely cooked. It took quite a bit of back and forth with the waiter to convince him that it literally tasted like we were eating parboiled pasta. It was so tough and hard to chew. There was a nice seafood flavor to the dish. It must've been straight out of the sea because there was actual sand in the mussels and clams. There was a good amount of seafood though.

Inside Eataly I asked were could I get a good pasta dish and I was directed upstairs to La Pizza & La Pasta. It's been awhile since I've been to an fine Italian restaurant besides Olive Garden, lol, so I thought my food was amazing. The waiter was very helpful with selecting an entree from the menu. I ordered the "Lo Spaghetto al Pomodoro" with added stracciatella. Stracciatella is like a fine almost liquid mozzarella cheese. The soft cheese placed on top of it all just kind of oozed across the hot pasta and melded well with everything. The pasta was fresh and al dente. The tomato sauce was robust and full of flavor. I used the complimentary Italian bread to soak up some of the delicious red sauce. I could only imagine how great it would be to have lunch in Italy. This was just the type of dish I had a craving for!I wanted to try an aperitivi cocktail and wanted something fruity. The Italian Punch was recommended by the waiter and I enjoyed this moderately sweet light fizzy beverage as well. It had the taste of orange and pineapple juice mixed with Italian soda. Since I loved my food, I could easily have the same thing again or try something with a white cream sauce.

Very good pasta, fresh and flavors on point. Service was good all the staff is friendly and attentive. I tried a funghi mushroom special for appetizer and gnocchi for entree. The mushrooms was phenomenal scored and grilled with oil and balsamic. For beverages I tried an italian imported beer a light pilsner that went well with the pasta. Overall great experience and authentic Italian dishe

Stopped in for a solo lunch on a Thursday. Had the pepperoni pizza and some kind of spritzer.Pizza was good! The lemon aid spritzer was sooo good!Restaurant is upstairs. Service & Food were prompt and delish!

This pizza & pasta place located inside of Eataly was so delicious!!!! We went on a Saturday night with no reservation and were pleasantly surprised when they were able to seat us right away. The service was great and our food came out really fast. They brought out complimentary bread right away that was served with olive oil. The bread was soooo fresh, it was hard not to keep eating. My favorite thing was the Cavolo Nero salad. It had kale, shaved bressel sprouts, golden raisins and bread crumbs. What made it so good was the dressing though. I wish I knew what was in it, so I could recreate it at home. It made the whole salad. Even my mom liked it and she doesn't like vegetables. Our pizzas were great too! Neapolitan is my favorite style of pizza, so I had a feeling I was going to be a fan. The dough was just as fresh as the bread and super soft on the inside. Loved that the Verduretta was topped with a ton of veggies and not overly cheesy. I will be back to try more things!!!