Your right - I’ve had a fascination for “food culture” for a long time. I wouldn’t consider myself a foodie - I grew up on overcooked roast beef and roast potatoes every Sunday. But I do enjoy going out to eat but I am not one to try a lot of new things or to spend a lot of money on a meal.

I take delight with the exploration of ‘food shopping. The marketing of the food adventure is something I enjoy and my wife often never understands why I would frequent some of the more expensive independant food shops in the city. So it should not come as a big surprise that I was eagerly awaiting the opening of https://www.eataly.ca/ in Toronto. To be able to combine some of my favourite things together - red wine, pizza and Italian food shopping - magnifico!

In April of 2016, the Globe and Mail reported that Toronto would be getting its first Eataly via a partnership with Eataly and the Weston family. The opening took place in November 2019 with tremendous fanfare. So, it was a long wait!

So what is Eataly? According to their website the first location opened in Torino Italy on January 27, 2007, by its creator Oscar Farinetti who had the idea that it be much more than a store. He wanted to create a school, a market, a table to gather around, a place to learn about food and, through food, about life. There are 35 locations across the world.

I first became aware of Eataly from visits to NYC, and so we had to make sure we had the opportunity to check out their main location in NYC. The 50,000 square foot emporium is located just off Madison Square Park. The concept is one stop shopping with a fishmonger, a butcher, espresso bar, wine store, cheese store, cooking school and a number of restaurants serving different types of food in various types of settings. It reminded me somewhat of my first trip to Dean & DeLuca (now gone) - a store with lots of expensive food and you could get a shot of coffee. There was a difference - Dean & De Luca was an upscale grocery store and you couldn’t go there for dinner.

Any trip to Eataly was worthwhile - I could sit and enjoy for hours and hours. Walking around with a glass of wine and looking at the Italian delicacies - many I could not even pronounce.

My next and more frequent experiences would come from my many visits to Chicago on business. Our USA office was located out by the airport (O’Hare) and if I arrived on a Sunday, I would take the train downtown and sit by the bar and order a glass of wine and a pizza. Years later, the office moved downtown, so the a visits became much easier.

The Chicago concept is a bit different than NYC because the its is spread out over two floors. The second floor hosts the restaurants, wine bar and a number of counters for you to stop and have a drink and enjoy while the first floor has the espresso bar, gelato and collections of neat and interesting kitchen accessories.

So what about Toronto? Well, get ready to enter a cornucopia of different types of Italian food - over 100 kinds of olive oils, aisles of fresh pasta and hundreds of different types of cheese.

Eataly Toronto is located at the south east corner of Bay and Bloor affectionally known as the mink-mile. There are three floors for you to experience - the basement has a brewery and beer bar. When you enter the main floor you will see a large coffee bar called “II Gran Caffe IIIy where you can find different types of coffees, home made pastries and diverse types of sandwiches.

You take an escalator upstairs where you will find the four sit-down restaurants and various other types of eateries - from sit-down to counter style.

I correctly assumed that it was be crazy busy the first week and of course, I was right. There were lineups from day one and since then it really hasn’t slowed down that much. It wasn’t very comfortable the first month or so because you had to watch for flying elbows when you walked around. Clearly Eataly has become a tourist attraction!

We decided to take a chance the first week and see what it was like. We did a lap or two and we decided ask how long the wait was at “La Pizza & La Pasta. We were told it would take around 45 minutes but I noticed a few open seats at the bar, and I so asked whether we could sit there? We got lucky and in 10 minutes we were able to sit down. The waiter recommended we try a pasta and a pizza since cooking times would be different. We ordered a Margherita Pizza and the Tagliatelle Alla Bolognese to share. I also ordered the Chianti Mama 2018, which is a Sangiovese blend. The food was very excellent and it surpassed all expectations. It reminded me a little bit like https://www.terroni.com which is a popular choice for the well-heeled here in Toronto.

Since that first time, we have gone back a number of times primarily just to walk around and see if the crowds have become more modest. We have ordered coffee and sat down and we have also ordered some wine and managed to get a seat. And some times we just walk around and take it all in.

A few weeks ago I was walking around downtown and I decided to take the bus to midtown and embarked at Bay/Bloor and went in to Eataly. The family was in Florida, so I had all the time in the world. It was too early for dinner, so I decided to try “La Piazza” which according to the website is a standing restaurant in the heart of the second floor. La Piazza is modelled after the traditional Italian concept of a town square - where people meet and mingle.

I was able to get a seat at the bar and ordered a glass of wine and the house made Fior Di Latte. It is served with toasty warm bread and olive oil. And it was fantastic…..

Of course the whole city is now shut down due to the Covid 19 virus, however Eataly is still open for takeaway and produce shopping. We walked over the other night and it was quite startling how empty and quiet it was compared to the norm. We were able to move around quite easily and of course all the restaurants were closed. I ordered some takeout pizza for Ms. Sarah.

Well so you have it. I think Eataly will be a wonderful addition to the dining scene in Toronto and because we can walk there quite easily, I think we will continue to frequent it. I imagine that the many condo owners who live nearby will use it for some of their local shopping needs. I wish we could purchase bottles of wine there but we do have our laws, and I don’t think we will see this change very soon!

I would give it a 4/5. The food is very good and being able to have a glass of wine and walk around is fantastic. I think when it’s less busy it will be more enjoyable unless you don’t mind waiting 30 minutes to 1 hour to eat. Your other option is try going during the week instead of the busy Friday/Saturday nights. Check it out for yourself!