Have you ever wanted to go to Italy, but you just couldn’t find the money to do so? Well, if your Italy tour includes eating authentic Italian food and buying authentic Italian gifts, you can get that experience right in Las Vegas.
Eataly, an Italian retail and dining experience, has just opened up a new 40,000-squre-foot space inside Park MGM. The company has 37 stores around the world, but this is the first Eataly that offers 24-hour service.
Eataly Las Vegas has two restaurants, six take-out counters, a café, and three bars. It has a marketplace and gift shop, where you can buy pastas, grains, sauces, olive oils, and other foods imported from Italy. You can also find apparel, housewares, and knick-knacks.
Are you a wine fan? The wine store has more than 1,000 wines and offers more than 50 wines for tasting every day. The L’Apertivo bar is, Lonely Planet says, dedicated to the concept of drinking something before dinner to stimulate your appetite. If you’re more of a coffee drinker, you can get an authentic Italian coffee experience at Gran Caffè Milano, where you can also get breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even cocktails at night.
At Cucina del Mercato, you can get an interactive experience with Chef’s Table, which encourages people to explore the world of Italian food by watching live culinary demonstrations. You can even eat while you shop at one of the six different fresh counters; and watch expert chefs make fresh pasta, gelato, bread, and Mozzarella cheese.
Eataly was born from an idea sketched on paper. Oscar Farinetti visualized a way to gather under one roof at sustainable and reasonable prices and celebrate Italian biodiversity. Ultimately, Farinetti wanted to create an informal, natural, and simple place where people could eat, shop, and learn.
After five years of research, the first Eataly opened in Torino, Italy, in 2007, in an old vermouth factory. Eataly Torino Lingotto became the world’s first multifunctional marketplace dedicated to Italian excellence. Since then, Eataly has grown to more than 40 locations throughout Italy and around the world.
Ultimately, as Eataly’s manifesto reads, food unites us all: good food brings people together and helps us find a common point of view. “We believe that one of the greatest sources of joy is what happens around the dinner table,” Eataly’s website says.
Photo: Eataly in Milan’s Garibald district. Credit: MikeDotta / Shutterstock.com