We avoided the rush-hour at Dubai Mall today morning, as we got there by 11am. Bought a couple of slim-fit suits for my gifted body, which led to a few arguments with Munchy (shopping for a man can add a fair bit of stress on a relationship). So, the mood was rather dull by the time we were planning for lunch on the lower groud level of the mall. We discussed our options for about 10 minutes, until Munchy walked into Eataly, knowing I would simply follow. After all, I had been saying "anything is fine with me, I am not really fussed."
And so, we were in Eataly, almost ready to order. Munchy knew almost instantly what she wanted, while I kept flipping the pages of the menu, reading the descriptions to all their sandwiches. I wasn't in the best of spirits, so couldn't quite decide. So, Munchy decided; we would share the Penne All' Arrabbiata and a serving of Patatinda Tonda. I did ask for a Bruschetta, but the waitress looked at me like I was such a novice, "We don't do bruschettas here, sir." After a brief awkward silence, she said "I will be giving you a bread basket though, with olive oil and balsamic."
Munchy probably thought I deserved that, and continued with her modifications: "That's alright, in my Penne Arrabbiata, can you please add some olives--"
"We don't add anything to the pasta, ma'am."
We looked at each other a bit awkward and annoyed now. I don't quite like being bullied into eating something I am paying for. So, I said, "Well, we would pay for the extras on the side, that's abs--"
"Yes sir, but we don't modify the pasta. We keep it as per our menu"
We told her how strange it was, and she did apologise for not being able to accommodate our requests.
"What about sauce, can you at least make it extra on the sauce?"
I think the waitress felt bad about rejecting us a couple of times already and said, "Yes, that I can do."
Too lazy to leave the place, Munchy and I finalised the order with a serving of the Passion Fruit Basilico.
As we waited for the food, I noticed their tagline, "It's difficult to be simple." Possibly the reason why they didn't want to add anything else to the pasta, as they couldn't handle anything complicated, I suppose. But then came our Passion Fruit Basilico, and I felt Eataly had just taken the simplicity cloak to cover what would really be called being plain lazy and lacking attention to detail. The fresh lemon slice on my glass came with the distributor's sticker still on it. Not a site I have really ever seen anywhere else before, but Munchy was in no mood to return any items today (phew!)
The pasta arrived, which was really nothing special. It wasn't a terrible pasta, but with a restaurant that was so particular about not wanting to modify their ingredients to a customer's choice, as it would possibly compromise the overall flavours... yeah, it was just like any penne arrabbiata, really.
The Patatinda Tonda though was a winner! We didn't expect actual slices of potato chips (we thought it would be simple french fries), but the crunchy exterior with the soft bubbly center was quite interesting. The dish also got us back together, as we kept nodding on that last piece of chip, asking the other to eat it instead. Eventually we split that one in half.
Overall: We didn't see what the fuss was about. The place looks fresh, but look elsewhere for better pastas. On your way out, skip their chocolates as well.
Visited on: Friday, May 30, 2014
Ambiance: Looks great, bright and fresh
Food quality: Average
Service: Lacking attention to detail
Mood before the meal: Down
Mood after the meal: Recovering, thanks to that last piece of chip
You are better off eating at: Da Vinci's (It's just better Italian overall); Paul, Maison de Qualite (Not Italian, but their bread and olive paste... yum); Waitrose (For the chocolates. The ones at Eataly are pricey and quite sweet -- just go to any supermarket for that experience)
