UPDATE 2019: This Eataly location has closed. The main Rome Eataly is located in Ostiense. The location is now occupied by another Italian gourmet food store know as Officine.
Ah, Termini.
Termini is Rome’s main train station and the only place in the city where the two metro lines (A and B) cross.
It is a place that I avoid whenever possible because for so very long it has pretty much been its own island of despair for commuters and tourists alike.
Slowly, slowly it is getting better and a major improvement has been that one of the nearby McDonald’s has been converted into Rome’s newest Eataly.
There are still TWO McDonald’s in business around Termini, but it feels like a small bit of poetic justice that at least one has closed.
The Piazza della Repubblica location has been completely gutted to be reimagined as a small but tidy three-story space for take away, dining in and/or shopping for Italian ingredients.
While the area around Termini is well known for its international food offerings, quality Italian food (particularly for a quick lunch) is lacking. Located only about a 5 minute walk or 1 stop of Metro A from the main station, Eataly offers a viable option for a stopover meal, especially for visitors about to catch a train.
The entry way and lower level are devoted to specialty food and drinks from around Italy, making Eataly at Repubblica a great option for gourmet souvenir shopping.
The selection is decidedly smaller than the Eataly at Ostiense, but the products still manage to range from venison and wild boar ragu…
to Italian craft beers…
And even specialty flours.
If you have more time, there is a dining room inside on the upper floor serving a full menu of pizza and pastas.
As well as outdoor seating along the piazza which will be even better when the construction in the area is done.
On Thursdays, the location hosts an outdoor aperitivo with music for an evening drink.
Termini’s Left Luggage is essentially hell, so if you are trying to make it to the Repubblica Eataly between trains or before catching the Leonardo Express to the airport, make sure that you can manage all of your belongings. The new Eataly is pretty convenient to the station but requires a small bit of frogger across traffic to reach.
It is also open bizarrely late.
2019: CLOSED
Eataly Piazza Repubblica
Piazza della Repubblica 41,
00185 Roma
Open: Sunday to Thursday from 8 am to 1 am;
Friday and Saturday from 8 am to 2 am.
Pingback: Gourmet Shopping at Volpetti – An American in Rome
Pingback: Rome’s Central Market: Mercato Centrale Roma Opens at Termini Station – An American in Rome