Students share first impressions of newly renovated Eatery

Nathan Landsberg-Britt is one of thousands of students trying out and getting used to the newly renovated Eatery. For Landsberg-Britt, a sophomore political science major, the changes are notable, from taste to aesthetic.

“I love the ambiance of The Eatery now,” Landsberg-Britt said. “It feels very light, and I appreciate that it doesn’t feel like a dungeon, and I think it makes the overall eating experience much more enjoyable. I do think there is less seating, but it just feels less heavy.” 

The Eatery, Pitt’s largest dining facility, serves as the central food stop for many on-campus students. Over the summer, The Eatery went under extensive renovations, which introduced new stations and dining concepts.

Kokumi is one of the new stations and serves “western Asian-inspired cuisine as well as Halal-certified proteins. Other new additions at The Eatery include Table 33, a Latin American cuisine station, and Unwind, a coffee shop that serves pastries and gelato. For sandwiches, students can visit The Briny Pickle or The Delicatessen. For fried food and burgers, students can visit Food Truck. Students will also see familiar locations from last year, such as Cucina and Flourish.” 

Landsberg-Britt said he has some issues with the new service style, which is different than previous years. 

“They no longer offer self-serving stations for foods, especially like french fries and other handheld foods, which is a little frustrating because it’s all parsed out by serving size,” Landsberg-Britt. “If you want an extra portion, you do have to ask, and it causes a bit of a disruption to the chain of food providing food.”

Chloe Acuna, a first-year electrical engineering major, said she heard of her fellow Pitt students getting sick from The Eatery food, specifically undercooked chicken.

“I’ve only been to a few of the places,” Acuna said. “I’ve been to Flourish and some other stations and personally never really had a terrible experience, but some of our friends actually got food poisoning. I’ve heard from many other people that the chicken was pink, and they could only eat one or two bites.”

According to University spokesperson Nick France, Pitt has confirmed that there have been no reports of food poisoning to Pitt Eats or the Student Health Center.

While Ria Sharma, a first-year neuroscience major, enjoys the food she tried at The Eatery, she said being a vegetarian poses some challenges.

“I had some fried rice and a grilled cheese, but I’m vegetarian, so the options here aren’t the best,” Sharma said. “Table 33 is really good — it’s Mexican food, and I really like it. I feel like The Perch allows me to have a few more options just because of the way food is handed out here. That’s probably just because there are more people eating here than The Perch.”

Nathan Landsberg-Britt normally frequents The Eatery for lunch or dinner. 

“My go-to’s are Kokumi and Food Truck because they seem to be the ones open the latest when I go for a late-night snack,” Landsberg-Britt said. “I’ve had some tempura chicken and rice that was pretty solid.” 

Nicole Zhou, a first-year political science and accounting major who mainly eats at The Perch, likes the newly renovated Eatery space better. 

“I really like the space and the ambiance here in The Eatery,” Zhou said. “It’s very bright in here, and I like it better than The Perch.” 

According to the Pitt Eats website, the new Eatery was designed with “community in mind” and creates spaces where students can gather and study. 

Acuna said she feels that the food in The Eatery is “the same thing every day,” despite the renovations.

“There’s also very limited options with each station,” Acuna said. “There’s really one meal that you can actually get. None of the food blew my mind away like I thought it would, maybe because it’s new and it’s the first week. I thought they would do a little better.” 

While Landsberg-Britt feels that the quality of the food is better overall, he has some reservations about the quality in the future.

“The food that I’ve had this year compared to last year is definitely much better,” Landsberg-Britt said. “I am a little bit concerned that the food quality will decline a couple weeks into the semester, but I’m optimistic because so far it’s been really good. They do seem to have some new recipes and new types of meals that provide some variety. But on the whole, I would say it still feels pretty similar.”

This article was updated to include a statement from University spokesperson Nick France.