Over 130 branches of Vapiano exist in 28 countries, and yet I had never heard of them before I went last week. Have I had my head in the sand or is anyone else with me here?
Anyway, after my trip to their newest site in Soho (their third following Bankside & Great Portland Street), I'm kicking myself for not noticing them sooner.
Vapiano Soho is a rather attractive, relaxed Italian restaurant with a couple of twists - on arrival, you are handed a card which loads up the cost of your meal as you go along for you to settle up at the end. This system is necessary as you head off to various counters (Insalata, Pizza, Pasta, Bar) to order different courses as and when you want. If this all sounds a bit Nandos with giftcards, don't worry. When you get to the front of the (very short) queue, you are greeted by a skilled Vapiano chef who cooks your food up fresh on the spot for you to take back to your table instantly. I was intrigued to see how well the system worked.
After some agonising over the tempting menu, I sent Will up to the salad counter with one of our cards. A minute or so later, he popped back with a taster of a raspberry-maple dressing we were eyeing up. He was clearly making friends. He soon returned with some larger plates, a selection of antipasti and a quirky spinach & strawberry salad, with goat's cheese, pine nuts, red onion and the afore-mentioned raspberry-maple dressing. Considering the ingredients, it did well to not be too sweet and it all came together nicely. On the antipasti plate, the mozzarella with pesto combined wonderfully with the fuss-free bruschetta, whilst the meats, roasted veg and parmesan went down very nicely with our excellent glasses of house red and Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc.
"Where did the wine come from?", I hear you cry. Well, much to Vapiano's credit, they haven't done away with floor staff as many might do with this concept. Plenty of charming waiters & waitresses were on hand to fill in gaps and speed up processes such as wine, coffee and desserts, and to suggest specials and popular dishes.
Next it was my turn to visit the chefs. I wandered up to a counter and was given a few decisions to make. What type of pasta? Extra chilli or garlic? Free ciabatta? I hazarded a guess at Will's preferences (which proved to be accurate) and gave him some linguine for his Salmon Carbonara. I opted for pappardelle with my Salsiccia con Ficci (Spicy Italian Sausages with Figs and Tomato Sauce), mostly because I like saying the word. All of their pasta is made fresh on site in their mannifatura (machine) which is always on show in all of their restaurants.
A few minutes and some friendly small talk later, I was on my way back to the table with our mains. What a great idea to have you connect with the chef briefly while he prepares the food without the awkwardness of having them watch you eat it! Another nice touch are the herb gardens dotted around, and the plants on the table, free for you to pick from if you fancy some extra basil or similar.
Will gave grunts of approval whilst demolishing his unusual bacon-free Salmon Carbonara, whilst I devoured my curious plate of pasta, Italian sausage and figs which again had just the right amount of sweetness, balancing the dish perfectly.
During the mains, a twist on a strawberry bellini, served long over ice with fresh strawberries instead of ice found its way to our table for us to give feedback on. A continuing theme of the meal, sweetness was again well balanced thanks to the superiority of fresh strawberries over purée. Their mixed drinks are extremely competitively priced at £4.50, a much more agreeable price for an Aperol Spritz than many London bars that somehow get away with charging £7+ for such a basic drink.
Since we'd had strawberries every step of the way, we continued the trend to the end by getting a fresh glassfull to dip in to sweet basil pesto with white chocolate, mint and almonds. After several generous portions, this was a great, light dish to finish.
Before departing, we checked out the stylish downstairs space which was quiet at lunch but apparently fills up very quickly in the evenings. One side is for dining, whilst the other is a cosy café of sorts, complete with a charming mini-library. If only all chains with over 100 outlets had this much individuality.
It is comforting to know that Vapiano is out there in 28 countries serving great food with a smile. They have obviously had fun discovering things along the way: Why are there no characters for rocket in South Korea? How can it be that there's no basil in La Réunion? I might just seek them out next time I'm abroad, but I'll almost certainly drop in to another London branch again soon. Very affordable, delicious, filling food.
Oh, and if I haven't convinced you yet, there are free gummy bears on the way out.
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