Vapiano

Who thought this was a good idea?
Take below-​average Italian food. Remove the service element and replace with a Service Station, queue up-​order-​wait-​pickup style arrangement.
All at the same price (or more than) you’d pay in a decent small family Italian restaurant.
In the pursuit of efficiency charm, friendliness and atmosphere have been culled. And after you’ve stood queuing for 15 minutes for a basic bowl of pasta you’d probably question the efficiency too.
My idea of hell.
Never again.

Went there for the thousandth time again with a friend. I’ve been there on several different occasions and it is always a pleasant space if you know how it works. After you get your card and order your food, you must get a table. The space upstairs can be equally good for small meetings (Last time I was there was with a friend that was going through a rough phase) or big parties (had a blast having dinner with a group of friends and a lot of nice cocktails). The alcohol is good and the food is definitely worth the price. Absolutely nothing bad to say about it apart from the fact that the staff should consider a better room management. Big thumbs up for the costumer service of the chefs (in spite of the cashier who was tearing people a bit like cattle).

4 stars for a canteen (as it is more of one than a restaurant). You need to queue up to different stalls to order/​pick up food.
The food was good and it seems like a fun and lively atmosphere but was quite loud and hard to hear people speak. Definitely great place to get lunch while at work and I think that’s their main client.

Great for a group, choose your food downstairs (from an Italian menu);… and then everyone pays on their own tab (given as you walk in the door).
Stops all those arguments about who had what when it comes time to pay the bill (hate that bit of a group dinner)
Affordable and fun, what’s not to love :-)

First restaurant I’ve visited since visiting old London Town & I was not disappointed! I came here to meet a friend for lunch & enjoyed every part of my meal. I am unsure what my dish was called (because my friend chose it for me) but it was a nice pasta dish with peppers, basil, prawns with a yummy creamy sauce!
The layout, décor & seating are very nice & each compliment each other.
This place is extremely busy at lunch time (12.30 PM onwards)…so avoid if you can!

I went there with friends after a very exhausting 10K run to re-​carb.
The place runs in a unique way. Think about it as dine in but being on a street food market. Basically, you are given a card that will be charged with anything you order (you pay at the exit to the cashier). You try to find a table, then you wander around and pick what you want.
The really great thing is you can see your food being prepared. I am a real sucker for this so I was in heaven. The cook is talking to you asking if you want specific spices in like garlic chillies and how much you want. That was excellent. Feel like on street market. Eat like in a good restaurant. Fantastic!
Right, there are two main sections: pastas and pizzas. There are multiple parallel queues for those and having good strategy means saving possibly half an hour of your time. Pizzas take longer to make so order them first. You will get a buzzer to pick them up when they are ready. In the meantime head over to pasta section and get them to your table.
As you may already noticed the service is nonexistent, you have to do everything yourself. There are people picking up the empty plates for you. But you don’t pay service charge or tip.
The food quality is ok. I wouldn’t say it’s the best that I’ve eaten but the portions are really satisfying. In particular, pasta was prepared very very quickly. The cook was preparing it in some kind of a wok mixing and stirring ingredients vigorously. It was Italian stir fry essentially. One of my friends loved it. I had a bit of reservations to this food preparation technique. We had pizza calzone as well. The dough was quite nice. The spicy sausages were also stellar. Overall pretty good spot!
I definitely recommend it to runners!

One of my favourite restaurant.
It’s normally busy on the weekends but worth the wait. The pasta is out of the world and I can’t get tired of having it. Definitely recommend!

Nothing was explained upon arrival– we were a group of 3 paying together, so when we were given our cards, we left them on our table, so when we tried to leave they demanded the cards back; we weren’t told we would have to return them when we left.
We had to wait 40 minutes for a margherita and because you have to queue separately (if you want to order a pasta/​salad), after ordering the pizza you then have to queue for pasta, which was another 30 minutes.
Good concept if you are paying separately, want to try various things on the menu and as a couple/​group (and at peak time) not a great place to go, or concept.
Loads of staff not doing much. Some staff very rude. For example, when leaving we were asked if we had a good visit, when we relayedthe above, she gave us dirty looks, and didn’t apologise or try and change our perception.

Worst service. Then again I’m from the states. Pizza I had was blah. I forgot what I had already. My friend loves it and is obsessed. Her pizza was pretty good. I already forgot what that was too. I wouldn’t go back here

Vapiano is a great restaurant offering up fresh Italian food in a rather unique manner.
Unlike other restaurants, when you enter vapiano instead of asking for a table you’ll instead be handed a card which is not unlike a credit card that you are told to charge all of your orders to. This system works out very well. Every time you order something, you simply swipe the card and the amount is added to your bill. Which you then pay at the end of your visit.
I had a pizza and it was great. On par with any of the other major Italian restaurant chains. The service was fast and it fasted great.
Overall I would recommend vapiano if you want good quality Italian food for not too high of a price.

I went to Vapiano three times, and I have enjoyed all visits.
Food is really good. It’s sort of self service (which can upset some). Price is really good, and portion size is fine.
I thought it was very weird when one of the chefs said I shouldn’t have the dish I chose because it was «no good». This happened in two of the visits. I think they should change the recipes if they think they aren’t good.
Drinks are good, but pretty small. The dessert is nice, I ordered a chocolate gelato and it didn’t disappoint.
Please, do have the salad with the raspberry dressing (I forgot its name!). It’s the best salad I’ve had in my entire life.

Love this place, always busy & it’s great to see your food being cooked in front of you and being able to add what you want or exclude things you might be allergic to or dislike. Pastas are all delicious and filling (my personal favourite is the scampi pasta — yum!) I do like the salads but find them quite overpriced compared to the pastas (I ordered a chicken Caesar salad this weekend which ended up being more expensive than my regular pasta!)
I don’t love the pizza but it’s good enough and a lot of my friends really like it so all in all definitely recommend it — be prepared to wait in the queues though! Especially at peak times!

I’ve been to Vapiano’s countless times in quite a few countries. It’s good go to pizza, pasta etc when theres little else around or if you’re with kids. The selection is great and the price is right. I like the lemon and mint water that you can drink for free.
If you come during lunch and dinner time rush hour you can literally wait at least 30 mins for food which is a hassle when you’re starving. Regardless I would recommend eating here as the food is made right in front of you so you can adjust as needed.

I have been meaning to write about this place for AGES. I’ve been so many times that I have had 2 meals free — if you get 9 stamps on their loyalty card you get the 10^th meal free.
The idea about this place is pretty cool — you have to queue up for your food almost like a food court with a tray, but it’s freshly cooked in front of you. You scan a card with your order and pay at the end. Simple!
And tasty. For £8−10 you get freshly cooked pasta with decent sauces, or pizza with freshly made dough. Sometimes I think they need to inject a bit more flavour into the sauces, but then I add some herbs that are fresh on every table as a garnish and sprinkle some chilli oil over the top and it makes it all come alive. For those need a sophisticated quick bite, you can’t really complain.

Loving this restaurant with a difference and can easily see the appeal for the customer. The ambiance of the place is fresh, clean and vibrant. I was eating on my own so wasn’t overalled at having to seat myself after collecting my first course! Not a good call for the solo diner!
This cruise ship style dining is perfect for those wanting a little more free reign almost, and seeing it cooked or prepared in front of you.
You get given a credit style card upon entry and swipe your card at each order point to rack up your tab.
I ordered bruschetta and whilst it was being prepared I placed an order for a calzone pizza and was given a pager for when that would be ready. I also took a drink from the antipasti station where they promptly swiped my card!
After I had eaten the starter my pager went off and off I popped (leaving my jacket on my stool with a group of 4 girls on my same bench table). I returned to find my jacket still there and my messy side of the table untouched too! My calzone was not the best ever choice, as I felt it had not been in the oven long enough and the cheese was barely melted and the pizza base only lightly cooked. (On reflection I should have complained).
Desert time quickly arrived and I choose the small tiramisu and blueberry cheesecake. (£2.50 each) Both tasted as though they had been prepared fresh but much earlier in the day. Although quality ingredients they both lacked that ‘Mmmmmm’ taste factor, quite bland in fact to which I was NOT expecting considering their initial appeal to me!
I will return but next time ignore the pasta waiting lines and just join up and will come with friends not on my ‘Billy’…

More style than substance; I have found Vapiano to be igniting people’s interest via the novelty of picking your food and watching it being cooked before your very eyes, but in reality it is rather frustrating as you are left hungry and watching the food of all the people queuing in front of you being served. Testament to this was the fact that I saw people who were originally queuing up for pasta then decide it was taking too long and go to the pizza counter instead. Then guess what? They had their pizza cooked and served way before I even reached the beginning of the queue for pasta. I am left famished and disgruntled wondering whether this tactic of not being able to order whilst seated is actually a sinister ploy to save on employment costs as waiters were no longer needed. The bowls they serve the pasta in are somewhat heavy and awkward to manœuvre, the trays provided do not have much grip or border making them also awkward to carry, meanwhile the cutlery and napkins are self-​service by the cooking counter but even some of these supplies had run out when I was there.
Anyhow, ridiculous setup aside, the pasta is admittedly of a good quality; noticeably fresh and satisfying to taste. The portion of pasta may initially look quite small but upon eating you soon realise that the density of the pasta makes it sufficiently filling. Unfortunately, nice as the food was, I wouldn’t say that ‘the end’ justifies ‘the means’; there just comes a point when you think to yourself this isn’t worth the hassle. Self-​service only works when it speeds up proceedings and gives you a sense of control but at Vapiano you relinquish this control and find yourself hungry, forced to stand in line, then needing to carry your food (and drink) with somewhat difficulty to seating that is actually not that comfortable before you can stop your stomach from grumbling, but your mind will continue to grumble afterwards about the torture you have just been through.

Nice quality Italian restaurant, as long as you are careful asking for them to put pepper to your taste. They tend to put too much if you mention nothing.
Youth hotspot where you have to wait at the queue in different queues like for pizza and pasta, for instance, in order to get your food, only when it is ready. The good side of it is that you actually see your food being prepared, which can be really interesting. I do not love canteen style dining, but the atmosphere of this restaurant makes it up for it.
This venue can get quiet packed though in busy times, so I suggest looking for different ones to avoid stress. Unless, obviously p, if you alphabet other intentions like flirting with people sitting around you. :)

I’m not sure why this place doesn’t have more stars? The pasta is great, actually one of the best pastas I’ve had. The cook who made our order was accommodating. I got the bolognese spaghetti with extra garlic. I don’t usually order spaghetti but I was recommended to get it so I did, and it was surprisingly great! The texture is different than other spaghettis I’ve had – it’s thinner and had the perfect amount of moisture in it. Not too dry and not too soggy (most of the time, the spaghetti I order is either too soggy or too dry). Also, the extra garlic went a long way and did WONDERS for the taste of the spaghetti. Overall, really great food, really good location and really nice ambiance.
I took off a star for the long queue, but I guess that’s not the restaurant’s fault?

Pasta o pizza, todo está delicioso.

Vapiano’s strength is in its unique concept (which in my mind, isn’t even really that unique). When you enter the store, you’re given a card. With it, you line up in one of pasta, pizza, and salad lines, where they cook your meal in front of you. They add all that you ordered on to your card, and you pay on your way out. Throughout your meal, it’s all self-​service e.g., you need to serve your own water, carry up your own meal if you want to dine upstairs, etc.
Whilst I give it credit for the somewhat creative concept, I’m always disappointed by its food. The pasta is never done right; I could name at least half a dozen places that does pasta better for the price. The people that make your food in front of you are not the most responsive to your requests e.g., on both occasions when I asked if they could make my arrabiata a little spicier, all they did was throw in two more little pieces of chili peppers which defeats the purpose of having things cooked in front of you. The water glasses are too small that you have to get up and re-​fill them at least three times throughout the meal. Finally, the line to pay on your way out is always long which once again, makes one wonder «Why this concept unless it’s only for the restaurant to save cost?»
I went to this place twice only because it was the chosen venue for a group meal, but I would never go here on my own.

Zuerst zu den Vorteilen, das Essen ist so wie in jedem Vapiano gleich gut zubereitet.
Dieser Vapiano hat mehr Auswahlmöglichkeiten, als jeder Vapiano in Österreich.
Dadurch das System bei jedem Vapiano gleich ist kennt man sich sofort aus.
Jetzt zu den Nachteilen !!
Leider ist in jedem Vapiano ein Trend zu beobachten, dass entweder die schlechtausgesuchte Musik unnötig laut aufgedreht ist oder die anderen Gäste sind viel zu laut.
Ebenfalls war es an Helligkeit zu wenig, am Mweisten bei der Essenausgabe kam kein Licht mehr hin und die Lampen waren nur sehr spärlich aufgedreht.

Restaurant sympathique. Le système de carte magnétique n’est pas pratique pour une famille avec enfants car si vous né mangez pas tous la même chose, il faut faire plusieurs fois la file. Mais sinon bonne qualité de nourriture.

Whoa, this place is kind of amazing. Taking gourmet Italian and turning it into a quick cafeteria type of place is quite impressive. Thankfully I came with someone who has been here before or else I would’ve been one lost puppy.
When you first walk in they give you a card. Then you walk up to one of the stations and order. The chefs make it right in front of you and they scan your card that you were just given. You order, eat, enjoy, and pay when you leave. Very cool, indeed.
I ordered the Shrimp Scampi with Spinach pasta and it was fantastic. It was so good, I ate the whole thing! And it is an extremely generous portion for under 10 pounds. Can’t wait to go back and try more things!

Great Load in the middle of london, eat delicious Italian Food for little Money
highly recommended

Das lustige an diesem Vapiano ist, dass er aber genau so aussieht wie hier in Hamburg. Es ist alles identisch. Man könnte wenn man drin steht nicht sagen in welchem Land man gerade ist. Es gibt dieselben Karten auf die das Essen gebucht wird, dieselbe Auswahl an Speisen, dieselben Möbel, etc. Quasi Pizza/​Pasta Fast Food. Aber dafür ziemlich lecker, aber meist voll und viel zu laut. Wirklich genau wie hierzulande.

Für den London-​Neuling (der sonst nicht weiß, wohin) auf jeden Fall der Tip. Einfaches, helles Mobiliar, Selbstbedienung. Solides italienisches Essen, einfach zu bestellen. Manche Leute hinterm Tresen sprechen auch deutsch. :)
Nette Atmosphäre man fühlt sich gar nicht wie in einem Schnellrestaurant.
Man geht auf jeden Fall zufrieden wieder raus.

kenne vapiano natürlich auch aus deutschland und war dann zu meiner londonzeit begeistert, dass es dieses restaurant auch nach london verschlagen hat. und dann auch noch so praktisch hinter topshop :) konzept muss man mögen, finde es halt immer schwierig wenn man als gruppe kommt, da nicht alle ihr essen gleichzeitig haben, v.a. wenn manche pizza/​pasta bestellen und nicht alle das selbe. auch für den preis finde ich es immer schwierig zu beurteilen, ob ich es mag, da man ja doch alles selbst holen muss… essen ist aber gut!

In der Ferne sucht man doch das Vertraute und so bin ich im ursprünglich «deutschen» Vapiano London, in der Nähe des Oxford Circus, gelandet. Es funktioniert genauso wie in Deutschland auch, mit dem bereits beschriebenen Kartensystem und Piepern. Es gibt Pizza, Pasta, Salat, sowie im Obergeschoss auch eine Bar.
Tendenziell ist es etwas teurer als in Deutschland, aber im Vergleich zu manchen Touristenfallen, die es in der Umgebung gibt, kann man an der Preis-​Leistung nichts aussetzen. Unterscheide sind kaum vorhanden.
Was die Toiletten angeht: Die (aus Deutschland importierten) Keramiken sind eine komplette Fehlkonstruktion, daher ist Vorsicht angebracht.

Un concept intéressant où l’on vous donne une carte magnétique à l’entrée et vous n’avez plus qu’à vous servir au comptoir. Là, une foi votre commande effectué un cuisinier va donc préparer votre repas sous vos yeux et, ça donne envie ^^
Finalement ça me rappel un peu la cantine mais dans un décors plus classe et une nourriture qui vaut le détour.
Pâtes ou pizza un très bon restaurant italien.
” La meilleur carbonnara de Londres ”

Der zurzeit einzige Vapiano in London.
Vom Ambiente her ist es sicherlich eines der schönsten Restaurants aus der Vapino reihe.
Im Unteren teil ist ein freier Kamin im Lounge Bereich eingebaut und im Oberen teil steht ein Kamin der Verglast ist.
Das Gewächshaus sieht fast aus wie ein kleiner Urwald so stark blühen dort die Pflanzen
Leider 1 Stern abzug da die Köche dort die Pasta nich ganz so gut zubereiten wie in Berlin, und das es doch schon etwas dauern kann bis das Personal Teller und Besteck vom vorkunden wegräumen.
Die Freundlichkeit und Hilfbereitschaft des Personals ist Top
Ach ja es arbeiten dort auch viele Deutsche mit

Wer italienische Küche mag und mit Freunden in London unterwegs ist, dem empfehle ich nach einer anstrengenden Shopping-​Tour entlang der Oxford Street sich im Vapiano zu stärken.
Im Grunde ist es ein Selbstbedienungsrestaurant, aber ohne das Halogenlicht-​Ambiente. Am Eingang erhält man eine Plastik-​Karte, auf der alle Speisen und Getränke, die man nimmt, gespeichert werden. Bezahlt wird erst, wenn man das Restaurant wieder verlässt. Das heißt, mann kann sich direkt ohne nach Kleingeld zu kramen aufs Büffet stürzen.
Dort gibt es eine gute Auswahl an italienischen Salaten, Pastagerichten (leider die Pasta nicht ganz so al dente, eher überkocht) und Pizza. Mein Favorit: die Bruschetta Pizza. Nett ist, dass an jedem Tisch frischer Basilikum sowie Knoblauch– und Chiliöl zum Würzen stehen. Auch tap water kann man sich an der Bar frei nehmen.
Wer öfters kommt, kann die Sammelkarte nutzen. Das 10. Hauptgericht kriegt man für umme. Preislich übrigens liegen die Gerichte im Mittelfeld, Pizzen ab 5,50 bis 8,50. Auf der Homepage
sind alle Gerichte mit Preis aufgeführt.
Vapiano erstreckt sich auf 2 Etagen. Immer wenn ich da war, war gut Betrieb. Die Musik ist recht laut, also nicht unbedingt etwas für romantische Dinner, obwohl die Raumaufteilung so ist, dass man ein paar (wenige) Tische auch in ruhigeren Ecken hat.