REVIEW: Vapiano, Soho

Like many Brits I adore Italian food. Until recently it was the top foreign food that we ate in this country and although we have moved on from spaghetti growing on trees our love for Italian food is still strong. Vapiano is an Italian restaurant with locations across London that brings a fun twist to this homely cuisine.

If you've visited Vapiano before then you'll understand what I am getting at. Vapiano operates a canteen-style restaurant where there is no table service and you are completely in control of your dish. You can select your pasta type (and even the grain it comes from), your toppings, dressing on your salad and any additional extras you can think of. On top of this fully customisable meal, Vapiano uses a card-scanning system for payment. Think of it like contactless payment. Each guest is given a card which they scan at the food points or bar when you purchase a dish or drink. At the end of your meal you simply pay the balance at the reception desk. Not only does this avoid splitting the bill between guests, it means that you are in control of each dish and drink you select - avoiding the up-selling that happens when you order with table service. 

Here are some top facts about Vapiano:

• Vapiano UK serves an average of 27,000 customers a week between the 3 London locations
• Top selling pasta dishes: Carbonara, Scampi e Spinaci and Salsiccia con Fichi
• Top selling pizzas: Calzone and Pesto con Spinaci
• Top selling salad: Fresh Spinach, Strawberries, Goat’s Cheese, Red Onions, Pine Nuts and Homemade raspberry Maple Dressing
• It takes 3 minutes to make a simple pasta dish such as Arrabbiata
• It takes 8 minutes to make a pizza
• 7 dolcis are made daily including: Tiramisu, Panna Cotta and Baked Cheesecake
• A chef can cook an average of 30 pasta dishes in an hour- cooking two pasta dishes at a time
• Great Portland Street guests consume the leaves off 300 basil pots a week 

Where

Vapiano, Soho

When

Thursday evening, from 7:30

What we ate

• Red mullet and mango salad
• Bruschetta with tomatoes and mozzarella
• Spelt spaghetti with beef fillet and spring vegetables
• Tagliatelle with king prawns and a tomato sauce
• Tiramisu

What we drank

• Lunetta Prosecco (sweet) 

Highlights

• I really like the system at Vapiano. It avoids the 'can we split the bill' drama at the end of the meal and really makes the whole experiment relaxed and informal
• The main restaurant space is bright and airy with plenty of green trees and fresh plants dotted around
• The red mullet was sweet and crisp on top of the salad and freshly grilled at the counter
• The bruschetta was nice and crisp with a tonne of fresh, milky mozzarella on the top. This classic combination was really refreshing. 
• Alex's dish of prawn tagliatelle with a tomato sauce was sweet, spicy and moorish. The cheese topping helped give the dish a silky and velvet like finish.

Lowlights

• There was no where near enough mango in the red mullet salad which was disappointing. Towards the end I was just left with light green leaves in a dressing. 
• I found my spelt pasta to be a little too Al dente (but hey I'm not Italian) and the sauce a little watery. That said there was a good ratio of meat and vegetables. 

Overall

I would recommend visiting Vapiano for a relaxed meal with friends or a catch up with your colleagues. The relaxed atmosphere really suits a mid day meal but when the lights come down for dinner Vapiano's Soho location is a great dinner spot before drinks. 

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