I was lucky enough to be invited by Vapiano to sample their menu at their Buchanan Street restaurant this week. The highly anticipated spot opened in the old HMV building back in January to roaring praise from Glasgow foodies. I’m currently itching to rave about the entire experience, and if you’re an Italian food lover, then this is the place for you.
A famous Italian proverb I remember often goes like this: “Mangiare per vivere e non vivere per mangiare”, which translates to “eat to live and not live to eat”- quite fitting really.
If you’ve never been to Vapiano before, this will be a different experience for you compared to other restaurants. You will be greeted by the lovely receptionist Gemma (if you are reading this, hello!) and she will explain how things work.
You’re given a Vapiano card, which you must keep safe. You will swipe your card after ordering your food at the different stations inside the restaurant. On the way out, you present this card and pay when leaving.
Vapiano is self-service, however you can order drinks to the table. We both ordered the Berry Crush mocktails. They contained fresh strawberries, raspberries, cranberry and grapefruit juice, fresh lime and tasty strawberry puree – this was a winner!
So let’s dig right in! The menu itself is very simply laid out with a good variety of different pasta, risotto, pizza and antipasto dishes. For starters, we chose the bruschetta and garlic bread. I had no qualms getting right into some carb goodness.
The bruschetta came out on some beautifully crisp ciabatta bread, topped with just the right amount of marinated tomatoes. This was flavoursome as hints of garlic, basil and olive oil hit my taste buds. The garlic bread we could not finish in the end, but I wish I could have squeezed it in as it was a great accompaniment to my pasta.
I chose the Pollo Picante for my main dish. As you are able to choose what type of pasta’s in the dish, I went for penne. My friend opted for the Chicken Alfredo with fuesli pasta.
My Pollo Picante was delectable. With juicy chicken pieces cooked and mixed with orange chilli sauce, pak choi (Chinese vegetable) and peppers, I practically inhaled this all. It was JUST the right amount of flavour and spice, and cooked to utter perfection. Simply delicious. My friend loved hers too, but she said it could have done with some extra cream!
Now for the Dolci (dessert). I ordered the Cookies and Cream ice cream, and my friend chose the Death By Chocolate cake with whipped cream. As my eyes are always too big for my stomach, I tasted the chocolate cake too. It was slightly too rich for me, but my friend loved it. As for my ice cream, I scraped my little tub clean of it all!
The Vapiano vibe can be described as mellow and relaxed. The interior is beautiful with huge olive trees as table centrepieces and dimmed red lighting near the back – it’s a comfortable setting.
All in all a superb meal, with some really helpful staff! Prices were very reasonable which I will list below. I will most definitely be back.
Pollo Picante: £10.29 Death By Chocolate: £5.79
Chicken Alfredo: £10.29 Cookies & Cream ice cream: £3.50
Bruschetta: £4.59
Garlic Bread: £3.99
