Hi guys! Hope you’re all having a good week so far. If you’ve been a loyal reader of mine for a while you will know that I am a massive foodie at heart so when I get to review restaurants and cafes I’m pretty much in my element. I managed to stop by Vapiano last week to try their food and cocktails. Vapiano has restaurants in 31 different Countries including Australia and America. The Manchester chain, just outside of the Corn Exchange, is in the perfect location to sit outside on a sunny day and catch some rays.
THE RESTAURANT
I totally wasn’t expecting the restaurant to be as big as it was. With three spectacular floors, tables on the balcony looking over the Corn Exchange, and a secluded, secret forth area for private functions. Vapiano definitely isn’t shy of space. As you walk inside on the ground floor – a host is there to greet you. As we had never been before she explained how Vapiano is slightly different to other restaurants. The restaurant has a smart card payment system. It allows you to order the food directly from the chefs who cook everything in front of you. The cost is then put on your card and you settle the final bill upon leaving. It has a fresh, clean cut interior – featuring lots of plants, a grass wall, plenty of art work and glass finishings.
THE FOOD
Once we had a nosey at the menu and decided on cocktails, the waitress took our drinks order from the table and explained it was happy hour until 7pm. This meant two cocktails for the price of one – not bad ey! Once we knew what starters we wanted, we strolled up to the antipasti cooking station and ordered. We watched our bruschetta’s being prepared on the antipasti stand by one of the lovely chefs. The good thing about their unique system is that you can leave as much time in between courses as you’d like. This is perfect if you’re either in a mad rush on your lunch hour or wanting a leisurely meal on a special occasion.
WHAT TO ORDER AT VAPIANO
For main, I went for pizza (YUM) I chose the ‘verdure’ and asked for it without cheese to make it vegan. The quality of the food is great for the price, all of it is hand cooked and prepared in front of you. Liam went for the Funghi bolognese which consisted of mushrooms, carrots and celery in their homemade tomato sauce with soy marinated onions and fresh herbs. He opted for extra fresh chilli’s for that extra kick. I had a taste of this and it was very creamy, you could taste lots of fresh garlic and it was cooked to perfection.
One thing I would LOVE to see on the menu in the future, is vegan cheese. Oh my, that would be incredible! I noticed the menu didn’t clearly state which meals could be made vegan, which is one thing I would highly recommend Vapiano to change in the future. I had a look at the online vegan menu which specified all of the vegan friendly options prior to my visit. If you’re after vegan pizza options you can opt for:
- Margherita (order with no cheese).
- Verdure (order with no cheese).
- Funghi (order with no cheese).
- Capricciosa (order with no ham or cheese).
If you fancy pasta you can grab the:
- Arrabbiata.
- Pomodoro.
- Aglio e Olio Funghi.
- Bolognese.
- Kids Pomodoro (All need to be ordered without Cheese on top).
Deserts (aren’t labelled as vegan on the menu but labelled as vegan on the packaging).
- Lemon Sorbet.
- Raspberry Sorbet.
Me and Liam decided on getting both the lemon and raspberry sorbet. I preferred the raspberry sorbet but the lemon was very refreshing after eating a very bread heavy meal (oops!) They do have a very large selection of deserts for non-vegans including the ‘Death by Chocolate’ and ‘New York Cheesecake’. Although it’s great they have a couple of vegan options I do wish they had a another vegan option, maybe a vegan cheesecake or vegan chocolate fudge cake! They also have a full list of veggie and vegan options on their website which is always helpful to bring up when you’re in the restaurant as they don’t have this on the main menu.
THE COCKTAILS
We went for the mojito’s which tasted delicious! I would highly recommend the mojito if you’re after something light and refreshing. They do have a full cocktail list, which, as I mentioned earlier are 2 for 1 before 7pm Monday – Friday.
OVERALL EXPERIENCE
Overall, I found Vapiano a very nice experience. The staff were lovely and couldn’t do more for you. All of them seemed very well trained and happy to give you their opinions on their fav dishes. You can change up the dishes on the menu to suit your individual needs which is very appealing, especially for larger parties. The other great benefit of the smart card payment system is that everyone’s bill is self contained so no more having to work out exactly how much wine Peter and Paul had. And if you’re not drinking you know your bill won’t feature everyone else’s wine, that you didn’t consume – ey!? It’s a win, win if you ask me!
Would you try Vapiano?
Although I would like to Massively thank Vapiano for gifting me the meal and drinks all views expressed within this post are my own and I was not paid to write this content.
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