Lunch at Vapiano Manchester

Those of you that read this blog will know that I love pasta. In fact, it probably is my favourite food. If I had to be stranded on a desert island with one food, it’d be pasta. Bold statement, but probably true.

So when I heard about Vapiano at the Corn Exchange, Manchester, and saw that they make their pasta fresh, from scratch every day, I knew I had to go and sample their delights.

The menu certainly looked right up my street, with ample selection of fresh pasta and pizzas but the way in which it is served intrigued me…

Now you’ll be used to heading off for lunch or dinner with your friends or family, grabbing a table, ordering your food, having it brought to you, devouring it and then asking for the bill. Then mayhem ensues. You had three courses when your friend only had a side salad. Your boyfriend had a bottle of wine to himself when your teetotal Aunt only had tap water. So you all end up counting out your coins to cover your part of the bill, whilst remembering to add on a tip!

Ok, so maybe this doesn’t happen every time you go out to eat, but you’ll know what I mean. Well Vapiano takes the whole stress of the bill out of your hands by utilising a smart card system. And it left me begging the question: Why haven’t others thought of this before?

So we arrived at the restaurant ground floor, where we were greeted with a friendly face, a quick explanation of how it all worked, our own personal smart card and a copy of the menu. We made our way upstairs to where the magic happens and found a table. As we had our little lady with us, we decided to get set-up on a table and then head off for our food one at a time (but you could go grab your food first and then find a table, which is probably easier).

Obviously I was going to get pasta, but I couldn’t also resist a starter of bruschetta. So basically, this is where you get up, with your smart card and head off to one of the food “stations”. This is where you can place your order and watch the chefs make it for you, fresh, in front of your very eyes. Not only is this fascinating and relieving to know exactly what goes into your plate of food, but you can take your chance and ask for tweaks or extras. I asked for extra garlic and a hint of chilli in my Cognac Pasta.

Hubby opted for a Calzone and instead of hang around to watch his being pulled together, he was given a buzzer that would indicate when his was ready, so he could come back and enjoy his bruschetta with me.

And it was delicious. Fresh chopped tomatoes drizzled in olive oil, served on light ciabbatta bread. The chef preparing it asked if I also wanted a salad of buffalo mozzarella and of course I said yes!

So when you’re at the “station” ordering, you’re asked to pop your smart card on the pay terminal, where the chef inputs exactly what you’ve ordered and a total goes onto your card. This is the same when you order a drink at the bar. It effectively keeps a running total of your bill. My hubby had a separate one. You then pay at the front desk before you leave and you pay for only what’s on your personal card. Very clever! No awkward bill-splitting chat.

Back to the food, which is prepared fresh on site. They even have a pasta-making room, on display, where every shape of pasta imaginable is freshly made, cut and bagged into individual portions which are then on display behind each food station, ready for your to make your choice. I opted for penne, which is light and perfectly al dente.

The portions are generous and packed full of lovely ingredients and they don’t scrimp on the toppings of parmesan cheese. Hubby’s calzone was ginormous and the dough perfectly thin and crisp to the bite, but soft and gooey on the inside.

Of course I had to force a dessert down, just to be polite. These were on display at the bar and I opted for the white chocolate mousse on biscuit base, with salted caramel and honeycomb. Mmmmm. Quite rich, but a lovely way to round off the Italian meal.

Once you’ve got your head round this new system of ordering your food, it really is very simple and convenient. There are plenty of staff on hand still to make sure you are okay, clear tables and help with anything you need, so it’s not like you’re left to your own devices like at a motorway service station (which was my worry). In fact, it creates a really nice interactive environment where you can actually talk to the chef about your food, make sure you get exactly what you want and then dine in relaxed informality. Kind of awesome really.

Another random point for my fellow mummy and daddy friends. Vapiano is super easy with kids, though you probably are best to relay to and from the table. They also have great high-chairs, designed to fit in with their tables, which are of varying heights…they even have a super high high-chair to go with their higher bar tables. How cool is that?

I’d say Vapiano Manchester is the perfect spot for lunch during the week or a girly dinner and drinks or date night on the weekend. It’s authentic and fresh, which is the basis of great Italian food and the smart card system really is kinda cool. What’s not to like?

What do you think about eliminating the need to “split the bill”?