Vapiano

The staff were great and the food was amazing, it is really quick as well.
They were also very good at catering for my gluten free, dairy free and vegetarian diet :) they asked me if I was coeliac so they could avoid cross contamination so I was very happy and felt I could confidently eat here.

You can read how it works on other reviews.
We were from the US, and my kids wanted Italian food. I didn’t want to spend an arm and a leg for it. We found this on Unilocal.
The kids were happy. I was happy with my pasta order. I had to queue up a bit for it, but the wait was not all that bad and likely faster than table service. Ordered drinks at a bar (not the friendliest bartender, but at least efficient). My wallet could have been a little happier, but the bank did not get broken and the place basically worked out for our family.

I like this place! Exactly the same feel, same look, same concept, same food than in the Vapianos around the world!
It’s a fun place, great for groups. I give it a 4 star because the food is good, and you know what you get in for!

Great attention to interior design, creating a lovely ambiance for relaxing and dining with friends. The staff are always friendly and quick to serve. The food is fresh and healthy, with lots of variety. Great for a quick and healthy lunch or dinner.

With 2 entrances and a bright red sign, Vapiano is somewhere most people have driven past however have not stopped off.
From the alleyway entrance, you enter a small reception and walk up the stairs to the bar, tables and kitchen.
From the Collins St entrance, you go through the food court and past the elevators to land directly by the upstairs cashier and pasta factory.
The vibe at Vapiano is friendly and efficient, it is never too busy which is perfect if you go with a big group that needs a big space and wishes to pay separately (they give you individual swipe cards where you pay on your way out).
The pasta is fresh and very filling but I find the servings are too big for myself and it works better if I share with friends. The pizza is freshly baked however the base is a little too flimsy and thin for my liking and topping lacks punch but you can always request fresh herbs and chilli if required.
I’d go back again as I have an entertainment voucher to use up otherwise it is on the pricier side for a casual restaurant.

Vapiano is not your typical restaurant. You pick up a menu and smartcard when you walk in, pick your table you want to sit at, figure out what to order, then go to the open kitchen bar and order your pizza and beverage, and pick up your paging buzzer and go back to your table and wait for the buzzer to go off. Or if you order pasta or salad, you just wait for it to be prepared right in front of you. I didn’t really notice or mind that I basically waited on myself, great concept for the restaurant, no so much if you want to be waited on. The most important part of the experience? The food. The pizzas are flavorful and cooked perfect. The crust bubbles in the oven and turns caramel brown, the toppings are the perfect portion size. Nothing overpowers the other ingredients. The pasta is cooked perfect and have great sauces to accompany it. Don’t misplace your smartcard, it will cost you a whopping $ 75 dollars to leave the restaurant. Don’t get me wrong, I still like Vapiano, I’ve been twice and will go again.

First time visit was mid week not busy and nice service and tasty food… so decided
to return early on busy Friday nite and service was very poor and we were asked to
leave early scarfing down our food because we sat inside at only available seating marked reserve without a time frame/​name marked on it and were told we would have to leave by 7PM. Rude hostess and buser. When asked as we left we told how offensive that is to paying guests and were told well thats just the way it is. Mind you no one was present asking for this table, nor were we advised this when we entered or was anyone attempting to help people find seating. You order and service yourself by hauling food on a tray which must save them some money but would definitely prefer to be in a place where food was brought to us. Nice concept… needs polishing… food is pretty good at a fair price.

Tomato sauce with a really taste of tomato… That’s good!
Good music!
Friendly and trendy long tables for groups.

Vapiano is my top pick for eating out with a group in the Melbourne CBD. There’s a few reasons I think it’s great.
Most importantly the food is really good. There’s a great selection of pizza, pasta and salad options. The freshly made pasta is a particular highlight. The pizza is pretty good too. Since the food is made fresh in front of you, it’s easy to get it made according to your preferences for levels of spice, cheese ect. There’s also a pretty decent drink selection. It can get a touch crowded around the bar during happy hour, but once you’ve got your drink there’s plenty of less noisy places to move.
It’s an especially great place for groups due to the clever ordering system that removes the headache of splitting bills. Everyone gets handed a card on the way in which they swipe as they order and then pay for all their purchases on the way out. So useful at gatherings when people have to come and go at different times.
I’m also a fan of the customer service. I’ve been here a lot of times and without fail the staff have been polite and helpful.

Love the concept! It reliably delivers good pasta and pizza in a very quick turnaround and with some fun. I often return.

Very disappointing indeed. Without Internet access (to check reviews) at that moment we decided to take a chance on this upmarket-​looking Italian place in a little mall/​office building.
The atmosphere and setting were indeed great — cool, inviting. Other than that IMO the concept pretty much sucks. I can only imagine how awful it is when busy. We arrived at very late lunch (maybe 2pm) and there were 6 customers including we two looking for lunch. So first you have to get a «credit card» which you use to buy your choices. Then you wrestle with finding a menu to see what you want, then you have to figure out which station you need to order from — my wife wanted a pizza, I wanted pasta. My wife was lucky in that she was the only one who wanted to pizza and was able to order quickly (had she not done so I was pissed off that I would have simply walked out). I on the other hand had to (im)patiently wait to place my order for a simple spaghetti bolognese. Finally it is my turn to order and be served by a kind of ‘barista’ who heated the meat in a wok, while the pre packaged spaghetti in an automated pasta cooker. You would expect that with all this automation that the pasta would come out ‘al dente’ like clockwork. Well now — when I finally got to sit down to eat it was like rubber and the meat sauce tasteless. I walked back to pizza station at my wife’s suggestion and sprinkled some red pepper on my plate to overcome the bland nothingness of my meal. Never again. Cool looking though.
Note — they won’t even give you the password for their Internet access.

Fantastic place to get a hot meal cooked just like home. Bring your mates order whatever they want and no fighting over bill splitting!

The first time I tried vapianos was in Washington DC. The concept kind of blew my mind. Since then I’ve been in Mexico and now Melbourne. The food is always good, I love that you don’t have the complication of splitting bills and you can kind of go to town with menu changes since it’s made right there in front of you.
My advice, always go the pasta. It’s made fresh and it’s never let me down. Their specials are also worth a look. The pizzas have a great base but I’ve found they lack a bit of flavour.
The one area where Vapianos is let down in my opinion is the service. While I’ve never encountered a rude or unfriendly staff member, for the price you pay I feel the service could be elevated. Simply being seated by staff wouldn’t go astray, save you time searching for a table or sitting in reserved areas that are unmarked which is especially a problem on busy nights.
But regardless of that fact I’ll be back for sure. I love watching my food being made and the atmosphere and décor is quite classy and nice for a night out but still has a casual feel.

I have now been to three of these places, Brisvegas, Melbourne and Sydney.
Peas in a pod and hard to fault — does what it says on the box — pick your own fresh pasta and sauce and condiments, or salads or pizzas.
The pizzas are A-​OK, I had one with a meaty topping and added chilli — boy did it add chilli! Fantastico. Pasta ditto, fresh, well cooked, tasty sauces all things considered.
Haven’t had a salad but they look good.
Ambience is ok, and fresh mini herbs on the table to pick and add (or at least I did!) is nice. All blonde wood, high stools, trendy signs. They give you a card when you walk in and all your orders are added to that, then you pay as you leave — quite handy, saves bill splitting madness, so ideal for a group.

Der südlichste Vapiano der Erde… Ich fühle mich wie zu Hause…
Sehr schön eingerichtet — wie in Deutschland auch — und das Essen schmeckt. Bei Temperaturen von 40 Grad draußen gibt für mich aber «nur» einen Insalata Caesar

Before I visited a friend described this place as an upmarket Ikea concept, but with food.
Huh?! I had no idea what that meant either until I visited for a pizza one night and got introduced to Vapiano’s world of self-​service. It’s kind of nifty. Arrive and the host will give you a plastic card, which you then use at various stations around the restaurant to purchase drink, pizza, pasta, salads… swipe the card with each thing you order and then take a buzzer which you can place on your table until your item is ready.
My companion and I were after two take away pizzas. «Ready in 10 minutes» we were told… which was just enough time to get a gin and tonic in to us (bit of a fail: they didn’t have any Campari!).
10 minutes later our buzzer went off, we collected our pizzas and paid downstairs, scanning our plastic cards at the front desk and paying for everything in one go.
The pizza was passable, but was it the best I’ve ever had? Not really. It seemed a little under seasoned and the base was a bit stodgy.
We decided that coming here to dine in, with a group, was definitely the way to go. Everyone orders and «pays» with their plastic, checking out and paying their final amount on departure and avoiding any of those awkward moments when someone forgets to put enough money in to to cover their portion of the bill. Next time I’ll try the pasta which was being made fresh in house.