You might think recipes at restaurants are ones which are made to be followed, trusted, and sworn by – and while mostly they are, at Vapiano in Paddington they aren’t.
Don’t get me wrong, the new eatery does have a wide-ranging menu with the most exquisite dishes on there, and ones which are hard to resist.
But, the thing that makes Vapiano so special is the ability to chop and change every single recipe on the menu to suit you.
Want to add your favourite ingredient in that isn’t already part of your favourite dish?
Want to remove that one thing that you absolutely can’t stand?
Then Vapiano is your place – and as a regrettably fussy eater that’s why I chose there as a spot for a mid-week bite to eat, and I absolutely loved it.
The décor and interior is new, modern, calming and aesthetic, and the staff were helpful and friendly.
To start with, my dining partner and I shared one very generously sized Bruschetta and one Bruschetta Mozzarella.
Although I’m not a huge cheese lover, I did prefer the Mozzarella one – and both were finished with freshly marinated and flavourful tomatoes.
For main, we shared the Caprese salad – yes, more cheese and more tomatoes, which was a lovely addition (and perhaps an unnecessary one but I’m not complaining) to add to the main event.
I chose the pasta with the pomodoro sauce, and milked the broken recipe motto to make it my own – adding spinach, peas and cherry tomatoes.
Weird? Maybe… Delicious? Definitely.
The portion was huge, again, and so was the Chicken Alfredo that my friend got.
The other options on the menu included handmade sourdough pizzas, which were really not easy to resist.
For dessert we got mango sorbet, which is my absolute favourite and was absolutely divine.
Although the portion was fit for someone who hadn’t eaten two courses before this, it was great to be able to take my little ice cream pot home to finish at a later date when I need a taste of Vapiano and mango.
As I’m attempting Dry January, I didn’t choose to have an alcoholic drink – but I was more than tempted by the cocktails on offer on the menu.
Overall, my experience was a great one – the food was authentically Italian, the service was fast and friendly, and I can’t wait to go back and break some more recipe norms.
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