Just a stone’s throw away from Tottenham Court Road station sits Vapiano, the restaurant where you can pretty much make your own fresh pasta dish.
There are four Vapiano restaurants across London, also including in Paddington, Tower Bridge and Oxford Circus.
It’s one of those easy places, where you know the food is going to be good and where you can make it a quick bite to eat on the way somewhere else, or a longer meal with friends for a catch up.
The Tottenham Court Road restaurant is located really conveniently, close to the shops and to the station, and I went with my friend on a Tuesday evening after a mooch around doing some Christmas shopping.
The restaurant has a small downstairs, and a really big upstairs filled with tables, and it was really busy especially for a Tuesday.
There’s a big bar, and an open style kitchen which I really liked too.
There’s a barcode to scan on each table where you can open a digital menu, and you can order from your phone which makes it really easy too.
The menu is extensive, and each dish can be personalised to suit your needs.
My friend got bruschetta with prawn to start, while I got some dough sticks and a side salad.
There was loads to choose from, but it was the mains that won me over best.
As a pasta rather than pizza lover, I chose the base of my pasta dish – a pomodoro – and then got the option to add whatever I wanted to my dish.
No judgements please, but I went for extra tomato sauce, mushrooms, peas and spinach on the fresh fusilli-typed pasta that I chose.
It was absolutely delicious, huge in portion size, and as a fussy eater I was so happy that I could pick exactly what I wanted.
My friend made her own version of a mushroom fusilli pasta, and even added a burrata cheese on top, which she loved equally as much as I did mine.
We had a mango sorbet each for dessert which was smooth, sweet and tasty, and best of all we had a great catch up over great food.
Vapiano even has an autumn specials menu on with mint hot chocolate, tiramisu coffee, pumpkin zuppa and more.
Plus, if you book a table for 6+ between November 27 and December 14 (Sunday to Thursday), you can receive a free bottle of prosecco. To redeem, show your booking confirmation to the team when dining.
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