We hit lucky again, Vappianos have a NEW restaurant had opened at Disneyland Paris. I would have broken my neck to get an early opportunity to visit Vapiano, when I podcasted and blogged on DisneyBrit.

Vapiano, Disney Village

Vapiano is a new Italian restaurant with chains throughout the world, but this one was located in the Disney Village. The Official opening date was the day before we got to Disneyland Paris, so we thought it was worth taking a look. The only problem was we couldn’t find it. A few fan websites had shown it near to the IMAX cinema, but it was tucked away. And I mean really tucked away. It is based on a new area that is planned to expand into a street of shops and restaurants. However, to get to it you need to leave the security zone of Disney Village and head out the back route.

They must have realised this as an issue. The next day there was a huge banner sign being stretched across the hoarding shouting that Vapiano was OPEN!

Vapiano Disney Village

The restaurant itself is a new concept to us, but there is one in Manchester and three in London. It is a fast/casual dining experience. It was so new to us that we were a little dazed at first.

Upon Entry, you are given a Vapiano Charge Card. This is then used throughout your meal when you order drink or food. Then at the end of the meal, you take your card to the till and they work out your balance. So, we were given the cards (two for our family) and let loose into the restaurant. We quickly found a bench table. Looked at the Menus. Talked about a strategy. Sat a little longer, then Cat went off to the bar to get the drinks.

I had a litre of 1664, Cat had Vin Rouge, the kids had soft drinks. While Cat was at the bar, I’d noticed there were lots of queues at the food stations. Still a little baffled we decided to sort out the kids first. A kids margarita pizza and some Spaghetti Bolognese.

Fresh Cooking

Pizzas are ordered at the Pizza Station. When you order you are given a buzzer and your card is swiped. As it is made to order and the restaurant was filling up it took around 30 minutes for our pizza to be cooked. Which was fine as we weren’t in a hurry as such, but the kids were peckish. So I went to the Pasta Station.

Pasta is ordered at any of the pasta Stations and is cooked fresh. From past fresh pasta experiences like this I assumed, partly cooked pasta and a spoon of sauce. Not here! The bolognese was cooked mainly from scratch. The fresh spaghetti was added to an automated boiler machine, which lifted it out of the water after a few minutes.

Oil was added to a hot pan. A spoon full of garlic and onions, some Mince and Tomato sauce. A few fresh Basil leaves ripped up and added. A spoonful of grated carrot and a few chopped cherry tomatoes. As the Pasta was cooked to order, you queue up at your chosen chef and wait for the order to be cooked.

We decided upon a Scampi Pizza (which was a pizza with prawns on), but realised that due to cooking times ordered it before I went up for the pasta.

The Hoopers Loved Vapiano

Although it took a while to get all the meals cooked and we were eating different times, we loved it. The food we very fresh and very tasty. If or when we go back to a Vapiano, we will be more prepared. Technically we only had 3 meals between the 4 of us, but the portion sizes were good and we didn’t need that extra meal. The theory with the Vapiano Charge Card is that you can go back for more if you want it, rather than being set into ordering your full meal up front, then heading towards the bill. You could sit and graze all day I guess.

Our Bill came to around 50 Euros, which for Disneyland Paris and a family of 4 isn’t bad at all.

Vapiano even inspired Abigail to try Instagramming!

Vapiano and Disneyland Paris

One of my other websites looked at the hidden details of Disney parks, film references etc. At Vapiano Disney VIllage the decor isn’t very “Disney”, but the menu board above the cook stations has references to the Disneyland Park. It was only after being in there over an hour that I spotted the details!

If you look at the drawings in the background, you’ll spot references to all the lands at Disneyland Park.