VAPIANO gluten-free: chain of restaurants with gluten-free options –
VAPIANO is a chain of restaurants specializing in risotto, pizza, pasta and salads, present in 33 countries and 5 continents, with more than 200 restaurants.
In the site you can find all their restaurants in the world:
The restaurants are very nice with modern and informal decor; similar in all restaurants, but on the walls, there are decorative variations that remind you of the city in which it’s located.
When you enter, they give you a card per person, where they “loaded” all the products that you take and that you will pay at the exit, returning the cards to the checkout.
In the menu you can have almost everything as gluten-free (with an extra charge of € 1,50), the important is to specify it well at the time of ordering (click on the images to enlarge them):
There are “specific” queues: pasta & risotto, salad & appetizers, pizza & lasagne. There are several queues for each product so the wait isn’t long: order what you want and place the card on a specific reader so that they can insert the dishes you have taken.
The dish is prepared in front of you, so you can check if they clean or change tools to have the complete safety of cross-contamination. Where we have been, the girl who made pasta changed her gloves and changed tools before making our dish.
We went to a restaurant in Germany, in Frankfurt, where we took the pasta and to one in Austria, in Innsbruck, where we took the pizza. All gluten-free options are in cooperation with Schär and therefore use their products.
The pasta is pre-cooked in single portions (separated from the rest of the pasta), but it’s still really good, it looked almost home-made pasta.
With the pasta with gluten, they also give a piece of bread, which isn’t given with the gluten-free one.
We had “Ratatouille” pasta and “Carbonara” pasta, both very good, with fresh ingredients.
We also took a gluten-free pastry (the only gluten-free dessert available in that restaurant): an almond pastry with flakes of caramelized almonds and dark chocolate, very good.
For 2 dishes of pasta, water and a pastry we spent € 25.95.
In the restaurant of Innsbruck, we took two pizzas, one with prosciutto and Grana cheese, and one with mushrooms and cooked ham. Also these very good, both the crust and the seasoning ingredients, certainly of quality.
The pizza is made separately from those with gluten and you can wait at the table with a badge, which sounds when it’s ready to take.
For 2 pizzas, one coca cola and water we spent € 26,70.
Other restaurant chains with gluten-free options in Europe: