Exciting news just in: rolling out just exactly this week over at Vapiano is their new Winter Warmers menu! I was very lucky to be invited to an exclusive tasting of this new menu last week where I also met a handful of other amazing food bloggers. We were given such a generous amount of food and drinks and asked to give feedback about the dishes. This was my first time at an event like this and I really really enjoyed everything about it. Vapiano, thank you so much for having us! ❤️

This was also my first time at Vapiano despite my best friends constantly recommending this place to me over the years. And the experience I had here made me feel like all those years I have been missing out!

Vapiano is located at the edge of the Grace Hotel on the corner of York St and King St. A step inside through the doors reveals a really beautiful restaurant space with high ceilings and two levels of seating. I love the stylish, fresh and simple decor. We're greeted at the front desk by a really friendly staff member who directs us upstairs to where the tasting event is taking place.

The cafeteria style ordering.

Two long tables are exclusively reserved for the event with plates, utensils, menu and a complementary bag of pasta (so cute) all laid out.

Francis and I are one of the first foodies to arrive!

The Winter Warmers Menu 2017

Entree

Prosciutto Bruschetta

Tomato Soup

Mains

Pasta Puttanesca

Pizza Vesuvio

Dessert

Nutella Dessert Pizza

Drinks

Spice Pumpkin Martini

Squid Fist Sangiovese

Pikes Pale Ale

The upstairs is just as beautiful as downstairs! 

The tables are also very suitable for dining with a group or dining alone. The vibe is very relaxed and casual.

The gift bag with pasta in it! Never could there be a more perfect present from Vapiano's.

Pikes Pale Ale

Lets begin with the drink! I didn't drink this night because I had an assignment that I needed to stay up for and complete but Francis ordered the Pikes Pale Ale. I tried a bit of this and while pale ale is actually my least favourite type of beer, this was REALLY good. It had a darker and richer taste than normal pale ale, that made it an ideal pairing to everything on this winter menu.

ENTREES

Prosciutto Bruschetta

Thick slices of toasted bread topped with long slabs of creamy buffalo mozzarella cheese and salty prosciutto. The size of this is a little intimidating but every mouthful is delicious! Our hosts recommend we try it with a little drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and what a good suggestion that was. The olive oil helps if you feel the mouthful of bread is on the dry side. And the balsamic vinegar adds a rich and zesty zing of flavour!

Tomato Soup

Not your traditional thick and creamy tomato soup! In fact this one is a watery consistency with large croutons and melted cheese. I don't mind the difference at all and find this soup the peeeerfeccct entree to warm me up on the cold winter night!

MAINS

Pizza Vesuvio

Looking around, people are either eating a whole pasta or whole pizza to themselves. The size of the pizza is huge! And so is the pasta! So to all us foodies surprise, we all received our own huge bowls of pasta and pizza to share between two. 

Pizza Vesuvio is a spicy ground beef pizza with a generous amount of green capsicums and red onion and yogurt sauce. I love the combination of flavours! However it was indicated this pizza would be spicy but it was quite mild to everyones surprise. Still delicious though. 

Pasta Puttanesca

Does this remind anyone of A Series of Unfortunate Events on Netflix? Hehe. This is a very tasty and rich tomato-based pasta with a subtle anchovy flavour in the sauce. I feel like you can't go wrong with this choice! You can also choose to add extra cheese with your pasta.

DESSERT

OOOH NUTELLA PIZZA. AND TWO TYPES TOO!

Nutella Dessert Pizza

We were given two types to try: one with a thick, fluffy dough base and the other with a thin crispy base. The popular consensus was that the thick dough was our favourite! So so good. The bananas melted perfectly into the base and the strawberries were sweet. A good amount of Nutella too, for all you Nutella lovers!

Overall Francis and I are big fans of Vapiano's new winter warmers menu! Our favourites that we have to recommend to you all would be the Pizza Vesuvio with a tall glass of Pikes Pale Ale. We both really hope everyone has the chance to stop by Vapiano's and check it out! xx