Vapiano Edinburgh - A New Dining Experience

Hello Everyone,

How are you all doing? I'm sitting at a window with actual sunlight pouring in and I don't want to get my hopes up but it feels like spring may actually be here!

Yesterday however, it was cold and grey in Edinburgh, with a breeze that felt capable of carrying me to Emerald City but that didn't stop us from visiting the relatively new Vapiano Restaurant in Edinburgh which turned out to be a whole new dining experience.

I should mention that being heavily pregnant, food is life to me at the moment and so when I was invited along with a friend (I took Mr Sparkles with me) to sample some of the menu and the relaxed dining atmosphere that Vapiano are famous for, I was very excited because offer this pregnant lady food and I'll be there before you can say "See you at 11"

On arrival we had the concept of the restaurant explained to us, this is when I realised just how different of a dining experience we were about to have, I knew a bit about Vapiano before I arrived but I had avoided reading any reviews online as I wanted to make sure I was really taking it all in first hand in order to get my own unique feel for the establishment.

Vapiano Edinburgh is situated over three floors, the first floor if for ordering your salads and antipasti dishes, the second floor holds the bar for drinks and desert orders and finally, the last floor held the pasta and risotto counter. The basic premise is that you are given a credit card of sorts upon arrival and after choosing a seat somewhere within the restaurant on your desired floor, you proceed to place orders at the various counters (or just one depending on what you've came for) at which point your credit card is swiped and the total of your various starters, mains, deserts and drinks are added up as you go along then when you and your party are finished your meal/meals, you approach the main desk and hand over your cards in order to pay. This is genius for a couple of reasons, gone is the awkward flagging down of a staff member to ask for a bill to arrive and also, if you're part of a group then your meal is already divided up price wise for you and you're not having to side eye Greedy Gertie in your party insisting you split the bill equally who had two starters, a main, a pudding and 6 cocktails while you had a main and a coke that day, bloody genius!

The ambiance within the whole of Vapiano is definitely a laid back and social one, it is a place you could come happily on a date but equally in a group party or with a friend or two for a low key catch up session surrounded by delicious food and tempting smells.
The layout of the bench like tables, the relaxing outdoor element of the trees at various seats and the casual Italian home feel of having fresh herbs sat on pots on your table alongside dressings and oils, lends itself to easy socialisation and takes away from the sometimes intimidating feel of being under the watchful eye of restaurant staff, the added element of visiting your chosen counters to bring your own freshly prepared food also eradicates the sometimes awkwardness of table service.

The food, oh my god the food though!! I have eaten at a lot of restaurants in various countries and cities around the world (I'm all about the food ok!) and the pasta I ordered in particular, has been one of the best pastas I've ever eaten, it was amazing! Pasta is made fresh each day in the 'Pasta Manifattura' (pictured above) and wow, you could definitely tell.
We tried a variety of what Vapiano had to offer and had two starters, two mains and two deserts. We were pleasantly surprised to be asked if we would like meals customised (more garlic? addition of chilli?) and I like how this means you're going to get a meal perfect for your own tastes.

Bruschetta Gamberetti

Bruschetta Mozzarella

Crema Di Funghi

Risotto Gamberetti E Pomodoro

The Risotto and Pasta Main Dishes Again

Tiramisu Della Cassa

Death By Chocolate

I can't wait to come back to Vapiano next time I'm in the city, I know I've raved about the pasta but I've not stopped drooling over it since I left the restaurant!

Have you been to a Vapiano restaurant before? If you have, let me know your thoughts of this unique dining experience.

I am also including a loo selfie of my huge pregnant frame because... why not!

Speak soon everyone,

Rosy xx

Seas of Snow Revisited

Hi Everyone,

Today I'm back revisiting a book I reviewed back in May last year and I've raved about on social media steadily since, that book would be Seas of Snow by Kerensa Jennings.

For those of you in the know, Kerensa is a literary genius, and yes I know I have fangirled hard over Kerensa in the past year but her novel Seas of Snow really touched me on a level I've not felt before, yes I've spoken about stories that have blown me away in the past and I've certainly read some fantastic books in my time but there's something about Seas of Snow that got deep under my skin and stayed there.

One of the main drawing points of the novel for me is the enthralling battle between good and evil and the obvious knowledge of the inner workings of the human mind that Kerensa Jennings provides us which makes for a fascinating read.

I've said before that this is a novel that is genre defying, I couldn't possibly put it into a category if I tried but I can tell you that this is a novel that can at once uplift you only to drop you deep into the darkest parts of despair moments later, I consider Seas of Snow to be more than a story to be told, I see it as a work of art that evokes a strong emotional response and I for one will never forget the feelings I had whilst devouring each word presented to me within the pages of this novel.

If you're interested in picking up Seas of Snow, the paperback has just been released on amazon this month, be warned though, there's a strong trigger warning for child abuse here but if you're able to handle a gritter read then this might be the one for you.

For an in depth review of the actual story you can read my original review that I posted last year here and if you've read Seas of Snow I'd be interested to hear your take on it.

You can follow Kerensa Jennings on twitter (@Zinca) too.

Speak soon

Rosy