Vapiano Grand Central — Restaurant in Queensland

The family’s recent visit to the restaurant a couple of weeks ago was an undeniably stark contrast to the pleasant memories throughout past experiences.

The interaction with the manager was nothing short of absolutely appalling. The manner through which the family was treated was unprofessional, abrasive and disrespectful. I was not provided with a preference of seating and was instructed to remain within the assigned seating arrangement that the manager had pushed towards, noting that it was a quiet evening. The restaurant was not frequented and was quite with a selection of seating available.

I am extending sincerest apologies to the young woman who had been taking our order at the counter. I was demanded to return to the outlined seating arrangement as the restaurant only provided table service. It was absolutely ridiculous. The manager had an unnecessarily harsh conversation with the individual outlining the procedures regarding customer service and ordering following the exchange amongst the manager and myself. The exchange was dismissively rude and completely out of line. It is not pleasant to witness such a display of inappropriate management, and it certainly was not a welcoming and accommodating dining environment.

The concept of providing table service within the establishment has been demonstrated to be contrasting within the productivity of the restaurant throughout multiple dining experiences.

It should appear that the quality of service within the restaurant has suffered dramatically. The amazing team of regular staff who were always friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable appear to have been replaced, otherwise have at least significantly diminished. The warmth that characterised the restaurant’s previous staff remains conspicuously absent.

The restaurant was once a dining establishment that was characterised throughout the meals that brought enjoyable and satisfactory experiences, and now appears lacklustre. The beverages that were previously arriving to the seating arrangement promptly, now take an unnecessarily long period of time – almost as long as the food, which in itself is disappointing. The front of house and bartending staff that were once competent and engaging appear to have been replaced with utterly inexperienced and unfriendly individuals.

The decline within the quality of the products and the service provided is exasperating. It is clear that the recent management team has taken direction to providing nothing short of a horrible experience. The customer interaction with the previous staff that once made dining within the restaurant an enjoyable experience are absolutely nowhere to be seen, and I can only speculate as to why this may be the case. The remaining staff appear disheartened. The restaurant does not appear to have the appropriate leadership and support from the management team to foster positivity and cohesion within the environment.

The visit to the restaurant was deeply disappointing and frustrating. It is disheartening to see what was once a wonderful establishment fall short of its previous standards. The combination of poor management and increasing decline within the product quality leaves me with little desire to return. I am hoping that the restaurant management would be capable of addressing these matters and demonstrate the commitment to restore the warmth and excellence that once defined the establishment. Unfortunately, I am not expecting the management team to recognise the restaurant’s decline within quality as these have been consistent issues across multiple dining experiences.

I certainly will not be returning to the restaurant and would not recommend visiting.

I will be seeking dining establishments that genuinely value the customers and employees alongside maintaining quality service within...

So this place has been around for a few years now and it's always pretty busy, you definitely need to book in advance. It looks pretty fancy from the outside, but it's a safe bet for most occasions really. Fantastic location and layout. Ambience: on point. Whilst I can't speak to the quality of the bar (since I didn't go the cocktail/predrinks route on this particular occasion) it appeared to have a good range so will definitely be back to explore that avenue. Strong points - bread and cheese are complimentary with every meal. Winner. Speaking of chicken, the pollo amatriciana - believe me when I say the garlicy tomato sauce had some serious depth of flavour. Little crunchy bits of bacon served as little nuggets of joy, providing a textural contrast which was more than welcome. A beautiful little zing of chilli really got the tastebuds singing! Only complaint was that a little more than one leaf fresh basil would have rounded the dish out a little nicer. Minor point though. Overall, great dish. Second dish of the night was the ravioli. Sauce? Creamy, rich (in the most positive sense) and silky smooth. Pasta was well cooked. The word perfectly was thrown around in that regard. The filling, whilst good, was a little overshadowed by the sauce and the pasta. The wine selection was surprisingly short for an Italian restaurant, but there was enough to get you out of trouble. The largest selection was the Shiraz's which only consisted of 3 wines (1 of which was the house red). Reasonably priced though so not a lot to complain about here, just add a few bottles to your list. Music is a simple thing, but totally has a big impact on a dining experience. I'm not sure what I expected here but it wasn't what I got. That said, what I got was better than whatever I was expecting. The playlist was modern, where I was expecting something more formal or traditional. The selection was upbeat but appropriate and set to perfect background volume. Finally the ratatouille. Sauce was flavoursome and had a warming familiarity to it. Delish. Unfortunately the penne was not at all al dente. Somewhat firm, which was disappointing. Not to be a negative Nelly though, this was still a very enjoyable dish. Service time was incredible. Seriously, I don't know that I've ever had a meal come out so quickly. I was very impressed. A final point. The little table lights are really cool. The shade over the top means you don't get an annoying glare on people's faces but you can easily see what you're doing on the table.

P.S. I was totally smitten with the super pretty waitress that served us here (you'll know her when you see her) so i might be a little biased but overall we each had a very enjoyable meal. Would...

Our first time visiting Vapiano yesterday, dining alongside our friends who eat here regularly.

I'd firstly like to pass on a compliment to the diligent young woman working front of house. Wonderful speed and friendliness - a credit to this establishment. As nobody was wearing a name badge, she was tall, blonde hair in a clip with a neck tattoo. It's wonderful to see such enthusiasm.

OK, onto the food. If you arrive between 4-6PM there's a solid range of food and beverage covered by their happy hour promotion. Light meals to share and cocktails were taken up by us. My wife ordered the bruschetta (not pictured) and I ordered the garlic bread. Before realising I preferred the garlic bread pizza so gave the bread to our friends kids to devour.

Bruschetta was a bit uninspiring - merely diced tomatoes dropped on toasted bread with a little rocket for garnish. Most bruschetta is prepared to extract the juice from the tomatoes and seasoned well - this was very dry. And no option to add balsamic vinegar - that makes a great bruschetta in my opinion.

The garlic bread pizza had plenty of garlic punchiness, baked well but contained so much oil I was concerned Uncle Sam was about to knock down the door and "liberate" the place. My wife had three frozen cocktails (one mango, two strawberry) and said they were great (and only $10). Staff tried to deliver another drink but it wasn't for our table.

Early on the sun was belting into the dining area that resulted in large amounts of glare and heat - but settled down closer to sunset. We talked a bit more, drank a bit more and tried another dish from the happy hour menu - the trio of tips. These dips were great - my wife enjoyed the caramelised onion whilst I found the tomato and capsicum tapenade quite pleasant.

Our mains arrived shortly after sunset. My wife chose the Crema di Funghi risotto whilst I had the beef cheek ragu. You do get a choice of pasta - apparently the choices are quite limited compared to the Surfers Paradise outlet. Not to worry, I enjoy Campanelle so I selected that.

Complimentary bread, cheese and chilli are available but must be specified at the time of ordering.

Our mains arrived in a reasonably timely manner - the venue does warn you that everything is cooked to order. My wife had no issues with her order although mine was erroneously supplied with fettucine. The aforementioned waitress was very quick to see this addressed.

Payment is either via a QR code on the table (surcharge applies) or via the front terminal (surcharge applies, you cannot pay with cash). Rather odd that there's no surcharge free method of...