Vabene! Pizzeria & Aperitivo — Restaurant in Aachen

Vabene! Or...how to steal your money! We came for dinner to this restaurant after reading some positive reviews...the place is really plain, not too cosy or amazing looking but nice and clean enough. The menu has good variety and interesting choices. The service was good (to start with)...not overly friendly but attentive. We ordered some antipasti platter as a starter (we were a group of 5 with only one of us able to speak in German), when it came we were pleasantly surprised to see an nice platter full of tasty antipasti..olives, eggplant, a bit of cheese, artichokes etc..however! Something that was originally priced around 10 euros ended up being charged as 45 (as they decided to multiply the amount x5). It was a generous portion...but definitely not worth 45 quid! After that we ordered some pizzas, good size but a bit watery and with a really hard frozen-like base. Tasty but nothing compared to a good Italian pizza. So far a pleasant experience, nothing to jump about but decent for a rainy day dinner. The surprise came when we got the bill, that was way too high for what we ate. We tried to pay by card but they wouldn’t accept visa and they also claimed that their internet wasn’t working so no card would work...Unacceptable if you ask me! Most European places accept visa...and we saw many other customers paying by card...so their internet was definitely working. When we reviewed the bill, two extra main courses worth 20 euros were added to our bill. When we brought this to their attention both waiter and supervisor argued with us until we got the money back. We didn’t even get an apology. Not even a nice goodbye. If you feel half tempted by the positive reviews...think twice about it! There are many other nice places with a far more professional service in Aachen In response to the restaurant answer to my review: first of all it’s not my fault your booking system doesn’t work and you didn’t get the reservation on time; however, the restaurant was far from full, in fact you gave us a choice of several tables to sit. So obviously wasn’t that difficult to accommodate us. In fact none of the people that came after us had a reservation. Secondly, the antipasti platter was at most 2 platters merged in one...and for the future, if you are going to charge for 5 platters you should serve them as 5 platters and not a big one. And when you ask if you want the starter for the 5 people, make sure you clarify what you mean, as it can be interpreted if we want it as a starter to share between the 5 of us. The stickers on your window regarding payments are so small it’s hard to see them and your website doesn’t state any of this, as we did check if you accepted cards before we went. And finally, we understand that people make mistakes, it’s not a problem, but the treatment we received when we brought it to your attention was far from professional...and he apology should have been given face to face and not in response to...

Not sure what the excellent reviews are about. The place is simply average with cheap pricing. Spaghetti overcooked with "al dente" probably more a foreign language here than an Italian way of cooking. Pizza comes from an electronic oven and is as good as a frozen one bought in a supermarket. Service very neutral (friendly but we had to wave for attention each time). Empty plates of finished appetisers are not cleared away before more is brought in. No payment by credit card possible apparently due to high commission rates. All in all simply an...

Eine unvergessliche Hochzeitsfeier!

Wir haben bei Vabene den Abend unserer standesamtlichen Hochzeit mit fast 30 Freunden verbracht und es war einfach perfekt. Wir kommen hier sowieso schon regelmäßig her, aber dieser Abend war etwas ganz Besonderes. Die Tische waren liebevoll geschmückt und der Service war aufmerksam und herzlich.

Besonders schön war es, dass wir draußen im schönen Hinterhof sitzen konnten und dort eine geschlossene Gesellschaft hatten. Die Atmosphäre war wundervoll und hat dem Abend eine besondere Note verliehen. Zu Beginn haben wir einen Aperitif erhalten – auch an eine alkoholfreie Version wurde gedacht, was uns sehr gefreut hat.

Vorab konnten wir unsere Wünsche mit dem Inhaber besprechen. Er ist sehr freundlich und flexibel auf uns eingegangen und hat eigene Ideen eingebracht.

Die Vorspeise wurde auf unser Zeichen hin direkt gebracht und war wie das restliche Essen hervorragend. Alle Hauptgerichte wurden pünktlich und heiß serviert. Der Service war unglaublich effizient und hat uns die Getränke schnell und freundlich gebracht.

Wir können das Vabene also auch für Gruppen wärmstens empfehlen.

Wir haben uns rundum wohl gefühlt und werden diesen besonderen Tag dank der großartigen Atmosphäre und dem tollen Team vom Vabene niemals vergessen. Vielen Dank für diesen unvergesslichen Abend! Wir kommen sicher...