Vapiano Edinburgh

Global chain offering quality Italian fast food to city-centre shoppers and workers.

The 2019 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

Edinburgh’s Vapiano is an impressive three-storey restaurant, with two floors built below street level, the lowest of which is the largest dining space. Despite the subterranean setting, the building is bright and airy, sensitively converted so that light from the large, ground-floor windows filters down a dramatic central shaft. The rest of the décor is neutral, bordering on impersonal (this is a global chain after all) but happily, this is not reflected in the food. There are two kitchens, one serving decent homemade pizza and antipasti, the other pasta and risotto. The latter is recommended, with chefs cooking your order in front of you and adapting recipes to your taste. The menu is relatively safe, dominated by traditional Italian dishes, but the exceptions are well worth trying: particularly cognac pasta, with the spirit cooked gently into a rich garlicky cream sauce, served with peas, chicken and bacon, and a delicately flavoured strawberry spinach salad.