Vapiano

Reviews 4

RY

Ryan Ray

This evening I took a friend to Vapiano for dinner on 1800 M St NW in Washington, D.C. For both my guest and I, this was our first time dining at Vapiano. I had heard great things about your restaurant so our expectations were high. When my guest and I entered the restaurant we were given two plastic cards. Since we had planned to pay together on one check, I thought I would save the cashier the trouble of combining our orders at the end and just place all of our items on one card. We ordered two pasta entrees, one large salad and two glasses of wine. Everyone was very helpful and friendly during the order process. One of the hostesses came over to check on us during our meal and was also very kind. Best of all, both my guest and I agreed that the food was delicious. The portions were generous and so we packed up our leftovers and headed for the door. Thats when our evening took a turn for the worse. Somehow, in the midst of changing tables three times to find a comfortable spot with the right temperature, we had lost the extra plastic card. I wasnt too worried about it, though, as everything we had ordered was placed on the one card that we did have. Unfortunately, the cashier disagreed. When I told her that we didnt have the second card she told us that we had to return the card before we left. Both my guest and I searched again through all of our pockets but our search turned up fruitless. The girl at the front desk (who I think was named Hazel) was very insistent. She said that without the second card she would have to charge me $50 extra. I was floored. I told her that she could clearly see the time of our arrival and each of the entrees we had purchased and even the wine all on the one card we did have. But she wasnt willing to compromise. Hazel continued, stating that it was "policy" and she had no choice but to charge us the $50 fee. I then told Hazel that I wanted to speak to a manager. She told me that she was the manager and that they could not make any exceptions to the policy. Hazel even had the audacity to claim that even if the owners of Vapiano tried to leave without returning their card that they would also have to pay the $50 fee. Needless to say, I was beside myself. I repeated to Hazel that I would happily pay for all the food we consumed but that I would not pay $50 for a piece of plastic. Hazel just kept shrugging her shoulders and repeating herself. I told her that she could charge me for the $54 worth of food we had consumed or we would leave without paying a penny. All this time, my guest is running around the restaurant, station to station, trying to find our lost card. I was livid. Aside from being a customer of your restaurant, I am also a professional mystery shopper. It is my job to evaluate businesses to ensure they are giving exceptional service. I have written hundreds of evaluations and in that time I have NEVER been treated as poorly as I was tonight. By doing nothing more than repeating herself and refusing to charge me for our meal, Hazel turned a beautiful dining experience into a horror show. Her attitude left me feeling like a thief and truly embarrassed me in front of my friend and all those near the host stand in the restaurant. The only recourse she offered was a business card with the phone number and name of someone I assume is the general manager. Of course, when I called the number no one answered. Since Hazel refused to charge us for what we had consumed, I told my guest that we were leaving. Thats when Mario stepped out of the kitchen. He confirmed with Hazel that the guest check on the register was ours, took my payment and wished us well. To say that I am disappointed is a complete understatement. What was supposed to be an enjoyable night out turned into an absolute nightmare all because of your employees stubborn adherence to some policy which I had never heard anything about. Of course, I understand her position. She has to make sure all food consumed is paid for. But in a situation like ours, her approach allowed a small problem to become a major one.

JE

Jessica Stone

DO NOT LOOSE YOUR CARD OR IT WILL COST YOU $50.00 FAIR FOOD, TERRIBLE SERVICE. Unfortunately, wait time for the food preparation behind the counter was excessive considering there were 5 staff members behind the counter all doing things besides servicing the customers. Like a similar review, I misplaced the "card" they gave me on my first visit to the restaurant (before I even had a chance to order anything) and when I asked for another one the staff informed me in a threatening manner that it would cost $50.00 to replace it. Being that I hadnt ordered anything yet, they were "nice enough" to give me another one without any charge however later I was approached by an extremely rude staff member by the name of Hazel, while I was in line ordering my food, questioning if the card she found was mine and am I aware I would be charged $50 for loosing it. I understand this franchise has its method of doing things however being approached by this staff member in a taunting, threatening manner really left me with a bad taste in my mouth, especially considering this staff member, Hazel, is the manger of the restaurant. Needless to say neither myself nor my family will be returning to this restaurant (neither will any person I know visiting from NY, I will make sure if it). Between the poor energy of the staff, obnoxiously loud music in an already loud restaurant and excessive wait time in what appears to be glorified- food -court -type restaurant, I would not recommend spending your money or time here. I will be making a formal complaint about my experience to Vapiano Corp..just wanted to give fellow consumers the heads up before you walk into a place that does not value or respect you as a customer.

MA

Mario G.

Eigentlich ein sehr gutes Lokal, man kann in DC vernünftiges italienisches Essen zu annehmbaren Preisen haben. Zur Zeit gibt es eine tolle Aktion, man kann zu jeder Pizza einen Pitcher (1,5 Liter ist dieser) Warsteiner um $ 11,95- haben. Es gibt den Pitcher aber auch alleine ums gleiche Geld. An der Salattheke hatte ich am 12.8.2017 einen tollen Salat mit Beef und Shrimps (Reefn Beef 13,95- Netto). Am 13.8.2017 habe ich mir wieder diesen Salat gekauft. Diesen musste ich aber halb kalt werden lassen bevor ich den zweiten Salat für meine Frau bekam, weil ein Einheimischer hinter mir auf einmal dazwischen bedient wurde - da hat die Reihenfolge auf einmal keine Rolle mehr gespielt! Ich wurde auch nicht mehr gefragt ob ich Knoblauch auf Shrimps und Fleisch will - einfach drauf. Schade, hatte alles so gut angefangen.

BR

Brian Bobay

With such of an abundance of diverse dining options in the area, a repeat visit would not be my first choice. What I liked was the decor: fresh, fun, modern, co temporary, thoughtful mix of chic and relaxing. The staff was fun and cheery but a little more focused on entertaining themselves than helping me place an order. We were asked if it was our first vist to which we replied "yes." Response: "Here, youll need these 2 cards." A simple, minute to further explain that..."the restraurant is a new age cafeteria that is divided into sections. One section is for pasta, another for pizza/lasagne and a bar. Order an item, swipe your card, grab a pager." Because we arrived at 3pm, there was only 4 customers and at least 6 to 7 staff members. Yet, I stood in front of an empty lasagne station for over 8 minutes. Id estimate 35 to 40 minutes from entrance to first bite. The lasagne had very little sauce and even less flavor. Would rather have Stouffers. My date had a shrimp based pasta that was fine. The bread was blah. Heather at the bar was nice and helpful. Drinks were good value at this hour. $42 for two entrees and 2 drinks not bad but we had to do all the legwork so for the quality I would rather pay $10-15 more for high quality experience (or find a groupon) that comes with a great server or pay $10-15 less and get street food or fast food.