New Italian restaurant Vapiano set to open in St Andrew Square

AN upmarket Italian restaurant chain is to open its first Scottish eatery on the Capital's St Andrew Square.
Vapiano is set to open in Edinburgh in St Andrew Square.Vapiano is set to open in Edinburgh in St Andrew Square.
Vapiano is set to open in Edinburgh in St Andrew Square.

The three-floor, £1 million Vapiano restaurant will also provide 50 jobs when it opens towards the end of summer.

The first Vapiano restaurant opened in Hamburg in 2002, with the Edinburgh eatery set to become the chain’s first in Scotland and fifth in the UK.

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It is the latest addition to St Andrew Square, which will also host the first Scottish restaurant run by celebrity hotspot The Ivy.

And managing director Phil Sermon said his firm’s approach to preparing all food fresh in-house every day and its quick pay system would help Vapiano become a destination restaurant in the Capital.

“We have eleven types of fresh pasta, pizza dough, pasta sauces, salad dressings and dolci - we don’t have microwaves and we never buy pre-made – unless it’s our ice cream,” he said.

“All of this, cooked in front of you for a great price means incredible value for what you get.

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“We hope our new customers relax into our new home and enjoy the abundance of delicious Italian dishes.

“Edinburgh has one of the greatest restaurant scenes in Europe so we’re thrilled to be joining it.

“This is a city that enjoys eating out and we can’t wait to welcome new customers through the door. We’re also delighted that our opening will be creating 50 new opportunities for people to develop great careers in hospitality.”

Recruitment has begun and Mr Sermon is looking for “talent not necessarily experience”.

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He added: “We offer a full training and development programme, where people can start with us. For example, you could start at Vapiano as a pizza chef and grow their career to become a general manager responsible for the whole restaurant – almost all of our GM’s have grown with our business in this way. We have recruited excellent local managers who are training with us already and now we are looking for chefs, waiters, bar staff and KPs.”