A new Vapianos will open at Tower Bridge on October 26. The restaurant will be housed within the One Tower Bridge development. Not everyone has found the location fruitful.

We reported previously that the casual Italian (Hamburg-based) restaurant chain would be doubling its London presence; this Vapianos branch is just the beginning. Next up will be two further sites on Tottenham Court Road and Canary Wharf in 2019.

Vapianos, despite expansion, has managed to maintain quality. Pasta is made on site every day, cooked to order, and is “generally good”. It’s just not always easy to buy – orders are placed at counters, which get seriously busy at lunch times. The word “scrum” has been used.

Fast pasta

Still, affordable efficiency by way of ‘customisable pasta bowls’ might be what One Tower Bridge is after at the moment. The chain is popular with younger diners who seem to want to spend £10 on penne bolognese rather than £7 on junk food.

And Vapianos sounds as though it’s spent some serious money on its Tower Bridge restaurant. The space will serve 361 covers split over two floors, and there’ll be a standalone bar, as well as ‘100 year-old olive trees’ dotted about the place. Amazing what you can get on e-bay nowadays…

How long before the chain spreads its wings beyond the M25?