What's with the queuing?

I'd heard about this restaurant chain before and especially in Germany where the first restaurant opened back in 2002 in Hamburg and is very popular. Vapiano serves freshly prepared Italian food - pasta and pizza. The twist is in the fact that they don't have table service but you have to queue up to order your food. They then prepare it right in front of you. You pick the kind of pasta you like and can customize your dish to a certain extent (add chili? top with cheese? etc.). I of course picked the slowest queue.... And waited for more than 30 minutes. While my dinner companion was watching my bag and our table. As she was having pizza, we wouldn't have been able to queue together anyway. I honestly cannot see the appeal. I don't have any desire to see my food being prepared and even less so when it means standing about for flipping 30 minutes!!!

So, you can see, the evening got off to a good start! ;-) But despite the food queuing and the fact that the pasta was ok but not spectacular (slightly overcooked and a bit dry due to too little sauce), the evening was lovely! I really enjoy getting to know people and discovering you share similar experiences. Moreover, it gave me new perspectives with regard to a work issue. And an added bonus to be able to speak German - I don't get that opportunity very often these days. :-)

Tagliatelle in salmon carbonara