I went here for the first time on a cold Tuesday afternoon. The restaurant is located in the heart of uptown Charlotte, so good luck finding reliable street parking -- you might have to save about $10 for parking in the (almost full) lots on some adjacent streets, especially during the lunch rush.
I stood awkwardly outside the restaurant for 15 minutes waiting for my friends to park, and noticed that Vapiano was the ONLY establishment on the entire block to have any foot traffic at all. Everybody who passed by me either came from the restaurant or were going into it. It was hyping me up for some delicious, hot Italian food. And believe me, I was ready.
I didn't realize how big the restaurant was until I walked in. It's like a classy cafeteria, and you have a ton of chefs in one line ready to make whatever kind of pasta/pizza/other Italian food you want. You wait for your food up front, put it on a tray, and seat yourself. Regular water and citrus-infused water is at a station at the bar.
To be honest, I'm not really too big on the Italian food. But the food was pretty good and flavorful and came out decently quick. I even wish I had more of it for the price I paid, but it's not unreasonable by any means. I would definitely go back if I was in the area more often.