The Best Vegan and Vegetarian Restaurants in Edinburgh

Edinburgh’s vegan and vegetarian scene is blossoming. Despite Scotland’s reputation for steak pies and angus beef, you can now find plant-based choices in almost every bar and restaurant, from seitan to superfood brunches. Culture Trip spoke with Edinburgh-based vegan blogger Ruth Lewis, founder of holistic nutrition service New You Nutrition and Wellbeing, for her expert opinion on the capital’s favourite vegan and vegetarian venues.

If you walk past Edinburgh Bus Station, you’ll pass Holy Cow: an unassuming (but very popular) café down the steps of a stone tenement building. It is a clean, tranquil spot beside a busy junction, with a simple white interior and wooden tables. The speciality at Holy Cow are their ‘Muu burgers’, which come in a range of flavours such as Thai carrot and Vietnamese tofu. The café also has impressive vegan desserts, with its range of irresistible tropical-hued cheesecakes.

Brought to Edinburgh by the people behind Glasgow’s fashionable Flying Duck, Harmonium evokes Leith’s maritime history with nautical decor. With offerings like chicken parmigiana and ground beef tacos, it might not be obvious they are meat-free. But trust that it is all 100 percent vegan and delicious.

Novapizza is a small, family-run trattoria close to Stockbridge, with an atmosphere so cosy you’ll feel like you’ve come home. Be safe in the knowledge that the pepperoni and mozzarella pizza you have been craving is in sight (and is completely vegan).

Fake palm trees, velvet curtains and a ceiling covered in soft toys decorate this trendy bar, which is packed most evenings with a young and hip crowd (who come for the food and stay for the hip-hop and electronica playlist). The vegan ‘Lucky Pig’ menu is inspired by American diners, offering dirty fries or jackfruit nachos, best washed down with a vegan white Russian. There’s even a small record shop in-store, selling merchandise from local artists.

David Bann’s Royal Mile venue was Edinburgh’s first upmarket vegetarian restaurant and continues to impress. Rather than using trendy vegan ingredients like seitan, it pays homage to classic vegetarian dishes that are hearty, wholesome and well-presented. Expect udon noodles with smoked tofu, chickpea curries and plenty of quinoa.

If you are looking for a place with a little community spirit, then head straight for the Forest Cafe. Pop in for food, and stay for the music nights and parties. Alternatively, you can roll up your sleeves and get involved in its many volunteering initiatives. “The Forest Cafe has a proper hippie vibe to it,” says Ruth. “On top of enjoying good wholesome vegetarian food such as beetroot and lentil soup, by visiting it you are seeing a part of [the real] Edinburgh.”

This cosy, family-run bar and restaurant on the Shore has great vegetarian options, as well as a secret vegan menu which you have to ask for at the bar. Their tasty offerings include the ‘Barry Brekkie’: a full Scottish breakfast that includes nutty haggis, mushrooms and spinach. To round the meal off, there’s even vegan sticky toffee pudding. For an extra bit of fun, Roseleaf has funky hats and signature cocktails served in teapots. Go wild.

This funky vegan restaurant in Bruntsfield makes dishes that pop with colour, including its stack of ‘unicorn’ pancakes that are packed with superfoods like green-blue algae and purple goji berries. You can also come for dinner and enjoy falafel with a range of hummus, or their signature Beyond Burgers. By eating here, you are doing your part to help the environment, as Seeds For The Soul has a strong ethos on reducing pollution and waste.

This article was written by Caroline Young and is an update of a piece by Alex Mackay.

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