Vegan Edinburgh

[gogs67]

Most excellent. What a good response. I shall make sure I eat there next time I visit my sister. Nice one gogs67!
Just looking at the 'brief list' my mouths watering http://www.celticminded.com/images/smilies/animlol.gif ,i'm sure all that would constitute a rather large meal!!!http://www.celticminded.com/images/smilies/thumbupyellow.gif
When i go down and sample it i'll see how it goes and get back to you all!:D

[Golebnik]

I’m just reviving this ancient thread to bring Edinburgh folk the bad news that the vegetarian Gujurati restaurant Ann Purna is to change hands at the end of June.

The owners are going to have a well-earned retirement. The restaurant will still exist under the name Ann Purna – presumably it has been sold as a business – but it’s impossible to predict how good it will be under the new management.

Meanwhile the son of the existing Ann Purna owners will try to set something up himself, but it may be elsewhere in the city, and may only be a take-away rather than a restaurant.

To Edinburghers or people visiting, try to get yourselves along to Ann Purna as soon as possible!

The other Indian vegetarian restaurant round the corner, Kalpna, has also undergone major changes recently. Along with its new sign and decor has come a new menu, on which main courses cost about £13 (compared with about £7 at Ann Purna), and there is a very narrow choice for vegans. So things are not looking up in Edinburgh, unfortunately.

[Fungus]

Hmm I've not been there before .. might have to try some time soon :)

[gogs67]

I’m just reviving this ancient thread to bring Edinburgh folk the bad news that the vegetarian Gujurati restaurant Ann Purna is to change hands at the end of June.

The owners are going to have a well-earned retirement. The restaurant will still exist under the name Ann Purna – presumably it has been sold as a business – but it’s impossible to predict how good it will be under the new management.

Meanwhile the son of the existing Ann Purna owners will try to set something up himself, but it may be elsewhere in the city, and may only be a take-away rather than a restaurant.

To Edinburghers or people visiting, try to get yourselves along to Ann Purna as soon as possible!

The other Indian vegetarian restaurant round the corner, Kalpna, has also undergone major changes recently. Along with its new sign and decor has come a new menu, on which main courses cost about £13 (compared with about £7 at Ann Purna), and there is a very narrow choice for vegans. So things are not looking up in Edinburgh, unfortunately.
I've been mentioning this on and off since last year!:D
http://veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17556&highlight=ann+purna&page=2

It has been sold as a business but part of the whole eating experience there is the personal touch from Eric and his lovely wife and dodgy son ( no offence m8 if yer reading :D). The menu has to stay the same for a certain time period which i find a tad unsettling as it kinda implies the new owners want to change it straight away, ah well, we'll see!!
As for the Kalpna it's never been a great vegan place in the past. The last time i ate there (admittedly about 12 years ago) i got the vegan thali and there were dishes with milk in them, we'd had a pretty crap meal there before so i've just never been back.

[Fungus]

If I'm going out it'd usually just be to Hendersons tbh .. better as they are actually a veggie/vegan place .. but most places are ok ...

[Golebnik]

I've been mentioning this on and off since last year!:D
http://veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17556&highlight=ann+purna&page=2

It has been sold as a business but part of the whole eating experience there is the personal touch from Eric and his lovely wife and dodgy son ( no offence m8 if yer reading :D). The menu has to stay the same for a certain time period which i find a tad unsettling as it kinda implies the new owners want to change it straight away, ah well, we'll see!!
As for the Kalpna it's never been a great vegan place in the past. The last time i ate there (admittedly about 12 years ago) i got the vegan thali and there were dishes with milk in them, we'd had a pretty crap meal there before so i've just never been back.
Oops, I should have looked up other threads before writing my post. Thanks very much for the info, and now I needn’t regret not having made it to Kalpna in the past.

Things are not looking good on the Indian vegan front in Edinburgh, though. Also perhaps the imminent change of ownership explains why Ann Purna was omitted from the recent edition of The List’s eating and drinking guide. I thought it very odd that it had been omitted, since it is (or was) such an institution.

[Est]

The Vegan Edinburgh thread seems a good place to post this :)

I've just got back from a meal at David Banns in Edinburgh and it was great! Though as it was my first ever visit to a veggie or vegan restaurant, I don't have anything against which to compare it.

I had a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, homemade hummous with tomato chutney and homemade bread as a starter (it was big enough to be a main course and was soooo delicious) and then spicy udon noodles with smoked homemade tofu for the main. Couldn't fit in any dessert!

The restaurant was nicely decorated and the staff were really friendly. Recommended!

[gogs67]

In the Ann purna last night for a wedding!
The end of an era sadly, only 8 days to go!
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g34/gogs67/DSC00019.jpg

Met the new owners though and he seemed a nice guy, said they were keeping on the same chefs and the menu was stying the same. Fingers crossed!

[Golebnik]

Thanks for the update about Ann Purna. So maybe we won’t notice any real difference under the new owners? I’m going to try to fit in a final visit this weekend anyhow.

What about Kalpna, over the road from Ann Purna? Has anybody tried it since its recent facelift? (Or does anyone want to try it?) I see they offer an all-you-can-eat lunchtime buffet for £7 …

[Golebnik]

Met the new owners though and he seemed a nice guy, said they were keeping on the same chefs and the menu was stying the same. Fingers crossed!

I managed to make it there at the weekend, for the final time under the ‘old management’. We also met the new owner. The current owner (the son of the family) explained that there will be a period of gentle transition, during which he will be working with the new owner. Gradually the new owner will begin to make his mark on the restaurant, though. In October it will close for a short period for renovation, and after that, well, who knows? Perhaps the menu will change and the prices go up … we shall see …

[Aradia]

Does anybody have a restaurant, cafe or B&B/hotel to recommenb please?

Thanks :)

[cxmnz]

I'm going there some time soon, once I get some time off work!

Gonna be staying here:
http://www.greenhouse-edinburgh.com/index.html

The breakfast sounds amazing!

[bryzee86]

We'll be able to recommend stuff to you in 19 months - we'll be living there, with any luck!

[fiamma]

Lucky you going to Edinburgh, my native city... and great for vegans!!!

My faves are Susie's Diner, David Bann's (though I haven't been there for a bit), Kalpna, Henderson's and the awe-inspiring Baked Potato Shop in Cockburn Street where I challenge anyone to feel hungry afterwards :)

Try this link (http://www.crueltyfree.org.uk/edinburgh/), there are many, many more!!!

Have fun :)

Oh, and at the Italian restaurant La Favorita in Leith Walk, they do a pretty special strawberry risotto.. the menu mentions parmesan but you can ask the chef to omit it :thumbsup:

[vegcurry]

Mrs vegcurry is up there at the moment and is really enjoying herself there. Hopefully she'll be back with lots of good places to eat.

[Troutina]

David Bann's

SO GOOD!!!

Very posh, romantic restaurant with gourmet veggie and vegan food.
Everything's labelled (including wine) and the service is fantastic.
Fairly pricey but very fair for the quality of the meal.

What's the pastie shop called? The one that makes incredible sweet pasties aswell (and far better than the savoury vegan pasties!)
Find it, it's amazing!!

I really liked Edinburgh :)

[herbwormwood]

We did not like David Bann's at all. The food was overpriced and in our opinion not as good as what we do at home on an lazy weekday.
We liked The Engine Shed and Annapurnas much more.
We also highly recommend The Greenhouse.

[herbwormwood]

We were there a few years ago so our opinions are dated.

[Penny]

What's the pastie shop called? The one that makes incredible sweet pasties aswell (and far better than the savoury vegan pasties!)
Find it, it's amazing!!



Can't remember it's name, but it's on The Bridges. The sweet pasties are a guilty treat for us when we're in Edinburgh!:D

We haven't tried David Bann's (too pricy for us!) We usually eat at Susie's Diner, which is quite cheap, but often not as hot as I'd like, or Henderson's, which is much more expensive and sometimes doesn't have much vegan stuff left. There's always a carry out of pasties etc. to eat in Princes Street Gardens if the weather's nice, of course (yes, it sometimes is!)

[Penny]

We'll be able to recommend stuff to you in 19 months - we'll be living there, with any luck!

That's exciting! What's the story? It's a nice place to live!

[vegcurry]

Mrs vegcurry raved about David Banns...makes me think I should have gone oop north with her now. :)

[Cherry]

I went to David Banns last Summer and really liked it too. Nice atmosphere. Good to know there are other options for next time though :)

[fiamma]

The pie shop is called Piemaker, I think, on South Bridge...

But don't quote me on that. :D I've heard good things about Annpurna's too.

[littlemiss]

I love david banns! we're travelling up there especially to eat there for an anniversary. It will be the 4th time I've been there. It is expensive but all the food is beautiful and you can see into the kitchen. We will budget the rest of the short break so hoping to find some cheap places to eat.
Can anyone recommend somewhere for breakfast?

[alisont]

I loved Edinburgh -went lasy year and loved the city.

My travelodge was right by David Banns - the food/service is fab there yes expensive but food was great (but need more vegan puds there) I ate there twice and spent more than my hotel bill:rollseyes_ani:

The baked potato shop was cheap and good food there but never seen such large portions!

I loved the Engine shed - great tofu and bread and good setting for a good walk after lunch. Loved their ethics too - need something like that at the college I work at.

Hendersons - just went in the shop there for salad and engine shed products before my train home.

Id love to go again one day:)