Vegan Edinburgh

[shiny2008]

I got offers from universities at Edinburgh and other places, likely start my Master study from next year, I have not decide where to go yet, but good to know more the vegan life somewhere else...

[Hel]

next month i have to stay at the premier inn edinburgh east, anyone know anywhere nearby thats still open? post code is eh8 7ng

[bryzee86]

There's not really anything on that side of town - I'd suggest eating somewhere central and stocking up on pasties, biscuits etc at Real Foods or Jordan Valley health food shops for the hotel room.

[Loss]

I'm going to move to Edinburgh this summer. Any advice? Things I should know about life in town? :) Like neighborhoods I should avoid at night? Cheapest supermarkets? Stuff like that :)

[Golebnik]

Hi Loss,

Edinburgh is a wonderful place to live – you’ll love it. There doesn’t seem to be any kind of vegan community here, although I’m sure there are plenty of vegans. The cheapest supermarket is Lidl, and the best wholefood shop is Real Foods, which has two branches. I don’t think there are really any areas which have to be avoided, but if you can live in one of the districts nearest to the city centre, especially on the south side, you should be fine.

Also it’s a short journey from Edinburgh to Glasgow, which is a great city for vegans, and which seems to have more of a ‘community’.

What brings you to Edinburgh? Do you know where you’ll be living yet?

[bryzee86]

Woo, I'm moving to Edinburgh in June!

We should totally have a meet-up.

[Loss]

Thanks Golebnik! I'm moving up there for the European Voluntary Service. Don't know where I'll be living yet, but quite close to the city centre I suppose.
I look forward to trying all those mythical entities of legends - such as Sheese and Cheezly (we don't get those here in Italy!) :D Can you find them in supermarkets? Or in wholefood shops only?

And I'm always up for meet-ups, despite being painfully shy. Just promise you'll speak slowly to the awkward foreigner :)

[bryzee86]

you can only find sheese and most cheezly in health food shops (holland & barrett, Real foods etc). You can find cheddar cheezly in some supermarkets (some larger waitrose and tesco branches - only a few!).

[harpy]

Has anyone tried Black Bo's lately? Was thinking of going on a forthcoming trip to Edinburgh but have read rather mixed reports.

[Golebnik]

I’ve lived in Edinburgh nearly three years, and have never even found, let alone tried, Black Bo’s! I always forget that it even exists. I must make a mental note to find it and at least have a look in the window …

[fiamma]

^ It's just off the High Street, a little down from the Tron in a street on the right hand side... At least it used to be, if it hasn't moved... :D

[mariana]

Has anyone tried Black Bo's lately? Was thinking of going on a forthcoming trip to Edinburgh but have read rather mixed reports.
I went to Edinburgh last Nov and tried out Black Bo's. I thought my main was OK, not amazing but decent. My dessert was really wonderful (though I was disappointed they only had 1 vegan dessert option).

[harpy]

Thank you everyone - I shall have to try and keep some room for dessert then mariana (and hope that they don't run out). It looks as if we're going so I'll report back.

I think it's where you said fiamma - Blackfriars Street - will this work? http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en-GB&rlz=1T4GGLL_en-GBGB352GB353&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=Black+Bo's&fb=1&gl=uk&hq=Black+Bo's&hnear=Scotland&cid=0,0,14152166205148180793&ei=cSvDS6DGHYn-0gTa0c2eCQ&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CAcQnwIwAA

[harpy]

Have got to admit I chickened out (is that chickenist?) of Black Bo's as I was a bit worried about giving the omnivorous relative we were treating a non-treat. We went to David Bann instead, which was fine although the relative pointed out that virtually everything we had came in a stack :D

We also managed to fit in Henderson's Bistro, Kalpna and Ann Purna, plus Stereo in Glasgow, so the trip hasn't done anything for my waist measurement :o

[AnneCE]

The Chocolate Tree in Bruntsfield does really lovely vegan cake. I went on Wednesday and had the rare dilemma of having to choose between two very rich chocolate cakes - hazelnut or berries and nut. I had the latter, very rich and dense and not very sweet, which is how I like it. Very reasonable too at £2.80 eat-in. They also do chocolate and mark what is vegan.

I find Hendersons over-rated and rarely go. I have been to David Bann's once and wasn't impressed either - it wasn't bad, just not much vegan choice and the staff kept having to check things were vegan.

I miss Susies. I like the Forrest. And I love the Baked Tattie Shop despite not liking baked potatoes! They do nice rolls and chocolate cakes, and are very reasonable. You can't really sit in, it's tiny!

[jimmeh]

.

[Loss]

The Chocolate Tree in Bruntsfield does really lovely vegan cake. I went on Wednesday and had the rare dilemma of having to choose between two very rich chocolate cakes - hazelnut or berries and nut. I had the latter, very rich and dense and not very sweet, which is how I like it. Very reasonable too at £2.80 eat-in. They also do chocolate and mark what is vegan.

I find Hendersons over-rated and rarely go. I have been to David Bann's once and wasn't impressed either - it wasn't bad, just not much vegan choice and the staff kept having to check things were vegan.

I miss Susies. I like the Forrest. And I love the Baked Tattie Shop despite not liking baked potatoes! They do nice rolls and chocolate cakes, and are very reasonable. You can't really sit in, it's tiny!


I went to the Baked Potato shop the other days, had a potato with vegan haggis and loved it. Not sure what was in it (barley?) but it was yummy!
I was also glad to discover that the vegan doughnuts from Scotsmid are not just a legend :)

[harpy]

Oh, the the haggis samosas in the Baked Tattie shop are to die for.

That sounds like the last word in fusion! Will get OH to try them because he quite often goes up there for work.

I do like Henderson's as well; I find the salad table bit in particular is a terrific nostalgia trip! Banns is OK but I feel as if I need to be on my best behaviour in there because it looks so posh now.

[Est]

A thumbs up for The Forest Cafe http://forestcafe.tumblr.com/tagged/cafe (menu)

After an initial struggle to decipher the cryptic menu, I had the most amazing pitta and hummous followed by chocolate and beetroot cake. Very delish. Seemingly in the heart of student-ville, so expect chipped mugs, discarded flyers and un-wiped tables but it all adds to the charm. Really friendly staff (who are apparently all volunteers) :)

[Lisey_duck]

I'm in Stirling, will be in Edinburgh for a bit on Wednesday so may try to check some of these places out.

[veganemporium]

I actually quite likes Black Bo's, went there for a birthday meal not long back. Was a bit odd that they had to go next door to get drinks, and strange noises came out of the kitchen when I walked past. Don't let that put you off!

We really loved Hendersons too (all three parts of it) and went at least once a day. We have a habit of finding spots we keep revisiting though - in Paris we went to Maoz Falafel three out of the four nights we were there! Their vegan haggis is pretty awesome. Their slices in particular are amazing and I have yet to recreate them as well.

I was excited about the Baked Potato Company, especially because it was only two minutes from where we were staying but I swear it was never ever open in all of the five days we walked past.

I think you just need a bit of research to find all the good restaurants, it doesn't take long to weed out the badly recieved ones.

[jimmeh]

Might try Kalpna tomorrow. I have yet to get round to sampling their legendary vegan thali :)

[lastx]

Did you go jimmeh? The food is usually excellent.

[kikifromscotland]

Hi guys I'm going to Edinburgh on Saturday with frends to visit a friend, the friend I'm visiting wants to eat at a place called Channings has anyone been before? I checked the online menu and they seem to at least have a vegetarian option that might be customisable I'm just wondering how willing they'd be to do that (she wants to get the 2 courses for £12 menu so I think choice will be limited) I will probably have to call them right? I normally avoid these kinds of fancy restaurants which have little for vegans but it's pretty much her choice.

[Est]

Big thumbs up for the Filmhouse Cinema cafe bar http://www.filmhousecinema.com/cafe-bar/ where I had dinner on Thursday night.

Sweet potato and coconut soup (the soup is always vegan) with a bread roll and vegan 'butter'. Next I had deep fried falafels (chickpea, garlic, chilli and cumin) with a sweet chilli dip and a side salad. Also a glass of vegan red wine.

There was a page in the menu of vegan food, and other stuff that could be made vegan on request (so it took me a long time to decide!). It's got a lovely atmosphere and the staff were so friendly and helpful - the lady who served me took ages going through the menu with me and then when she went to the kitchen to get my soup, another two members of staff asked (separately) if I was ok.

Plenty of seating (tables/chairs plus a 'breakfast bar' run at the back of the room with bar stools) and very relaxed with couples, groups and singles, some reading, some on laptops, some just chatting. Really nice place :)