Vegan Meals Out – Vegans.UK

Harmonium, Leith, Edinburgh

February 1, 2018 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

It’s so lovely to have another successful, fully vegan restaurant in Edinburgh. Harmonium is not best placed for footfall, but when people find out about it, they make sure to take their friends there! That’s what we did.

Mac'n'cheese I had on my first visit — Mac’n’cheese I had on my first visit

Harmonium is located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, near the Ocean Terminal shopping centre and the Royal Yacht Britannia. It occupies the building that used to house the Indian restaurant VDeep, which I reviewed some years ago. Since changing hands it seems to have gone from strength to strength. When I visited in September of last year, the food was gorgeous and the menus hand-written. Since then, it’s become busier with more professional looking menus, but I’m happy to report that the food is still top notch.

We visited on a Thursday night and when we arrived I was very glad we’d booked as the place was almost full up. There were two of us vegans and a couple of omni friends, and we were seated near the back of the restaurant next to the open kitchen. I love seeing the food being prepared and there was certainly lots of hustle and bustle as burger after mac ‘n’ cheese after ice cream sundae was passed to servers by the chefs.

Green olives - simple, perfect — Green olives – simple, perfect

A little bowl of Olives made for a lovely starter, but I had the Soup of the Day, which was Cream of Leek. It was yummy, not too large and was served with crusty Sourdough Bread.

There was also Panzanella at the table; a healthy looking mix of baby plum tomatoes, capers, focaccia, French basil, red onion and olive oil. All were enjoyed at our leisure. The service was really friendly and the place has a great atmosphere.

For our main courses, two of the party ordered burgers, which is probably one of the most popular menu items. It’s a Seitan Quarter Pounder Burger served with the usual toppings, but the thing that really caught everyone’s attention was the Special Sauce. The burger eaters were so enthusiastic about it that the non burger eaters had to have a try! It was utterly delicious.

One of my omni companions opted for the Sausage Pizza, which is probably the sort of thing he’d order in a mainstream restaurant. He declared it to be lovely and his plate was certainly clean at the end of the meal. I went for the Wild Mushroom, Kale and Truffle Oil Rigatoni which came with a topping of super salty Aubergine Bacon. I was not disappointed. I used to adore creamy pasta in my pre-vegan days, so whenever I see it on a vegan menu I pounce on it!

It’s so lovely to know that you can have whatever tastes you want without hurting anyone. Our omni friends are not the obvious candidates for vegan restaurant patronage, but they seemed impressed and best of all they really enjoyed their meal. Of course then, we had to have dessert…

Everyone bar me opted for the Vanilla and Chocolate Ice Cream Sundae. I must admit it looked spectacular. They were not stingy with the bananas either, so one of our friends commented that it was definitely one of her ten a day! If there’s something chocolate-related on a dessert menu, that’s where you’ll find me, so I chose the Sea Buckthorn and Chocolate Cheesecake. It was layered and came with vanilla ice cream and was a delicious way to finish off the meal.

If you’re looking for a place to take those omni friends who may think that vegans eat grass, this is the place. So much classic bistro/pub style food is served here that nobody will feel short changed, as it tastes much the same as the animal-based equivalent.

It goes without saying that all the beer and wine is vegan friendly here too, which makes things so easy. Edinburgh is, albeit slowly, catching up with Glasgow in terms of vegan choice restaurants. Because Harmonium’s in Leith, it may not catch too many passers-by but it will count as a ‘find’ and you’ll be a hero among your friends once you introduce them to this sumptuous food.

Nova Pizza Vegetarian Kitchen, Edinburgh

July 25, 2017 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

Nova Pizza in Edinburgh is one of my favourite restaurants. Although it’s not fully vegan, it is all vegetarian and the choice for vegans is vast. I think that’s what I love about it. Normally in an Italian (or any other) restaurant, I’ve located the one or two vegan options on the menu and made my decision by the time my companions have taken their jackets off. In Nova Pizza however, I can do that thing that people do of perusing the options and saying things like ‘oooh, that looks good’ and feel, dare I say it, normal for a change. I have the mad luxury of being indecisive.

It's a small, cosy restaurant — It’s a small, cosy restaurant

This wondrous restaurant is situated in Edinburgh’s Newtown. It’s far enough away from the pulsing centre of the city to be calm, but near enough to be within easy walking distance. The establishment itself is small, and with the largest tables only seating four (maybe five at a push) it feels pretty homely. There are fewer than ten tables, so do book in advance to be sure of getting a spot, especially at the weekends. They’re open every day apart from Tuesday. The decor feels Italian and village-like as does the hustle and bustle. The aromas that greet you as you wander in are just heavenly.

One thing I’ve missed since going vegan is creamy mushroom pasta. I need miss it no more! The penne 4 cheese & mushroom that I had on this occasion was to die for. Made with soy cream, it tastes just like the stuff I remember from my pre-vegan days.

There is so much to choose from of course, that you don’t have to stick with pasta, although it’s tricky to resist being able to order lasagne, spaghetti alla carbonara or penne al salmone from a restaurant. My companion had a vegan calzone, of which there are many to choose from. Again, this is such a novelty that it almost feels a bit naughty.

It goes without saying that the pizza selection is fabulous and I can personally recommend the Parmigiana, with it’s roasted aubergines and genuine parmesan taste. If you miss meat on pizza (or in pasta for that matter) there are vegan versions of ham, pepperoni, chicken and even salmon to tempt your taste buds. They use smoked mheat (wheat meat) and seitan to give further variety to the menu, so there really is something for everyone.

All this of course, is to say nothing of the desserts. They do vegan crème brulee, vegan dolche pizza (which is pizza base covered in chocolate spread and icing sugar – yum!) and be warned, their vegan cheesecakes are massive and really filling, so only order them if you’re sure you have room left!

A highlight of Edinburgh's newtown — A highlight of Edinburgh’s newtown

This is somewhere I’d be proud to take my meat-loving friends, my veggie friends and my vegan ones. Nova Pizza Vegetarian Kitchen is proof that you can have the indulgent, filling food you had before you were vegan. It’s flavoursome, satisfying and above all, guilt free. Head along there if you can.

Highly recommended

Forest Cafe, Edinburgh

June 24, 2017 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

I hesitate to use the word hipster as it can be a bit patronising, but I promise you in this case it is meant with the greatest affection. I happened across Forest Cafe one day while out and about in Edinburgh looking for something reasonably priced to eat and boy, did we strike gold with this place.

The whole place is run by volunteers and is a charity that supports local artists. The decor inside and out is decidedly arty. On the ceiling as we walked in hung what looked like a frame filled with upside-down cones made of carpet.

The random bunting, odd posters and intricate drawings on the wall reminded me of many a student flat I’d visited in the nineties and to be honest, I felt instantly at home. Some find art spaces pretentious, but I felt this was the very opposite. There was a casual, friendly approach to service, which suited us fine.

We ordered at the counter, the menu being displayed on a chalk board behind it. Everything is vegetarian here, with most being vegan too, or able to be made vegan on request. We opted for a falafel meal and some nachos. The prices here are incredibly reasonable, which is very welcome in what can be an expensive city for eating out.

The table tops were cut-outs of old maps and what looked like pages from magazines, arranged into collages and laminated. We looked around and there seemed to be a fair few regulars here, some even bringing their canine companions in for a drink. This place is also very near University-land, so students frequent Forest as well.

We didn’t have to wait very long for our food and we decided to share both when our plates came. I tucked into the nachos with glee and although the sauce hadn’t been what I was expecting, it was very tasty. My hands got a bit messy halfway through, and when I asked for a napkin I was given some blue kitchen roll which did the job nicely. The falafel meal had lots of different tastes and the hummus especially was just gorgeous. Both dishes were really well presented, yummy and filling.

We sat sipping on our ginger beer for a bit and took in the surroundings. It seems this place supports all kinds of artists covering everything from knitting clubs, to spoken word, through musical concerts to freestyle humming (whatever that is…) It’s an inclusive place that encourages you to share out any leftover food you may have. They have free bread and a free shop and all of their exhibitions and events are free. It’s a rare thing, especially in a large city.

The longer we sat the more we felt we should try out a vegan dessert, so we shared one of their date slices which was very rich and satisfying with its crumble-style topping. I honestly can’t fault anything about Forest Cafe. The food is scrumptious, the prices very affordable and with an atmosphere of casual friendliness, you couldn’t really ask for much more.

Highly recommended.

Henderson’s Salad Table, Edinburgh

March 30, 2017 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

Henderson's Deli, on the corner of Hanover Street — Henderson’s Deli, on the corner of Hanover Street

It’s no exaggeration to say that Henderson’s is an Edinburgh institution. The UK’s longest running vegetarian restaurant, it’s been serving customers in Edinburgh since 1962. It has a few restaurants in the city now, but the original salad table, located under their deli shop on the city’s Hanover Street was where I chose to meet a friend the other day.

I have fond memories of this place. As an adolescent vegetarian it was invaluable and I spent many a happy hour in here chatting to my Mum or gossiping with friends. The layout has changed little and it still has a casual, welcoming atmosphere. There’s a section slightly further downstairs that has live music most nights and is available for hire, but we ate in the main part.

Choose from the board... — Choose from the board…

The place has an informal, friendly feel and you simply choose what you’d like from the chalk board, the staff hands it over, then you pop it on a tray and pay – easy.

...and pop it on a tray. — …and pop it on a tray.

The restaurant is fully vegetarian and the vegan options are clearly marked with a ‘V’. They also indicate whether dishes contain nuts or are gluten free, so ‘special’ diets are catered for in abundance.

We both ended up choosing the vegan pizza with salad, which was lovely. The large array of salads is tempting, and the staff more than happy to confirm which ones are vegan friendly.

There's a tempting array of salads. — There’s a tempting array of salads.

I had a gorgeous bean sprout, tofu and ginger salad with mine and polished it all off with ease! To wash it down, I had a Black Isle lager, which I’d checked was vegan friendly.

It’s a great place to hang out as there are lots of tables, so we chatted away for quite a while longer, not feeling rushed or ‘in the way’, as you can in some places. After a while we both decided to indulge in a dessert.

There was a good choice for vegans, so I went for the chocolate cake with coconut cream on the side (soya cream was also available.) It was incredibly rich and very enjoyable. They have a great variety of soft drinks too, so I had an elderflower flavoured one, which was just the thing.

You gotta love the fact they have vegan donuts!

Henderson’s have a totally vegan restaurant as well which is just around the corner and they also have a new restaurant in Holyrood near the Scottish Parliament. I’ll be reviewing these soon I hope!

So, if you’re after a chilled out place to meet with friends or just pop in to take a break from shopping or sightseeing, this is a great bet. Henderson’s also do outside catering too, so if you’re planning a party, give them a call. I hope you find the time to relax at the salad table soon.

The Restaurants of Pisa, Italy

November 2, 2016 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

I was lucky enough to take a trip to Pisa, Italy recently. The hotel had been booked in a hurry so we had no time to check how vegan friendly Pisa was. We needn’t have worried. You’ll probably know that Italian food is generally pretty flexible and there’s always penne all’arrabbiata to fall back on, but in this beautiful university town, we had plenty more to choose from than just that.

We not only found mainstream restaurants to be incredibly accommodating but there were dedicated vegetarian and even vegan restaurants to choose from – all within easy walking distance from the famous leaning tower!

Homemade bread - delicious! — Homemade bread – delicious!

One of the first places we tried for dinner was Ristorante Ben d’Iddio which is a vegetarian restaurant just round the corner from the tower. At least half the menu is vegan and our waiter was very thorough in explaining the dishes to us. We were absolutely spoiled for choice. While we pored over the menu we were served olives and some of the tastiest morsels of bread I’ve ever eaten.

Finally we decided on a mixed starter consisting of beautifully prepared aubergine, mushrooms, pepper, courgette, bruschetta and a local chilli pepper which, although incredibly mild, was tasty and the waiter was impressed I’d finished it! There were some gorgeous homemade sauces that came along which was the icing on the cake. My companion had a salad of cucumber, tomato, onion, croutons and basil which was dressed to perfection.

To follow, he chose the mushroom stuffed gnocchi which looked amazing. I went for their award winning seitan in a gorgeous bolognaise sauce on top of linguini. We were both wanting to try dessert at this place, but were simply too full to contemplate it!

Instead we were served some limoncello and then some of the local hazelnut liqueur to aid digestion. What a wonderful evening.

It was very warm every day during our visit, so we normally felt like a sandwich or something similar for lunch. Luckily for us there was a fully vegan sandwich takeaway nearby. Vegan Come Koala is run by just one guy, but he’s there every day from about noon till teatime and the extensive menu belies the tiny size of his shop.

There was a choice of wraps every day from corn to spelt to wholegrain and you could fill them with whatever you pleased from falafel to seitan to tofu and the selection of sauces were equally impressive.

The extensive menu would be happily translated

You could have a hot Panini, pizza, burger, hot dog or even a gluten free beer (which I did, very nice) or any other veggie sandwich shop delicacy you could think of. We came here most days at lunchtime (our visit to Pisa lasted a week as there were loads of things to see and it was just a pleasant place to hang out.)

The selection of drinks was as impressive as the food

We sought out Pizzeria Il Montino as we’d been told they had good Cecina, which is a traditional Tuscan dish made from chickpea flour and olive oil and looks a bit like a pancake. We had some and it was gorgeous, but quite small, so we had a pizza there too and it was wonderful. Just a simple combination of roasted peppers and aubergine was made special by the sheer quality of the tomato sauce and base. The Italians do simple yet delicious very, very well.

Across the river near the university was another totally vegan restaurant called Il Vegusto. It had lovely decor including a piano and nice soft lighting. Although the staff’s English was limited, the menu was in English as well as Italian, so was very easy for us to negotiate.

Over a couple of nights we sampled the fried vegan omelette, zucchini carpaccio and cocktail of carrots in a pink sauce. For our main course, the pesto gnocchi was a favourite, along with their Tuscan pasta and Seitan with vegetables.

On the first occasion we even had room for dessert, and sampled both the delectable apple cake and the chocolate mousse. All of this was accompanied by fabulous vegan Italian wine and bread and a generally lovely atmosphere.

Another lovely place across the river was a family run place called Rusticanella, where they happily made vegan pizza for us and were very patient with my faltering Italian. They even had vegan friendly local beer Moretti on tap. It was a lovely casual place to sit outside and have the odd Vespa drone past you every now and again. The pizza was delicious. It’s amazing how they can make mushrooms, peppers and aubergine into pizza heaven.

Back near the tower, there were plenty of places who were happy to accommodate us even though they weren’t dedicated veggie eateries. One of these proudly advertised vegan friendly and gluten free dishes, Terrazza Laterale Con Tavoli. They served us pizza without cheese as well as amazing spaghetti in the most heavenly tomato sauce.

Impressively they also had an amazing vegan platter that included the yummy Cecina, as well as mushroom, pepper and tomato bruschetta, aubergine, olives, cabbage and artichoke. Quite a plateful!

Of course, a visit to Italy is never complete without sampling the local ice cream and for vegans in Pisa there’s no need to miss out. A few places had some options, but the best one that we found, Oro, looked onto a bustling square.

Their vegan flavours were dark chocolate, almond, lemon, strawberry, coconut, liquorice, figs & almond and passion fruit & pepper, so, a pretty comprehensive choice! You could enjoy a combination of flavours in a cone or cup and sit on one of the many public benches in the square to enjoy them.

I found in Pisa that there was plenty of choice (spaghetti aglio e olio should be vegan anywhere) it was useful to have a few Italian phrases to hand while ordering.

Sono vegana (I’m vegan, female)

Sono vegano (I’m vegan, male)

Senza formaggio/mozzarella (Without cheese/mozzarella)

Con verdure (with vegetables)

Senza latte (without milk)

Don't forget the beer! — Don’t forget the beer!

Per favore (please)

Grazie (Thank you)

Pisa is definitely somewhere to spend more than a day if you can, if only to try a selection of their fabulous restaurants!

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