Eating in central Edinburgh?

Nod

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At the end of this month, my Lady wife and I will be visiting the Scottish Capital for a few days and we are staying just off the Royal mile. It's B&B so we need to cater for ourselves for lunch and supper. Slight complication is that SHE is a vegetarian while I am not, so eateries that cater for both would be perfect. Price isn't too much of a consideration as long as the fare is worth it!
 
When we stayed in edinburgh we found this Italian reasonable value for what you got and friendly enough. It wasn't anything to set the world alight, but by the same token there wasn't anything to complain about either. Simply good food at a good price.

http://www.la-rusticana.co.uk/

Unfortunately it's been about 4 years so, can't say what It's like now.
 
Sorry cant help with the vegetarian dining but would guess theres lots of places and most places will offer vegetarian,

OOF

If you want a good trip to go try the Hairy Coo Tour,Clicky linky you pay a pound up front on their website and then make a donation at the end of your tour, we loved our tour with them when we visited a couple of months ago, lasts all day, goes throughout the highlands and more, we got an email from them the other day saying they now have another bus, booking is essential as it gets full quickly

Dave
 
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Hendersons is THE place for a her :p does damn tasty food if you can survive one meal without meat :)

There is also "The Baked Potato Shop" on Cockburn Street which does a good vegetarian selection of stuff along with the usual, that is handy for the royal mile, but is only take away iirc.

If you feel like traveling a bit then Caprice in Musselburgh is a must. Brilliant Italian food. Has to be followed by a trip to Luca's for awesome ice cream (best eaten by the sea at Musselburgh harbour, a tiny drive away).

Can't think where else we eat when up there. Plenty of the usual Pizza Huts and Subways etc...oh and Greggs up there do a much bigger range like quiches and stuff which is always good for a snack.

Tbh there are so many places I have never struggled up there as a veggie with meat eating mates/relatives.
 
When we did karate tournaments there, we stayed at the premier inn down on leith docks. There is an Italian chain there basically next door, Prezzo, which was pretty good [not quire carluccio's, but very edible] and catered to both tastes. Service was friendly and good too, albeit as a chain they take no account of being in Scotland and their whisky collection consists of Bells & Jack Daniels :thinking:
 
Don't know which part of "Just off" the Royal Mile your your staying at but there are lots of veggie restaurants in Auld Reekie. St Mary's Street opposiite the Travelodge hotel is David Bann is a very good Veggie place Click Here, also Black Bo's in Blackfriars Street I've heard is quite good too Black Bo's . Both these streets are just off the Royal Mile just downhill from the Tron. As you're coming to Edinburgh at the end of this month you will find it very busy with the start of the festival, you might have to book a table at these venues instead of walking in off the street, a phone call to them might be in order.

Failing that I can recommend some allotments with a variety of vegetables for cooking over a open fire:D:LOL:
 
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Vittoria's (on George IV bridge) a good Italian restaurant that caters for all palettes!
I can recommend David Bann and Hendersons too (my wife is vegetarian too).

If you go to the Omni centre (near Princes Street) there is a Frankie & Benny's and another place called "Slug & Lettuce" which has good menu variety.

You won't be stuck for eatery's that I can guarantee!

Hope this helps!
 
From what SWMBO can gather, the festival that's happening then is the Jazz and Blues one. What could be more of a problem is the non-royal wedding of 2 sports personalities that's happening on the Saturday. TBH, I think that if that was going to be a major problem, we would have had difficulty getting a hotel room but I'll find out whenh I'm wandering around with a rucksack on my back!
 
Loads of choice in Edinburgh! For Veggies, as stupar says, David Bann is unbelievably good... I'm no veggie but enjoyed it immensely. Hendersons not so much, I thought it was a tad overpriced and setup was generally a bit crap. My recommendations...

Fish - Fishers on Thistle Street. Upmarket fishy restaurant, never had a bad meal but the choice is fairly limited, not sure how well they cater for veggies
Italian - Vittoria on George IV bridge. There's one on Leith Walk too, which is slightly nicer IMHO, but it's that wee bit further from centre EDIT just noticed stupar recommended this too, good taste!
Chinese - The Kweilin on Dundas St is considered one of the best, but I think it's gone downhill of late. If you can be bothered heading a wee bit out of the centre, the Taste Good on Slateford Road is where it's at. We normally get takeaway, but there's a restaurant downstairs
Indian - Well worth trying the Mosque Kitchen, it used to be literally tables under tarpaulin out the back of the Central Mosque, but it's moved to premises near Nicolson Square now, not tried it since it moved, but was some of the nicest (and cheapest!) curry I've had. Also nearby is the Kebab Mahal, which is excellent, and if you can be bothered heading out of town a bit, the Clay Oven in Morningside is ace.
Turkish - Nargile on Hanover street is excellent, but you absolutely need to book.
Japanese - Koi on Potterrow is brilliant, good choice for vegetarians too IIRC, and no, it's not all raw fish heheh
Others - Howies is a small chain of restaurants, usually top grub and good VFM. Also A Room In... is another chain which does decent food, and all 3 of them have an excellent boozer attached/owned by same folks.

That's all I can think of for now. And now I'm hungry :)

Enjoy!
 
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Another vote for Howies and Gennaro's on Grassmarket, ate at them both & very satisfied too!
 
My own two personal favorite eateries are:

McGregors - pub on the royal mile, left hand side as your heading up toward the castle

and

Hector's Bar in Stockbridge, a 20-25 min walk from the royal mile into the Old Town.

I go to both time and time again.
 
Surely Edinburgh Gary has time from his not so busy schedule to make a meal for some fellow TPers:LOL::LOL::LOL::LOL::LOL:
 
Are you the Dave taht they mention on the website? only you & your wife on the bus...

Sorry cant help with the vegetarian dining but would guess theres lots of places and most places will offer vegetarian,

OOF

If you want a good trip to go try the Hairy Coo Tour,Clicky linky you pay a pound up front on their website and then make a donation at the end of your tour, we loved our tour with them when we visited a couple of months ago, lasts all day, goes throughout the highlands and more, we got an email from them the other day saying they now have another bus, booking is essential as it gets full quickly

Dave
 
I like Cantina Mexicana on Rose Street (just off Princess St) for lunch. The nachos are fantastic but don't order the large nachos as a starter, they are rather "large."
 
I subscribe to Jamie Magazine and in the one that came today it has some stuff about where to eat in Edinboro. Its to be found with other cooking mags in Tesco and the like and should be in the shops next day or 2.
 
FWIW we always call in here for a meal when were in the neighborhood,,,

http://www.wildfirerestaurant.co.uk/

Steak to die for but honestly can not remember if they do Veggie meals sorry.

Any way like some one else said you wont be stuck for somewhere to eat.

Enjoy ya visit :)

OW
 
Managing to find food with great ease!
Had lunch at Ciao Roma on Friday, followed by supper at Garfunkels (we're staying at the ibis hotel just around the corner). Today's lunch was supplied by one of the castle caffs (and I now have indigestion!)
Got a table booked at David Bann's this evening, just hope I can find something appetising for a meatatarian.
As a slight aside, Shannon the cannon's watch is a little slow, so I managed to miss the moment that the gun was fired again, although the report made3 me jump a little so I did catch a little of the smoke. (FTR, I set my watch against a radio controlled clock and checked it against the beeps on the radio, so I'm pretty sure it's accurate.)

Thanks for all the feeding suggestions - shame I can't try them all!
 
Despite it being in the Wastelands north of Hadrian's wall, I am assured that Scotland's capital does have things called restaurants. Not sure if they have any that cater for vegetablists though.
 
I thought - in fact I'm certain the wastelands are South of the wall.
 
Not over impressed by David Banns myself, although SHE enjoyed her meal. As a treat for me, we ate at Wee Windaes. How is it that meatatarian restaurants can almost always provide something good for vegetarians but ask for a steak in a veggie restaurant and you almost get lynched? (No, I didn't but I was a bit tempted!!!)
 
Not over impressed by David Banns myself, although SHE enjoyed her meal. As a treat for me, we ate at Wee Windaes. How is it that meatatarian restaurants can almost always provide something good for vegetarians but ask for a steak in a veggie restaurant and you almost get lynched? (No, I didn't but I was a bit tempted!!!)

Because most carnivores don't get bent out of shape about vegetarians, but the opposite isn't always the case! Just teasing. I'm not vegetarian, but 90% or more of what I eat qualifies for it. I don't like meat very much.
 
I'm veggie - I only eat steak if the cow was veggie and only ate grass!
 
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