Vegan Edinburgh

Henderson’s started serving vegetarian food in Edinburgh in 1962, decades before oat milk was a thing, and the city has kept building on that head start. Today you can eat vegan carbonara in Newington, Malaysian laksa near the university, smoky Mexican tacos in an Old Town bar and a macaroni cheese toastie in Leith, all within a short bus ride of each other.

Most of the places below are small and independent, so hours are short and several close early in the week. Plan dinners around the restaurants that open late, and save the cafés for daytime wandering between the castle, the Meadows and the port. For more cities, browse all the vegan travel destinations.

Vegan Edinburgh at a Glance

• Best Italian dinner: Sora Diana
• Best for Malaysian food: Soul Vegan
• Best tacos and cocktails: Antojitos
• Best burgers and late opening: Holy Cow
• Best sandwiches: FacePlant
• Best pastries and picnic supplies: Black Rabbit
• Best brunch: Chapter One
• Best special-occasion meal: Henderson’s

Best Vegan Restaurants in Edinburgh

1. Sora Diana: Roman Pasta on Causewayside Vegan

Order the carbonara. Diners name it alongside the cacio e pepe (pecorino and black pepper pasta) as the best plates here, and the gnocchi gets called so indulgent it should come with a warning. Start with the garlic focaccia, which turns up in almost every happy review, and finish with the tiramisu, which several people simply call perfection.

After that, try the truffle pasta, the ravioli and the supplì, Roman fried rice balls with a soft centre. Sora Diana is the new name for The Vegan Sora, and the whole menu is plant-based, cocktails included. I would book this first for a proper sit-down dinner on the Southside, the leafy residential area below the Old Town.

💡 Tip: Dinner only, 4PM to 9:30PM Tuesday to Sunday, closed Monday. Book ahead and give yourself time, because service slows down on packed nights.

📍 19-21 Causewayside, Edinburgh EH9 1QF | Newington | ☎️ 0131 259 3178 | 🌐 thevegansora.com | 📸 @thevegansora

2. Soul Vegan: Malaysian Comfort Food Near the University Vegan

Order the laksa noodles, a spicy coconut curry noodle soup that reviewers call packed with flavour and deeply comforting on a cold Edinburgh evening. The gan lau mee, dry-tossed noodles with vegan pork, wins people over too, and meat-eaters at the table keep admitting the mock meat completely fooled them.

For sharing, get the hoisin pancake and the spring rolls, then the sweet and sour lion’s mane mushroom as a main. Leave room for deep-fried sweet potato or banana fritters with ice cream. Soul Vegan is a cosy, prettily decorated restaurant a few minutes from the university, and the Malaysian menu is entirely plant-based.

💡 Tip: Mains come without rice, so order a side. Lunch runs 12PM to 3PM Wednesday to Sunday, dinner starts at 5PM Tuesday to Sunday, and it is closed on Mondays.

📍 46 West Richmond Street, Edinburgh EH8 9DZ | Southside | ☎️ 0131 629 3958 | 🌐 soulvegan.uk | 📸 @soul_vegan_paradise

3. Antojitos: Vegan Mexican at Paradise Palms Vegan

Get the jalapeño rellenos, stuffed and fried chillies that one diner called the best thing on the table, and the quesabirria tacos (cheesy tacos dipped in a rich chilli broth). The barbacoa quesadilla, filled with smoky seitan and grilled vegetables, was the highlight of one 2026 review, and the guacamole arrives scattered with pomegranate seeds.

Round it out with the taco trio, which pairs vegan al pastor chicken with crispy baja-style vegan fish, and the elote ribs, strips of fried corn with chipotle butter. Antojitos started as a lockdown food truck in 2020, won best Scottish street food within 11 months, and now runs a cantina inside Paradise Palms, a colourful Old Town bar.

💡 Tip: The cantina kitchen runs until 10PM daily, and the 80s soundtrack is loud. For a cheaper lunch, the Antojitos stall at Edinburgh Street Food in the OMNi Centre on Leith Street serves tacos and salsas from the same 100% plant-based team.

📍 Paradise Palms, 41 Lothian Street, Edinburgh EH1 1HB | Old Town | ☎️ 0131 225 4186 | 🌐 antojitos.uk | 📸 @antojitostruck

4. Holy Cow: Reubens and Burgers in New Town Vegan

Go for the Reuben sandwich, the dish regulars mention more than anything else, or one of the burgers. The quarter pounder, the jackfruit burger and the Vietnamese tofu burger with fries all have loyal fans. The gluten-free bread gets singled out too, so this is one of the easier stops if someone in your group avoids gluten.

Lighter appetites can go for the Pad Thai salad and a protein smoothie, both praised for tasting fresh and made with care. Holy Cow is a snug, bright café a minute from the bus station, fully vegan and open late for a café, which makes it a handy dinner before an evening bus or train.

💡 Tip: Open 10AM to 10PM Friday to Monday and 12PM to 10PM Tuesday to Thursday. Friday afternoons get busy, so allow a little extra time.

📍 34 Elder Street, Edinburgh EH1 3DX | New Town | ☎️ 0131 629 7057 | 🌐 holycow.cafe | 📸 @holycowedinburgh

5. FacePlant: Toasted Sandwiches in Leith Vegan

Order the mac and cheese sandwich: their award-winning macaroni cheese pressed into a toastie, which is exactly as excessive as it sounds. The Reuben comes with house-made pastrami, and every meat and cheese alternative here is made in-house, from bacon to chicken to tuna, so the fillings taste unlike anything from a supermarket packet.

Check the board for the weekly special, since a lasagne sandwich has turned up there and won fans, and try the Club Med sandwich if you want something brighter. FacePlant is a fully vegan sandwich shop on Duke Street in Leith, the old port district, and regulars talk about working their way through the whole menu.

💡 Tip: Open Thursday to Saturday 9AM to 4PM and Sunday 9AM to 3PM, closed Monday to Wednesday. Walk it off along the Water of Leith, the river that runs through the city to the sea.

📍 37 Duke Street, Edinburgh EH6 8HH | Leith | ☎️ 07752 098789 | 🌐 faceplantfoods.co.uk | 📸 @faceplantfoods

6. Black Rabbit: Cruffins and a Deli Counter in Tollcross Vegan

Get a cruffin, a filled croissant baked in a muffin tin, which is the pastry people name first, then a cinnamon roll for later. The savoury star is the baguette sandwich with tofu scramble, which one reviewer called incredibly delicious, and the cake and pastry counter is big enough to make choosing properly difficult.

There is also a deli counter selling plant-based slices by weight, perfect for building a picnic for the Meadows, the big park a few minutes south. Black Rabbit is a small, slightly goth, women-owned vegan café and bakery on Brougham Street, and everything on the counter is plant-based.

💡 Tip: Open Tuesday to Sunday 10AM to 4PM, closed Monday. Seats are few, so if they are taken, carry your haul to the Meadows.

📍 33 Brougham Street, Edinburgh EH3 9JT | Tollcross | 🌐 blackrabbitedinburgh.co.uk | 📸 @blackrabbitedinburgh

7. Chapter One: All-Day Vegan Brunch in Dalry Vegan

Order the full vegan breakfast, which one visitor loved so much they came back the next day for more. The breakfast roll is huge and very tasty by one regular’s account, and the French toast and acai bowl both draw steady praise, the acai especially from people after something lighter.

Coffee comes with your choice of plant milks, and the cake counter is half the reason to linger. Chapter One has been running on Dalry Road since 2015, which in café years makes it a veteran. It is fully vegan, dog-friendly, and has a little bookshelf so you can read over a second coffee.

💡 Tip: Open 8AM to 5PM on weekdays and 9AM to 5PM on weekends. Dalry is a short walk west of Haymarket station, so it works well on your arrival or departure day.

📍 107 Dalry Road, Edinburgh EH11 2DR | Dalry | 📸 @chapteronecoffee

8. Henderson’s: Seasonal Vegetarian Dining in Bruntsfield Vegetarian

Go hungry, because reviewers keep mentioning huge portions. The seasonal menu leads with dishes like a lion’s mane mushroom steak salad and king oyster mushroom “scallops” with broad bean and mint purée. Diners also rave about the cocktails, especially the Hugo spritz (elderflower, prosecco and mint), which more than one person called the best in Edinburgh.

End with Swedish kladdkaka, a sticky, gooey chocolate cake. Henderson’s has fed Edinburgh vegetarians since 1962 and is listed in the MICHELIN Guide. Most of the menu is vegan and marked V, but some dishes and desserts use dairy, so stick to the dishes with the V and tell your server you are vegan.

💡 Tip: Open daily 12PM to 10PM, with the kitchen closed 4PM to 5PM and last orders at 9:15PM. The Sunday roast is popular, so book for that.

📍 7-13 Barclay Place, Edinburgh EH10 4HW | Bruntsfield | ☎️ 0131 202 1635 | 🌐 hendersonsrestaurant.com | 📸 @hendersonseatbetter

Closes, Wynds and an Extinct Volcano

Edinburgh’s Old Town runs down the Royal Mile, the sloping street between the castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and dozens of closes (narrow alleys between tall tenement buildings) drop off either side. Many are named after the merchants and trades that once lived in them, and wynds, the slightly wider lanes, are wide enough for a cart.

Below the Old Town sits the Georgian New Town, planned from the 1760s on a neat grid, and together they have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995. Behind Holyrood rises Arthur’s Seat, an extinct volcano with a 251-metre summit you can climb in under an hour, which is the perfect way to earn a second breakfast.

Vegan Edinburgh: What to Know Before You Go

• Haggis, Scotland’s national dish, is traditionally made with sheep offal. Vegetarian haggis is common on pub and café menus, but some versions use butter or egg, so ask before you order.
• Scottish tablet, the crumbly sugar slab sold in every gift shop, is made with butter and condensed milk. Only buy it if the label says vegan.
• Many cafés here close at 4PM or 5PM, and several shut from Monday to Wednesday. For dinner, plan around Sora Diana, Soul Vegan, Antojitos, Holy Cow and Henderson’s.
• The tram runs from the airport through the city centre and down Leith Walk to Newhaven, which makes a Leith lunch at FacePlant easy. Lothian buses cover everywhere else, and you can tap a contactless card on board.
• The Old Town is steep and cobbled, and the weather changes fast. Pack comfortable shoes and a waterproof jacket in every season.
• In August, book every dinner ahead. The festivals fill the city and the smaller restaurants sell out early.

When to Visit Edinburgh

August is the big month: the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world’s largest arts festival, runs alongside the Edinburgh International Festival, and the whole city turns into a stage. It is thrilling and crowded, and hotel prices climb to match. Late May and June bring long, light evenings, with the sun setting after 10PM around midsummer.

September and October are calmer, still mild, and easier for restaurant bookings. Winter is dark by 4PM in December, but it has its own pull, with Christmas markets and Hogmanay, the Scottish New Year’s Eve celebration, when Princes Street hosts one of the biggest street parties in Europe.

Vegan Edinburgh FAQ