Cafeography
Edinburgh

Vegan & vegetarian cafés in Edinburgh

Plant-based bakes and breakfasts, most of all in the Southside near the university.

Photo: Ella Olsson, Pexels License

Vegetarian food has had a public table in Edinburgh since 1962, when Janet Henderson and her husband Mac started Hendersons on Hanover Street, with an East Lothian farm behind it. It closed in summer 2020 after 58 years; by then it also ran a vegan bistro round the corner on Thistle Street, and in 2021 their grandson Barrie announced a relaunch in Bruntsfield, vegetarian haggis included.1

In a January 2022 Student Beans study, Edinburgh ranked as the UK's most vegan-friendly city, ahead of Chester, on per-capita vegan restaurants, delivery options and produce prices; Black Rabbit was named its best vegan restaurant.2 Southside & Newington has the most cafés with vegan options, about a quarter of them, followed by the Old Town and Leith.

Local tip: Bring your own cup to Black Rabbit on Brougham Street: coffees and teas in it are 10% cheaper.3

Where these cafés are: Southside & Newington (17), Old Town & Royal Mile (15), Leith & the Shore (10), Stockbridge (6), Bruntsfield & Marchmont (5), Morningside (4), New Town (3), Haymarket & Dalry (2), West End & Dean Village (1), Abbeyhill & Easter Road (1).

At a glance

64Cafés listed
45With opening hours
07:30Earliest opening
23:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Söderberg, from 07:30 (Mon–Fri 07:30–19:00 · Sat–Sun 09:00–19:00).
  • Closes latest: Don't Tell Mama, until 23:00 (Mon–Thu 10:00–18:00 · Fri–Sun 10:00–23:00).
  • Most listed streets: Morningside Road (4), High Street (4), Raeburn Place (3).
  • Most common features: indoor seating (36%), outdoor seating (33%), card payment (31%).
Old Town & Royal Mile

Slow Progress Records & Coffee

  • 53 Blackfriars Street
  • Mon 10:00–17:00 · Tue–Wed Closed · Thu–Sat 10:00–17:00 · Sun 11:00–16:00
  • +447584201251
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Black Rabbit and the all-vegan counters

Black Rabbit at 33 Brougham Street calls itself Edinburgh's original alternative vegan deli and coffee shop. It stocks vegan cheeses and deli slices, makes sandwiches, breakfast rolls and toasts, and bakes its pastries, cinnamon rolls, cakes, tarts and scones on site every day; it opens Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–16:00 and is closed on Mondays.3

By the Meadows, Brazilian-born Fernando and Gardenia rented a former police box in 2010 and opened Tupiniquim. Every crepe on the menu is gluten-free, nearly half the customers are coeliac, and the fillings draw on Brazilian dishes such as feijoada.4 The box on Lauriston Place opens 10:00–18:00 Monday to Saturday.

The Southside, around the university

Several sit within a few streets of the university's George Square campus. Love, Peace and Coffee at 59 Clerk Street opens 09:00–18:00 every day; 40 George Square Café serves weekdays from 08:30 and closes at weekends, as does Brücks at 11 Crichton Street. Söderberg at 27 Simpson Loan runs to 19:00 daily.

Uplands Roast's van by the main library is known for a "proper" hot chocolate topped with blow-torched marshmallows and chocolate shavings, with a vegan version.5 Further south, KB Café at 40 West Mains Road stays open until 22:00 Monday to Thursday, the latest of the Southside cafés with vegan food.

The Royal Mile and the Old Town

The Old Town's plant-based options line the Royal Mile. On the High Street, The Nether Bow Port is at number 12, The Haggis Box at 43 (open 10:00–17:00 daily), Cafe Edinburgh at 57 and Coffee House at 144. Further up, Redcoat Café at 566 Castlehill and Deacon's House Cafe at 304 Lawnmarket both open 09:30–16:00 every day, and the Canongate has Cafe Vivo at 136 and Dunedin at 261.

Off the Mile, Levels at 9c Holyrood Road opens at 08:00 on weekdays, and Slow Progress Records & Coffee at 53 Blackfriars Street pairs coffee with a record shop, closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Oat porridge and vegan buns elsewhere

In Canonmills, Hata makes its porridge with oat milk and changes the specials every Wednesday; all its oat dishes are vegan or can be made vegan, and they are served until 13:00.6 Twelve Triangles has long baked vegan morning buns with lemon and cardamom sugar.7

In Leith, Betty & George at 1 Howard Street opens 09:00–16:00 Monday to Saturday, Sweetland Cafe at 241 Leith Walk 09:00–17:00 daily, and 275 cafe at 275 Easter Road 09:00–16:00 daily.

Sources

  1. Barrie Henderson shares plans for the relaunch of Edinburgh's much loved restaurant, Hendersons (Gaby Soutar, July 7, 2021), Edinburgh Evening News, accessed October 2026
  2. Edinburgh named as the best city in the UK for vegans, with top restaurants also revealed (January 4, 2022), Edinburgh Evening News, accessed October 2026
  3. Black Rabbit: vegan deli and coffee shop, Black Rabbit Edinburgh, accessed October 2026
  4. Tupiniquim: Edinburgh's Little Brazil (Ana Tagliati, August 14, 2023), Migrant Women Press, accessed October 2026
  5. Winter warmers: the cosiest spots to get coffee around town (February 2, 2024), University of Edinburgh, Students at SPS blog, accessed October 2026
  6. Our menu, Hata Cafe Edinburgh, accessed October 2026
  7. Edinburgh's Twelve Triangles to launch new bakery in Dalry in September (Sean Murphy, August 22, 2019), The Scotsman, accessed October 2026
Keep exploring

Other ways to browse Edinburgh

Specialty coffee

21 cafés

Outdoor seating

78 cafés

Wi-Fi

49 cafés

Bakery cafés

37 cafés

Brunch

14 cafés

By area: Old Town & Royal Mile West End & Dean Village Stockbridge New Town Leith & the Shore Morningside Bruntsfield & Marchmont Southside & Newington

FAQ

Vegan & vegetarian in Edinburgh: questions

Is Edinburgh a good city for vegans?

In a January 2022 Student Beans study, Edinburgh ranked as the most vegan-friendly city in the UK, ahead of Chester, based on per-capita vegan restaurants, delivery options and produce prices. Black Rabbit on Brougham Street was named the best vegan restaurant. Vegetarian dining goes back to Hendersons, started on Hanover Street in 1962.

Where can you get a vegan breakfast in Edinburgh?

Black Rabbit on Brougham Street makes vegan breakfast rolls, toasts and sandwiches and bakes its pastries on site, Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–16:00. Hata in Canonmills makes porridge with oat milk, and its oat dishes, served until 13:00, are vegan or can be made vegan.

Where can you find gluten-free crepes near the Meadows in Edinburgh?

Tupiniquim, run by Brazilian-born Fernando and Gardenia since 2010, serves crepes from a former police box on Lauriston Place by the Meadows. Every crepe on the menu is gluten-free, and fillings draw on Brazilian dishes such as feijoada. It opens 10:00–18:00 Monday to Saturday.

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