Vegan
International
Mediterranean
Beer/Wine
Take-out
Catering
Spanish
Gluten-free
Breakfast
Founded in 1997, El Piano specializes in vegan and gluten-free meals and tapas. The daily offering of savories and sweets vary and incorporates influences from world regions. Location is in the city centre, and upstairs from the restaurant is a bed & breakfast. Last day of business Aug 30, 2018.
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Last update on 26 Feb 2020 by TheVeganBuddhist
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89 Reviews
First Review by smartheidi
anka_gollas
Points +146
great place for vegan AND gluten intolerant - Edit
i really liked the place - nice interior friendly environment and a big choice of food - all vegan and gluten free. i took a chocolate cake delicious! my friends had different plates all very tasty.
Read moreits right in the centre easy to find and good for staying longer enjoying the outdoor space on the back.
Pros: tasty food , friendly staff, good value
Guest
pdw96
Points +83
Must visit York's only 100% vegan restaurant - Edit
We enjoyed a lovely dinner here, York's only 100% vegan restaurant which has been here for 17+ years now. The food was very good, although could have been spicier for my tastes. There was a bit too much emphasis on fried foods. But overall a very enjoyable meal. Loved the atmosphere of the place and the service was good and friendly. Plenty of seating spaces.
Read moreGuest
AlisonJ_10
Points +62
Great tasting vegan food - Edit
So glad we chose this lovely place to eat (I'd looked on Happy Cow before our visit to York). The choice of food had plenty of variety for veggie/vegans. Really like the idea of 'building your own plate' with lots of lovely spicy choices full of variety of grains & pulses. Everything colourfully presented and all the dishes were absolutely delicious. Loved the Spanish/South American feel and flavours. The 'mathematical chips' was a nice pun! Friendly service and relaxed laid back atmosphere meant we had a memorable meal. The litre jug of apple and elderflower to share was a brilliant idea and very welcome on a hot day. Even a chance to have vegan puddings and cakes which were unusual and tasty.
Read moreCame away with the cookbook to try out some recipes ourselves. Thanks - you helped to make our day out very special!
Pros: friendly service, great food, relaxed atmosphere
Guest
ZannaStar
Points +176
My happy place - Edit
When I visit my hometown in Lincolnshire I regularly visit York just so I can come to El Piano! I love the spirit of the place, the cute decor, the lovely people, the sunny garden (in season ahem) and the ever changing menu of yummy scrummy vegan loveliness. I am addicted to their bread and they make the best soup. It's all about comfort food with a twist, often Mediterranean but also with lots of Asian inspiration. My parents love the chips and the powerful coffee, my mum always has the baby burger and I try to choose a different dish every time. Feels like home! Portions are generous and prices are very reasonable, making this even more accessible! Their tagline is food for everyone and they live up to that not only by being vegan, glutenless and nut free but by having loads of soya free options, three kinds of mylk and ground floor seating with no steps etc
Read morePros: comida para todos! Accessible , lots of mylk options, atmosphere
Cons: service can be slow when busy, they use sugar and fry some dishes
Guest
christopherjboyce
Points +984
Nice little place to grab a bite - Edit
I stopped in here to grab some food before I took my train up north. A welcome surprise. Very cool friendly staff, nice atmosphere, and very nice food. I was in a bit of a rush so didn't get time to take the place in a bit more but if I ever make it back to York I'll certainly head back here. I also like the menus which indicate the percentage of food in a dish that comes from within 30miles. I'd love to see this more on menus.
Read morePros: Great and tasty food, Menus indicating locally sourced food, A beautiful cat sat on my lap
Guest
chrissy
Points +66
Nice staff and ambient decor, disappointing food - Edit
This is my second trip to El Piano, I wasn't particularly impressed the first time so I thought I would give it another try. Unfortunately, my view hasn't changed. I desperately want to like this place, its vegan, the staff are lovely, the decor is relaxed and unpretentious, however the food is really bland with no definable texture or flavour. Maybe Spanish cuisine isn't for me but with descriptions on the menu like 'spice' and 'fiery' I would expect some heat or flavour in a dish. Frustrating
Read morePros: Good service, All vegan menu
Cons: Food was bland, Not great value
Guest
PaolaCatapano
Points +28
Vegan/GF from heaven! - Edit
El Piano is a cozy restaurant in the very heart of York, 5 minutes away from Yorkminster, open all day and with an incredible friendly atmosphere.
Read moreThey have a huge menu where you can find everything you want from starters to desserts, good beers, ciders and wines... and everything is vegan AND gluten free! It's like a blessing from heaven: for one time you don't need to pay attention to hidden ingredients, just sit back, relax and enjoy the food! (...and being in the UK, I have to say a place like this it's pretty amazing..)
They also have a couple of big "taste-everything-we-got" plates for 2-3 people that are simply awesome, a small shop (where we bought the most delicious Dahl mix ever made!), books and weekly vegan/GF classes where you can learn everything, from how to make tofu to "junk"-vegan/GF for adolescents... what more can we ask for?
Just go!
Pros: Everything vegan and gluten free, cleanliness, friendly
Cons: Service just a little slow
Guest
matthewlowery
Points +19
Wonderful - Edit
The food is absolutely astonishing. Some of the best vegan food I've ever eaten. They do the most delicious vegan sushi, fried with ginger and some other sauce. It's all very reasonably priced as well, for a tenner you get a hot dish, a side dish, as well as a salad. They have a wide range of styles like Japanese, Indian, and Spanish. Lovely mix of things. One of the things I enjoyed most is that they don't pretend to be serving meat-based meals: they make no apology for it and the food is frankly delicious. I think it's the first time in my life I've ever enjoyed mushrooms!
Read moreThe staff I spoke to were very friendly and accommodating, and the restaurant itself has a lovely ambience and feel to it. They have some very tasty deserts and freshly-made milkshakes as well which I enjoyed. I look forward to returning to it many times, I'm going to try a few new items on their menu next time as I'm sure I'll enjoy it whatever it is. All of it is vegan-friendly and if I recall correctly it's also dairy- and lactose-free.
Pros: Lovely food, Great value for money, Nice ambiance
Guest
Braidy
Points +395
Good old-fashioned vegan restaurant - Edit
Cheery red and yellow interior, perhaps a bit dated (pine tongue and groove etc). Toilets are outside across a rainy courtyard, but in historical buildings in York this may be inevitable, and I suppose it's an adventure! The tapas platters are good for three (or two greedy) people. Recently we had the Eclectic platter in which everything was scrumptious apart from a pie filled with something exactly like glue. The Exotic platter was virtually all great, especially the fritter things. The chocolate dessert they offered us was absolutely first-class, everything a dessert should be, and the sticky toffee pudding's not half bad either! There's not much space to move in here sometimes but the food makes it worth it.
Read morePros: Tasty food, lots of choice, welcoming staff
Cons: A bit cramped
Guest
Agata F.
Points +70
Something a bit different - Edit
This is a bit of a strange one. As much as I enjoyed the concept of the place (it's completely vegan and gluten free, Spanish style cooking) the food itself was a bit of a disappointment. It a bit hard to know what you're gonna get: I've been there twice and each time my bf got a dish that was really nice, yet my won dishes were nowhere near as impressive. So it is a bit of a hit and miss.
Read moreI can def recommend their massive veggie burger and banana and potato frittata (served as a side dish). Corn balls in chocolate sauce were really good too. I personally didn't like the meatballs, as they tasted very fennely, their mousaka was really potatoy and not to my taste either (even though I normally adore mousaka).
Overall, it is worth giving this place a try.
Updated from previous review on Saturday October 11, 2014
Pros: Friendly staff, Gluten free, Good value for money
Cons: Menu seems a bit confusing
Guest
Elvie
Points +325
Meh - Edit
I'm not a huge fan of El Piano, and much prefer the nearby Goji. I find the menu vast and confusing, and it's difficult to know how much food you're going to get. The food I've had there has been too heavy, variable in quality, and occasionally cold. Of course it's great to have a vegan place in town so I go once in a while just to support them, but it's never my first choice. The staff are always very nice and it has a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.
Read morePros: friendly staff, nice atmosphere, great location
Cons: confusing menu, mediocre food , bit expensive
Guest
emzie1983
Points +678
Delicious!! - Edit
El Piano is a small, friendly cafe with a very relaxed atmosphere and fun decor. The staff were very friendly and helpful.
Read moreThe menu has a huge range of all vegan meals, with influences from all over the world.
My friend and I had a meal that consists of a choice of hot dish, fritters and salad for £10 each.
I chose moussaka, carrot and spring onion fritters and Mexican slaw. All of the them were delicious, and you get a good mix of food having one item from each section.
My friend had dhal (which was amazingly rich and creamy!), spinach and tomato fritters and hummus.
I also had a chocolate milkshake that was SO tasty-better than any dairy milkshake you could get :)
Next time I go to York I will definitely be going back!!
Pros: Good value for money, Delicious and varied menu, Friendly and relaxed
Guest
Bones
Points +92
Fabulous - exceeded expectations - Edit
So many of my vegan (and non-vegan) friends have raved about this place and I have been wanting to try it for ages and finally managed it.
Read moreUp in York for Le Tour de France, I booked for Friday, found the restaurant easily and was warmly greeted.
Just looking at the menu made my mouth water, it's all vegan and gluten-free and the wine-list had Sam Smith's vegan friendly beers on.
I chose the Mole, Tinas and Hannes Homage and boy did it taste great and the portions were just right. Also opted for a side order of Mathematical chips.
I didn't really need a dessert, but had one anyway, going for the Citrus cheesecake - again it was excellent.
I was so impressed I bought one of their recipe books!
In fact, it was that good that I returned on the Sunday night.
The prices are reasonable, the food is ace and the staff are lovely.
The only downside is that I live over 150 miles away...
Pros: Great food, Good portions, Lovely staff
Cons: It's too far from where I live!
Guest
jon active
Points +2987
Wonderful place - Edit
Great food, not too expensive, friendly staff, unfortunately had run out of a few of their options when we were there. Worth negotiating the crowds of tourists in York to get to this haven.
Read morePros: Great food, Unusual food, Food mile conscious
Cons: In York
Magdalena, owner
So kind of you to encourage people to fight the crowds to get to us in the heart of York. Thank you for writing about us.
Read moreGuest
Chnanis
Points +8124
Lovely restaurant in York town, Hot dishes! - Edit
Good vegan hot dishes.
Read moreThe soup was great, there are 2 soup of the day which changed everyday,
bread is gluten free, side salad was fresh and chill.
You can choose to have set meal or just any course you would like.
Anyway, the place is quite small, smell from the kitchen is all around, so be prepared to get some food smell on you clothes and hair!
However, overall, I like it here. :)
Magdalena, owner
Only yesterday I bumped into a friend of ours who has the Pizzeria down the road just past EL PIANO in Granada. Kisses on both cheeks being the custom I remarked how GOOD he smelled - all fresh and not a trace of pizza, whereas I had been in the kitchen all morning and found myself commenting that the Eau de Curry was my perfume for the day...so yes, an open kitchen, although having the advantage of EVERYTHING being on display, important we think as we cater for so many vulnerable diners with food allergies and intolerances, can, at times, NONETHELESS make it impossible to disguise where you have just eaten...
Read moreThanks for your review and being so positive about your experience of EL PIANO.
Guest
Livinglost
Points +98
Changed my opinion - Edit
I went here a few years ago and didn't have the best experience, but was persuaded to try it again. We booked as a large group which meant we had to order what they described as party food, so it was basically a buffet for £12.50 a head. Not having a choice about this was quite frustrating, but there was plenty of food and it was all very tasty. I especially loved the Dahl, it was nice and garlicky (that's a word right?). Being gluten free and vegan the food is never going to look particularly fancy, but I enjoyed it.
Read morePros: tasty
Cons: Lack of choice for a large group, Slightly pricey
Magdalena, owner
Bravo for giving us another go! Thank you.
Read moreDepending on the size of your group you will get everything on the menu anyway when you book a party at EL PIANO, so honestly, you aren't missing anything!
It was interesting to read that you found EL PIANO YORK pricey. Most people reckon it's a great deal to have a party in a private Medieval dining space where you can sing, dance, chat, move around, all within sight of York Minster, for as long as you want it AND the chance of 10% off ALL pre-ordered drinks. I don't think there is anywhere else in York to compare...
Livinglost
Read moreI must admit we were very tempted to cancel. We were told we had to pay £15 to use the room that we didn't request to use and we had to share it with other people. Seemed a bit odd to me, I did call up about this again as I didn't think it was right but was assured this was the case, eventually we didn't have to pay, I'm not sure why. I often don't know how many drinks I want with my meal or what I would like to drink in advance, saving 40p didn't appeal to me as much as having something I wanted on the night, I felt that was a bit of an odd offer, you're right, I'm not sure anywhere else in York can compare to that. There were also a few of us on a budget who would have preferred a smaller meal, I'm not arguing against the value we got, just that we were forced into paying £12.50.
I did enjoy the food though and had a nice evening, so I can put it behind me and go back again for some more grub, maybe as a smaller group though.
Guest
hack_man
Points +25939
Play it again Sam - Edit
A truly exceptional place tucked away in a wonderful part of the city. This is a uniquely different establishment with friendly staff, novel ideas and a hugely welcoming atmosphere. It's colourful and vibrant with plenty of seating up and down. A great place for breakfast, a snack, a cake and coffee or a romantic evening meal with wine. The mezzes are out of this world, a bit pricey perhaps but top quality. No cheap humous, pitta bread and olives here just a superbly inventive combination of delights served with style and providing another angle to the usual mezze that you can get at most vegetarian establishments. Along with Goji Cafe this is a must go eating place in York.
Read morePros: food, atmosphere, staff
Magdalena, owner
Thanks so much for your review. It's great when people notice that the food is all made on site and not bought from a central factory simply to be dished up. Regrettably prices in El Piano York are as much as TWICE the prices in El Piano Granada and El Piano Malaga and we regret this very much. If we could lower them in York, we would...
Read moreGuest
LindaFern
Points +52
el piano - Edit
No real entrees, just a collection of side dishes cobbled together to form a 'meal (also out of what could have been decent menu items at 5pm?). All microwaved, my sons 'bread' and polenta-like dish were microwaved until rock hard. Hapless, inexperienced staff. Bizarre menu items, a dish that claimed to taste 'just like an omelette' was some dry, layered potatoes. Worst coffee imaginable. Cannot imagine how it's stayed in business this long. Also, much more expensive than 3 other excellent meals we had in York at Goji and Ambiente. I'm sure the owner will try to defend the restaurant but I would advise you to ignore the rebuttal.
Read moreCons: food not fresh or tasty, slow service, way overpriced
Magdalena, owner
We are glad you enjoyed our neighbours. York is a great destination with lots to offer. It's a shame you didn't find anything you liked about EL PIANO. Fifteen years of 'food for all' has brought us success and a real sense of fulfilment in providing quality fresh food at a good price and we like all our customers to feel a part of that success.
Read moreCertainly much of what we serve is different from what you may be used to, drawing as we do, on recipes from all over the world. It enables us to offer a whole range of flavours that are BOTH vegan AND gluten free. Vaquero style coffee, for example, is for the coffee lover and not everyone's 'cup of tea' forgive the humour...
You are right. There is the option to order every dish separately (as well as many combo plates which you did not mention). This is for a couple of reasons. One is so that people can choose absolutely everything individually. Another is so that there is no blending of foods, one dish 'bleeding' into another. This is an important consideration for many of our more vulnerable diners who have restricted diets.
Microwaves are in ALL restaurants ALMOST without exception. The big difference in EL PIANO is that ours are not hidden.
HAPPY COW, as a website, and EL PIANO, as an eating venue, both depend on people’s integrity when offering their opinions. This means that what is written is circumspect, truthful and not motivated by a wish to do harm. Happily HAPPY COW readers are discerning.
Guest
Janeycat
Points +40
Scrumptious! - Edit
Gorgeous food! Such a great choice and totally nut free - I could eat everything on the menu. AMAZING!
Read moreUpdated from previous review on Tuesday July 10, 2012
Pros: vegan, Nut free, gluten free
Cons: Too far from where I live :(
Magdalena, owner
DELIGHTED! You are just the person we are thinking about when we come up with all these dishes. Not entirely nut free though...still using sesame seeds and coconut. This is mentioned all over the place on the menu but it's worth stating it again for anyone who needs to be super careful...
Read moreGuest
Alyson
Points +793
Great place - Edit
My boyfriend and I ate here for three nights in one week whilst on holiday in York, and every meal was great. The variety of dishes means you can sample lots of different flavours. All the food is vegan which is a huge bonus. We particularly liked the dahl, corn fritters, sweet potato pate, 'meat' balls, chick pea curry, and the chocolate cake. Menu features international dishes. Be warned though - don't over-order the tapas dishes - we ordered so much the first night we could hardly sleep because of our full tummys! But we couldn't waste such lovely food. Staff very friendly. Worth booking a table if you're going when it's a busy time of day or during a holiday period. Only one negative thing- the cheesecake was way too cheesy and little other flavour.
Read morePros: vegan, tasty, friendly
Cons: small-ish place
Guest
alia_801
Points +455
Friendly cafe with fantastic food! - Edit
After being warmly welcomed and comfortably seated the staff gave us time to settle before taking our order. After considering the wide range of options we settled for the Hispanic tray - a mixed platter including a yummy chilli, refried beans and corn chips, and - my favourite - tiny carrot and onion patties. The red lead dip should be bottled to take away for later as it was incredible. We were too full for dessert (the platter says it's for 2-3 people; it left two of us nicely full).
Read moreWe went to do a York ghost walk (highly recommended too - but dress warmly!) and returned to the cafe to be greeted as old friends. We plumped for a warming jug of hot chocolate each (2 1/2 cups per jug), cheesecake and scrummy toffee pudding.
We'll definitely be back when next in the area!
Pros: Wide range of tasty food , Lots of vegan options, Friendly service
Magdalena, owner
It's great when you go somewhere and then return and people greet you warmly...but it is a game of two halves you know...we are very lucky in our customers. They want us to do well and are good fun.
Read moreGuest
Sabine82
Points +30
Just perfect! - Edit
We spend a wonderful lunch in the backyard (inside it's pretty dim). The spanish-oriental dishes all tasted great and particularly the cheesecake. It's unbelievable that all this food is vegan and glutenfree. Even my picky daughter ate so much.
Read moreWhen we go back to the North we will choose a hotel in York (not in Leeds, like this time), just for being able to eat there more often. I'm not kidding!
Pros: delicious food, nice staff, childfriendly
Cons: inside very dimly, not in my neighbourhood ;-)
Magdalena, owner
Thank you. And the local hoteliers will be thanking you too...If you want the cheesecake recipe just let us know. There are a few that we use, and the one we make in EL PIANO GRANADA is SO easy and delicious...
Read moreGuest
newshiny
Points +13
Fabulous! - Edit
Went to El Piano with the family, including 3 (can be fairly picky) kids, aged 5-8. 2 adults had the "square meal" with 3 options, the dahl was to die for! Even hubby (long distance runner, ALWAYS hungry) was groaning at the end because he was so full up. 2 kids had veggie burgers, and couldn't finish the whole dinner. They were all served different salads, but most of them were really very spicy. Not so suitable for most small children, I'd have said. 3rd kid had mini-square meal, with falafels. All (smaller) meals were served with corn chips.
Read morePrice was very reasonable, dinners were filling, and it was all incredibly tasty. Would certainly go back again.
Pros: Tasty, Filling, Inexpensive
Cons: Salads very spicy
Magdalena, owner
Well thank you! Very pleased that the SQUARE MEALS were a hit. We spent a long time thinking that one out as we so wanted to be able to give people good food at an affordable price. And yes, the dhal...15 years at EL PIANO YORK and it has never been off the menu...it's still the one dish that those of us who have been there all these years are still enthusiastic about eating day in day out...
Read moreGuest
Sammo84
Points +48
Out of this world - Edit
Words cannot do enough justice to how pleased I was I went to El Piano for dinner on my trip to York. It was easily the best meal I've ever had in a vegan restaurant.
Read moreI had the sweetcorn and pepper soup for starters. It was really flavourful and the use of Japanese rice crackers for croutons was a great touch. The little gluten free roll was super tasty as well.
For the main course I had the meal for one with Corn Fritters, Chilli Sin Carne, and a Spanish Omelette. The three tapas dishes came with an amazing rice dish that was just great. The corn fritters came with a mango and raisin chutney which complimented the flavours perfectly.
The service was great, the waitress was super friendly and I couldn't recommend this restaurant more if I tried. I even bought one of their cookbooks to try and recreate some of the dishes once I got home.
Oh... Bring your hunger... You're going to need it :-)
Pros: Amazing food, Great Service, Good value
Cons: Not enough room in my belly
Magdalena, owner
Well it's nearly a year since you were in EL PIANO YORK...how crap are we...SO sorry, and thanks so much for your enthusiastic review. Actually it's nearly midnight as I write this and your description of the food has actually made me hungry again!
Read moreGuest
ravenswing
Points +35
GET IN MY BELLY - Edit
One of my favourite places to eat in england, the VAT buster makes you feel like you're going to die from a combination of gut over-expansion and mouth-orgasms. I love the little banana-leaf boats and the gorgeous silver teapots. The staff are always friendly and attentive. The cheesecake is NOM. Was a bit sad the sweet potato mousse was off the menu recently though, as this was my favourite bit on my last visit. But you're still awesome El Piano please continue to feed me until I am obese
Read morePros: NOM FOOD, NICE STAFF, BANANA BOATS
Cons: S/p/m where you go? :{
Magdalena, owner
What a lovely review. Thanks so much. We have been poor at responding on the HAPPY COW site recently but are set to improve it! I had the great pleasure to meet some of the people behind the scenes at HAPPY COW recently. They do so much for all of us...so continue to support them with reviews and comment. It makes all the differnce.
Read moreGuest
Gefion
Points +17
Enjoyable - Edit
Visited recently with omnivore husband. Good selection of dishes. Chose tapas style as this was a one off visit whilst travelling up country. Food was very nice, even compliments on spanish tortilla from omnivore! Very filling which was upsetting as desserts looked excellent, however, these were offered as take out... very nice they were too. Nice packaging. Staff very friendly and helpful. Only downside was very small table in corner felt a little cramped.
Read morePros: Tasty food, Friendly staff, Take out option
Cons: A little on expensive side, Table a little cramped
Magdalena, owner
Thanks so much for your review. Forgive us for taking so long to respond. We appreciate your comments about feeling cramped. This is the trouble with a medieval building...did you see the poor 6' 10" waiter! We have made some changes, enlarging some areas, and you may find it better on another visit.
Read moreGuest
SunFlowerChild
Points +47
Enjoyable - Edit
Very warm and welcoming decor and staff. My mother needs non-spicy gluten-free and I like vegan so suited us both. Food great but could do with serving a tasty sauce (perhaps a selection) in a gravyboat for those of us who wish more flavour or to spice it up a bit.
Read morePros: healthy food, good choice, friendly staff
Cons: flavour lacking in some dishes
Magdalena, owner
Thanks for your review. Glad our combination vegan AND gluten-free suited you both. I wish we have known about the need for sauce...we have a number of sauces and salsas that we make ourselves (to ensure there are no hidden ingredients.) A stack of three is served with trays and with certain other dishes... Anytime, in ANY restaurant, do ask... You are paying for the privilege of eating out and we are there to make it as good as we can... Next time you come just tell us you want the sauce stack...
Read moreGuest
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