Vegan-friendly
Lacto
Organic
Western
Beer/Wine
Catering
Scottish
The Henderson's business includes vegetarian restaurants, a shop and deli, and art gallery. This location serves contemporary vegetarian cuisine, wherever possible using local, seasonal, and organic ingredients. Juices, beer and wine, snacks, meals, and desserts. Short walk from main train station, north of Princes St. Reported its bistro on Thistle St switched to being all-vegan in 2015. Reported closed, Jul 2020.
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Last update on 03 Aug 2020 by Pluviophilia
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90 Reviews
First Review by onejamie
Alyson
Points +793
Pretty good all round - Edit
Update - Review of the Restaurant for 24th June (the downstairs bit below the shop). Ate here during a long change of train connections. There were two hot main vegan options (bean chilli, or the haggis & clapshot), and only 1 of 4 of the hot light lunches that were vegan. About half the salads were vegan. As it was early-ish I went for a 3-salad option and they were all nice, and, a dessert (choice of cherry pie, or a raspberry, rhubarb, ginger cakey-thing which was worth leaving room for). Shame none of the 'light savouries' eg the pizza, potato croquette and something else, weren't vegan. I think both soups were vegan.
Read moreAgree with the other recent review that Hendersons food is nice, but often it's things I could do myself. Service was just right.
May
Ate at the Bistro on our first night in Edinburgh and wasn't disappointed. Reasonable choice of vegan dishes, although only one vegan dessert (a cherry pie.) Learned that 'clapshot' is mashed tatties & neaps (potatoes and turnips/swedes). Service was attentive and friendly and cosy feel to the small bistro. Nothing 'out of this world' about the food or the place but a good place to go none the less.
Updated from previous review on Saturday May 28, 2011
Pros: Tasty, average prices
Cons: few vegan desserts
Guest
natz
Points +133
Disappointing for vegans. - Edit
This is a review for the restaurant not bistro as no separate entry. Of the dozen or so main courses on offer only 2 marked vegan - both were veg with white rice (one in balti sauce, one in satay sauce). So no complex carbs (would at least expect wholemeal rice in a healthy eating place) and no protein at all (no tofu, seitan, or even beans or nuts). Waitress also suggested they could do the risotto with peas in a blue cheese sauce as vegan by not adding the sauce. So that's another plate of rice and veg on offer then! Very poor. Veggie had the lasagne which was good but again most pubs do a veggie lasagne so why wouldn't Hendersons be more creative? Desserts were the same story - great range for veggies (the banoffee pie was excellent) but only one for vegans - a cherry pie which again you can easily make at home and was on offer several days in a row. Hendersons needs to up its game for vegans, particularly with the amazing choice in Glasgow at Mono/Stereo/78 - they just need to review their menus and come up with some variety. Henderson's biggest competition is places such as the amazing Indian Cavalry Club (with a vast array of veggie/vegan dishes) and the good Thai restaurants in the city. Whilst the food was well presented some thought needs to go into delivering the healthy eating message with more vegan options and less reliance on cheese for the veggie options.
Read morePros: portions good size, cheap, good wine list
Cons: lack of vegan choice, not overly healthy as claimed, waiting staff not that friendly
Guest
BlokefromBristol
Points +91
Well worth a visit - Edit
We visited Henderson's Bistro early on a Friday evening and found the restaurant about half full. The vibe and decor are cafe style and there is a relaxed feel about the place. We decided to share the mezze for starters, which comes with a choice of two pates. We choose the baba ganoush and hummus both of which were served in deep pots, so there was plenty to go around for two people. Everything else in the mezze was very tasty including the warm falafels, although the bread that came with it was a bit disappointing.
Read moreFor mains I chose the vegetarian haggis with clapshot and my partner chose the quiche. The haggis itself was spicy which personally I like. It was also quite filling but the clapshot was not anything special. There were no complaints from the other side of the table, so I assume the quiche was pretty good as well.
For dessert we shared the 3 cakes with chocolate fondue, which again was very nice if you have a sweet tooth. The choice of alcohol was impressive as well, especially the Scottish bottled stout and the service was very good as well. The total cost for a mezze, bread, two mains, one dessert and three drinks came to under £40, so I think good value overall.
Pros: Good choice of food, Good service, Nice vibe
Cons: Toliets need updating
Guest
Iheartukulele
Points +28
Great place to spend on a cold day..:D - Edit
This is a great place! I don't understand some people...I have been to loads of vegan/vegetarian places around the world, and sometimes I am baffled by people's strange reviews on this website! This place is a lovely restaurant. Yes it has limited tables, so book in advance. I had the Haggis, which was absolutely wonderful. A huge portion topped with potatoes, and surrounded by a warm delicious gravy. The perfect warm meal on a cold autumn afternoon. The place was a bit too warm, I had to take off all my layers, but it's better than the alternative. The meal came quick, and the server was friendly. The meal was adorned with fresh cranberries and a fresh FIG!! Something I had never tried before but was very pleased with. After I had an espresso and an order of vegan ice cream. I also had a sparkling orange juice with my meal and it was around 15 pounds for everything, which I think is reasonable. The only beef, no pun intended, I had was with the group of obnoxious Evangelicists loudly discussing religion at the table beside me. But, overall it's a great place. Try it!
Read morePros: Great Presentation, Great Food, Fast Service
Cons: Limited Tables, Temperature Warm
Guest
gr8vegan
Points +2369
reservations might be wise at night! - Edit
We had no idea this was 3 separate eating places. In the front is a quick shop with tons of fun vegan sandwiches ready to go, which are key if you're taking a day trip on a mini bus from Edinburgh, underground is a Salad Table and the Bistro is on the end! The Bistro is even open until 12am during festival! They have vegan ice cream and the burger is fantastic (but gas producing!)
Read moreGuest
khb
Points +141
Nice little place - Edit
When I visited, there was plenty of selection for vegans. My starter (bread with an assortment of spreads - hummus, baba ganoush, etc) came with far too little bread for the amount of spread they served. But that turned out to be all right, because I didn't really like some of the spreads at all. The others were quite good. My main dish, a Moroccan tagine, was full of "neaps and tatties" - I guess they either wanted to add a local twist or reduce their costs! They were happy to grant my request for a bowl of just vegan ice cream for pudding (vegan ice cream was offered on the menu, but only with the other puddings - I don't remember if none of them were vegan or if I just wasn't in the mood for the ones that were), which they served topped with some nice fresh fruit. The ice cream itself was a little bit freezer-burnt - maybe they don't get too many people ordering it. I thought I remembered that they closed rather early in the evening (8:30 or 9:00 or so) but according to their website they are open later now.
Read morePros: decent food, nice atmosphere, friendly service
Cons: ice cream spent too much time in the, freezer
Guest
sherill
Points +128
Nice place in Edinburgh - Edit
My fiance and I ate at Henderson's last spring when we visited Edinburgh. We enjoyed it, although there was definitely more for vegetarians than for vegans. The food seemed a little expensive to us for what you got, but it was our first day in Scotland and we may have still been adjusting to the exchange rate (We're from Toronto, Canada). It is a cozy place though and the food was quite good. We had a nice evening there and I would definitely recommend it to others who are visiting from out of town.
Read moreGuest
Foxtrot
Points +73
Bland, salty food - Edit
This place is in the kind of time-warp in which carrot salad should contain cheese, and pies should be made with ridiculously thick pastry that tastes of nothing. I am astonished by its continuing success.
Read morePros: location
Cons: rubbish, bland food, unhappy-looking staff, expensive
Guest
onejamie
Points +49
4 +++ Stars - Edit
It's probably not fair to rate the view, is it? If you could move this restaurant so that you could see Holyrood Park out the window instead of the grey buildings... then it would rate a perfect 5 for me! Everything inside is perfect.
Read moreWe ate here twice when we visied Edinburgh in January 2007, once for lunch and once for dinner. Both meals were excellent. The staff are very welcoming and genuinely friendly. It was very comfortable. The food was really delicious, and beautifuly presented. The vege haggis was good too.
I highly recommend this place for a comfy, delicious, happy, yummy, and relaxed experience.
Pros: Best Staff and Service, Yummy Food, Very Comfortable
Cons: Umm... the view?
Guest
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