The best veggie place in Scotland. Kalpna has survived for years due to its quality. Indian based food, but not curry based. Great selection, and dishes packed with fresh produce. A must!
Although The lunch buffet only has three mains each day, they are rarely the same.
The vegan choice is not huge, but there is a delicious vegan thali, served in beautiful bowls and a tray. Really worth going for, just for this. Lovely decor and atmosphere.
Pros: vegan dish, atmosphereI ate here in January 2011 with my partner, during a city break to Edinburgh. We ate at lunchtime, when the restaurant offers an 'all you can eat' buffet for £7.00 per head. I consider that good value, particularly so as the city in general is hideously expensive.
The food was very tasty and made with fresh veg, it had a home-made style to it. I would have preferred a bit more choice, and my particular favourite style of curry (very hot, rich and saucy, e.g. vindaloo, or balti (extra hot !)) was unfortunately not on offer at the buffet. The staff and the setting were pleasant. I waddled away happy - recommended.
I first visited over Kalpna 20 years ago and recently returned after a very long absence. I must say that the food is as good as ever and thoroughly enjoyed the excellent value vegan thali (£13.95). It was just as I remember it and when the food is as good as this you can't criticise a lack of innovation. To summarise, the food is perfectly spiced, fresh and the assortment of dishes was intelligently considered. The Gujurati dishes on offer show most Indian restaurants up as pale imitations of authentic cuisine. The decor is clean and bright but nothing to get excited about. Service was attentive but not overbearing. I have no qualms about recommending Kalpna if you are looking for a top class vegetarian meal in Edinburgh.
Pros: Superb food, Good value, Attentive staffWent here on Sunday the 8th, had the vegan thaali, 6 courses for 13.95 a serious bargain. we were both completely stuffed. 2 meals and 2 beers for 35 incl tip. This was the best indian I've had in my life (even when I used to eat meat!) Service was quick. Only let down was 1 of the waiters we had was really nice, but the other a bit cold.
Pros: taste, volume, valueI went here for lunch on the first Saturday in June. It was a self serve buffet set up with various starters and a choice of three curries none of which I am pleased to say were overly chillied. All of the dishes were vegan vego friendly apart from the one of the dips made with yoghurt. The potato pakora starter was delicious as were the curries and the biryani rice offered with them. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing and at £7 it seems very good value for hard earned dosh.
The settings are pleasantly done out and the atmo is relaxed. All in all a massive winner for me. I rocked along with a bunch of omnivorous friends for whom it was also clean plates and thumbs up all round.
I look forward to returning.
Pros: Vegan vego friendly, Great food, Great valueSimply the best Indian food I have eaten.
Will most definately be back whenever staying in Edinburgh.
A super restaurant, very well run and established in Edinburgh. Not the typical meals one might expect in an Indian restaurant such as madras, bhuna etc but wonderful regional dishes from the area of the owner's homeland (southern Indian I think). Reminds me very much of the excellent Hansas vegetarian Gujarati restaurant in Leeds (see my review for that). The Dosa's are fabulous. Service is quick and friendly, but make sure you go early if you want to enjoy a dining experience to remember as they do like guests to leave promptly when it's closing time (although this may have changed since our visit in August 2007). Overall, a fine place, if you like Indian food and are vegetarian it is essential when in Edinburgh. All types of palate a catered for ranging from very mild fragrant dishes to the more spicy ones.
Pros: food, staffWell, not that much to say except that the food is great and surely worth trying. I went there with a group of non-vegetarians, some not very well versed in Indian food and everyone enjoyed it.
Pros: Food, AtmosphereWas pleasantly surprised to find such a beautifully decorated Indian Veggie restaurant in the heart of Edinburgh. Menu was well planned. Starters were good but the portions could have been slightly bigger. Lassi was the finest I've ever had in the UK. Mains were very delicious too and the portions were decent. Pricing was slightly on the higher side but can't complain much about that.
Pros: authentic taste, nice decor, central locationThis place is a little gem. Attractively decorated and quite small, it was busy even on the Monday night I visited. The range of dishes on offer was great and the food, when it arrived, was really excellent. I would have preferred my kheer, which I ordered cold, to have been more set but that's just very personal taste. The staff were friendly and helpful, the food arrived promptly and prices are reasonable. What more could you ask for?
Pros: excellent food, good staff, pleasant decorI recently visited Kalpna for the first time since the redecoration, and the new look is superb. If you are familiar with Indian mirrored embroidery, imagine that in cream-coloured plasterwork.
I'd been putting off my return because the prices have gone up quite steeply - £13.50 for the vegan thali - but I had something to celebrate. I opted for the thali; my (omni) partner for one of the seasonal specials - paneer dumplings with pomegranate and other fruits in a creamy sauce.
And soon we learned that the increase in quality far outweighed the increase in price - the food was stunning in both flavour and presentation. The thali starter came first, and was presented with a fresh fruit and mint chutney, and sev, delicately scattered on the plate. The thali itself included three curries, bread, rice, mango pulp, tamarind sauce, and a dessert, none of them your conventional curry house fare.
The green-vegetable averse and omni partner complained that he didn't think he had that much choice, but he enjoyed what he did have.
Pros: spectacular food, good vegan choices, interesting menu
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