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David Bann Restaurant Vegetarian Restaurant  
4.5 cows based on 19 member votes based on 19 member reviews
56-58 St. Mary Street, Edinburgh EH1 1SX
0131-5565888
Type: Ovo, Lacto, International, Beer/Wine
Info: Serves meals with influence from around the world. Menu includes vegetarian haggis and Jerusalem artichoke bake. Modern, stylish restaurant. Limited vegan options. Accepts credit cards. Price: Moderate.

   
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"Exceptional ambience and the food ain't bad either"  
My Rating
Excellent
Aloo
Over 10 Reviews!
25
Posted on: Sunday, September 20, 2009
Review: I was overjoyed to find this place, opposite the Travelodge where I was staying. It is the kind of place you might have a celebration at, I wish I lived in Edinburgh just to go here! In terms of the attention to decor and customer service in a vegie restaurant, this is a step above the rest. The menu was varied and interesting and the meal was just delightful. I come Melbourne, which is one of the most Vegan friendly cities in the world I am told, we could certainly do with one of these in our town.
 
Pros: ambience * food * service
Cons: * *
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"Great food"  
My Rating
Excellent
mrukz
3-10 Reviews
8
Posted on: Monday, August 31, 2009
Review: I am just visiting Edinburgh, and I have been looking for vegetarian places to eat. What a great choice of vegetarian places Edinburgh has to offer! I began at David Bann's, and I was not disappointed. The dishes were exciting, and the ones that I and my friends got were delicious.
 
Pros: Exciting dishes * OK price *
Cons: * *
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"How a top Veg restaurant should be!"  
My Rating
Excellent
gr8vegan
Over 10 Reviews!
304
Posted on: Sunday, August 16, 2009
Review: I'm usually very apprehensive at going to a top chef vegetarian restaurant as a healthy vegan, usually I get sent on my way since there is nothing that isn't deep fried they want to alter for me, but David Bann was totally different! From the waiter to the chef everyone was amazingly accommodating, polite, helpful and just all around wonderful! The dishes were extremely creative in so many ways! For a starter we had the baby potatoes and instead of the honey dressed we asked for the Apple Tomato Ketchup they made for the chips, it was so GOOD! Who would have ever though of apples and tomatoes? Seriously, you are seriously missing out if you miss the Apple Ketchup. They did the potatoes perfectly as well! They were amazing, we even ordered another batch. For our main we had the Udon, but asked that nothing be fried, ie the smoked tofu just put on plain and they put it together and heated it up w/o using the oil and it was AMAZING! The smoked tofu had so much flavor, I wanted to order a side of bread just to soak up the last bites of the tangy sauce that accompanied it as well. Great selections of wines and beers in a large modern setting. Again, our waiter was awesome!
 
Pros: will accommodate healthy vegans * apple ketchup * top notch service!
Cons: * *
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"Away from the World's End"  
My Rating
Excellent
Brainy
3-10 Reviews
3
Posted on: Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Review: Stranded in Edinburgh and surfing the net in a nearby hostel when I came across David Bann. It was 5 minutes around the corner where I was staying and I was staying next to the World's End pub. I dragged a friend there for brunch and the guy is the biggest carnivore I know and even he found the place amazing. It's classy, it has delious food and a great selection of wine. You didn't wait too long or too soon and they served up the best desert. The staff were exceptionally lovely and very considerate to the vegan needs. David Bann was certainly a great find and I'm craving that ice cream they served up.
 
Pros: Great food * friendly staff * Good value
Cons: * *
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"Possibly the best veg restaurant in the world!"  
My Rating
Excellent
Bettina
3-10 Reviews
7
Posted on: Saturday, June 06, 2009
Review: I swear to God, this is probably the best vegetarian restaurant in the whole world. 5 stars! The food there is proper haute-cuisine, inventive and just dead tasty. Food does not get any better than this..! A+++++++++++++++++
 
Pros: excellent dishes * interior * healthy
Cons: none * *
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"beautiful restaurant"  
My Rating
Very good
jamber79
Over 10 Reviews!
28
Posted on: Thursday, May 21, 2009
Review: Very nice ambience, very upscale and trendy looking. Pretty big in size. Went in without reservations and the hostess seemed quite annoyed with us, though there were plenty of tables, and it never filled up once while we were there. Wished she had been more friendly which would have made our experience better. Food was excellent. Had the olives appetizer (best olives I've had), and a beet souffle dish which was excellent. Good vegan drinks too.
 
Pros: * *
Cons: * *
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"Delicious and affordable"  
My Rating
Very good
jmw5577
3-10 Reviews
7
Posted on: Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Review: Beautiful and upscale but very affordable. I had the mushroom risotto, which was delicious. Very good selection and very vegan-friendly. It's a wonderful place to stop in after a day of sightseeing, but it gets quite busy on the weekends. We managed to squeeze in early (around 6pm) without reservations, but if you're going to be much later than that I would recommend calling ahead.
 
Pros: Excellent service * Great ambience * Delicious food
Cons: * *
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"Delicious and cozy"  
My Rating
Excellent
Dilettante
3-10 Reviews
8
Posted on: Saturday, January 03, 2009
Review: On a cold windy night we went into this nice candlelit restaurant and got very good meals. My husband rated it as "Quite good", whereas I got the best vegetarian meal I have ever gotten in a restaurant that night. Good service, too.
 
Pros: Delicious * Good service * Nice decor
Cons: * *
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"Fantastic"  
My Rating
Excellent
Helenw
3-10 Reviews
7
Posted on: Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Review: We found out about this place through a non-veggie friend who highly recommended we visit here. I am very glad that we did follow his advice! We had a three course meal consisting of thai fritters (yum), chilli & chocolate tortilla with sweet potato mash (excellent!) and a strawberry pancotta (melted in my mouth). My boyfriend's food looked just as good. There was a good selection of wine on the menu and the merlot we went for was really drinkable. Staff were very friendly and helpful. The restaurant itself was nicely decorated and had a good atmosphere. I thought that it was all reasonably priced and our three course meal with some hummous to share, wine and a coffee and a baileys plus service came to £70 which I thought was really good considering how much we had eaten. If I am ever back in Edinburgh I shall go again as there were lots of other things on the menu that I liked the sound of...
 
Pros: Excellent food * Good wine list * Staff
Cons: none * *
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"Fantastic - highly recommended"  
My Rating
Excellent
natz
Over 10 Reviews!
16
Posted on: Friday, May 30, 2008
Review: Booked a table for Thursday evening then we phoned up to change the time, unfortunately they hadn't got our original booking so we had to eat there later than we wanted. However, the restaurant manager phoned me up to apologise before we'd arrived and they also deducted 10% off the final bill for the inconvenience! This is top quality dining service and what you'd expect at fine dining restaurants in London so it's fab that a veggie restaurant sets such a high standard. The place was full, gorgeous modern surroundings, fantastic wine and a massive choice of veggie and vegan options. They even brought out vegan "butter" as well as usual butter to go with the bread rolls! I took three meat eaters with me and they were highly impressed and took ages to choose as the menu was more varied than they're used to! We had three courses and all were fantastic, can't recommend it highly enough!! Check out the menus on their website but i'd recommend the vegan choc ice cream as a must! Lots of vegan options in May 08.
 
Pros: Gorgeous food * varied choice * high quality service
Cons: * *
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"Bann-tastic"  
My Rating
Excellent
Deano
Over 10 Reviews!
21
Posted on: Saturday, May 24, 2008
Review: I've been to a few up-market vegetarian restaurants. Sometimes I find they are too much style and not enough food on the plate. But David Bann has got it just right on all counts.
It's in a great location, the decor is modern and stylish with seductive lighting, the food is excellent, the staff are friendly and there's a decent choice for vegans (apart from the desserts).
It's not cheap, but it's not overly expensive – I think the quality of the food easily justifies the prices.
Book early because it can get very busy.

 
Pros: Just about everything * *
Cons: * *
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"EXCELLENT!!!"  
My Rating
Excellent
brzlian
Newbie Reviewer
2
Posted on: Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Review: I visited this restaurant twice in January 2008 and loved it each time. The food was excellent and the staff very friendly. A little overpriced but aside from that I have absolutely nothing bad to say about it. I will certainly go back there when I visit Edinburgh again.
 
Pros: excellent food * friendly staff *
Cons: a little overpriced * *
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"AMAZING"  
My Rating
Excellent
am22ssj
3-10 Reviews
3
Posted on: Friday, January 04, 2008
Review: I had the Thai fritters and spiced udon noodles and home smoked tofu. So delicious. I was the only vegan and everyone loved it. Great location, posh atmosphere. Great for a nice, upscale experience.
 
Pros: Excellent Food * Nice atmosphere * Friendly-staff
Cons: * *
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"Fantastic High quality Restaurant!"  
My Rating
Excellent
gasman
3-10 Reviews
3
Posted on: Friday, December 07, 2007
Review: Hi, we visited this place end Sept 07. We'd visited without booking and were suprised that it was so full at 7pm on a Weds - luckily there was one table free! Food and service absolutely impeccable and at a very reasonable price. They had local bottled beers to savour and an excellent pudding for two(approx £8) which had a selection of puddings on it, to try - highly recommended and I would have no hesitation eating here again
 
Pros: Food gorgeous * efficient * very reasonably priced
Cons: Background music would have been great * *
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"truly scrumptious"  
My Rating
Excellent
MissAnthropik
3-10 Reviews
5
Posted on: Thursday, October 25, 2007
Review: I have only been here once, but if ever i find myself back in edinburgh i will definitely be going back. This is far and away the best vegetarian restaurant I have been to - swanky decor (much better than it looks from outside), "posh" food, lots of choice, friendly service and all at a reasonable cost. It took me forever to decide what to eat. A relative had been before and given me some recommendations, but they were no longer on the menu so i can only assume the menu the menu is changed fairly frequently. I enjoyed every last mouthful!
 
Pros: choice * excellent food * nice decor
Cons: * *
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"Good Food"  
My Rating
Fair
Mimi
Over 10 Reviews!
18
Posted on: Friday, August 31, 2007
Review: I usually eat at Banns if I am in Edinburgh, through lack of other options. Banns has little variety for vegans, and the menu has hardly changed (and not improved) in years. The portions are city size (that is on the small size). But the food always tastes good.
 
Pros: Tasty Vegan Food * Dessert * Soya Milk
Cons: Small Portions * Poor Choice for Vegans *
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"Incredible food!"  
My Rating
Excellent
GUEST

GUEST
Posted on: Saturday, July 21, 2007
Review: I realize the Castle is quite impressive however equally surprizing is David Bann's excellent restaruant. What a wonderful treat to find such exqisite food and lovely decor. The tart alone is worth a trip to Edinburgh. Richard
 
Pros: * *
Cons: * *
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"4 Stars"  
My Rating
Very good
onejamie
3-10 Reviews
10
Posted on: Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Review: We had an excellent meal on Saturday 22nd Jan 2007. The restaurant was full, but even so we had fast and attentive service. The shimmering moon display is stylin' and I would have liked more artwork like this. The food was supurb - the Beetroot salad was my favourite - and the portions were a good size. The price-tag was a bit on the heavy side, but you get what you pay for.
 
Pros: Delicious Food * Good Service * Style
Cons: Expensive * *
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"A bad night or a trend?"  
My Rating
Needs improvement
bungybunny
3-10 Reviews
4
Posted on: Monday, November 06, 2006
Review: Having dined at Bann's earlier this year I was extremely disappointed with the meal last Saturday night. Of the first course "Warm beetroot, radish and apricot salad" both the beetroot and the radish were insipid and flavourless. The "chunky chips" served with the main course Galette were oozing with oil. The vegan dessert options pathetic. On the plus side the service was good, but that can never make up for the poor quality of the food. Overall it felt like there was no passion for the food coming from the kitchen.
 
Pros: * *
Cons: * *
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"David Bann, Edinburgh"  
My Rating
Very good
Stevie
Over 10 Reviews!
166
Posted on: Sunday, October 08, 2006
Review: Contemporary food in a pretty stylish sort of restaurant. No probs for me as a vegan at all. Centrally located in Edinburgh's old town.
 
Pros: Vegan options * Central location * Nice surrounds
Cons: * *
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