Vegan
Organic
Western
Take-out
Bakery
European
Gluten-free

Cafe serving a selection of starters, burgers, sandwiches, all-day breakfast, soups, and Buddha bowls. Emphasis on cooking from scratch and creating healthy dishes. Est. 2016. Open Mon-Thu 12:00-22:00, Fri-Sun 10:00-22:00. Last orders 9pm. Open hours vary.


Venue map for Holy Cow
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Featured Review

Angelina-Sabrina

Points +382

Vegan
26 Mar 2025

Holy Cow? Holy Grail! 🙏

Suuuuuper lecker und total lieber Service 🤩


590 Reviews

First Review by craigmc

weegievegan

Points +822

Vegan
14 Jul 2025

Savouries 👍 Cake 👎😢

We were in Edinburgh for my 40th, trying all the restaurants I'd been eager to visit. This was the last stop and our only stop that wasn't amazing.

I sooo wanted to love this. Have had so many spectacular afternoon teas lately at omni places so had super high hopes for a fully vegan place but we were both quite disappointed.

Positives: the savoury items were delicious - bread could've been fresher but the fillings were SO flavourful. The tofu/nori made to be like mackerel was the best sandwich, so tasty. The chickpea egg mayo type filling was great too.

-Scone was good and the blackcurrant jam and cream were plentiful and tasty.

-They gave our dog a treat when we first arrived 💚

-The fruit was super fresh and lovely.

Negatives: The cakes were SO bad that I don't even know how to describe them. Anyone who knows me knows I ADORE everything I eat and will eat any and all cake until I'm fit to burst. I am super easy to please, huuuge foodie, not fussy in the slightest and generally describe everything as "the best thing I've ever eaten". So this is EXTREMELY rare. I ate my cake because for 70 quid (for 2) I was determined to eat them, but I shouldn't have because I didn't enjoy a single bite and still feel sick now. That's a me-problem - I need to learn to not force every morsel of food down but that's another issue for another day. Point is, I find it very difficult not to finish food given to me, and also find it excruciating to voice any complaints (because I never have any! I like everything!) so to be fair to them, I didn't give them the opportunity to fix the situation. However, they were busy and we couldn't catch anyone's eye even to order another drink, so no chance. By the end it felt like we were being deliberately ignored (however, as I said, it was fairly busy). I'm clearly in the minority of reviews so not sure what happened with food OR service :(

Husband couldn't eat his cake so we just left it there. I've never left a cake ANYWHERE. There was no richness or sweetness and both cakes (I THINK one was black forest gateau as there was a cherry on top? The other looked like the 'tiramisu' in the cabinet) tasted exactly the same, almost no flavour except earthiness. Genuinely disgusting, I'm sorry 😭

My blue matcha didn't taste like anything except warm oat milk either. I love warm oat milk so that's fine, but you only get one hot drink with the afternoon tea so I was disappointed with it.

Such a shame and I wouldn't go back.

Updated f

Updated from previous review on 2025-07-14

Huraiquire

Points +10118

Vegan
12 Jul 2025

Loved that balsamic

Again, amazing service! I love vegan places because compassion and kindness is so prevalent. The food was good and that balsamic was fantastic! I would say the soup of the day (veggie mix) and the jackfruit we didn’t expect to be spicy, so we couldn’t eat much of them. Maybe a warning would be great. The pastrami sandwich I had was better than I expected it to be. Very large portions. Would return to try the desserts.

GuhCh

Points +20

Vegan
10 Jul 2025

delish:)

what can i say i just love tofu and the backstreet boys

LarissaK

Points +4750

Vegan
10 Jul 2025

Amazing food! Unfortunately too crowded!

The vegan breakfast and oyster burger were absolutely amazing! Flavourful, full of veggies and carbs, big portions! I would give 5 stars if it wasn't for the rush hour we were there. The kitchen couldn't handle the amount of people and we had to wait extremely long (being super hungry!) Also the bun came out a bit burned and the bread slices were too small. Staff was super lovely and kind though! Will go back for cake!

Pros: 100% vegan, flavourful, friendly staff, cute patio

Cons: long waiting time, burned bread

Huraiquire

11 Jul 2025

Wow, we’re in Scotland at the same time!! How cool! I’ll be following your recommendations 👀🤗

lauraakingg

Points +1003

Vegan
05 Jul 2025

The reuben sandwich was delicious!

Quick service and lovely fresh food. We had the avocado open sandwich and the reuben, the portion was big and the flavors were perfect 🤗

veganhana

Points +86

Vegan
05 Jul 2025

Homemade fresh and tasty Burgers

The staff were an absolute delight. We had two quarter pounders and the oyster mushroom burger. The animal eater of the group enjoyed the kidney bean quarter pounder but said it was crumbly and she had nothing else to compare it to. The lacto-free person of the group absolutely loved the oyster burger but said something gave her an itchy mouth afterwards. I also loved the gingerella, home-like vibe of the place and speedy service. It also felt quite healthy (as far as Burgers and chips go)!

Pros: Tasty food, Speedy service, Fresh food

Ezzobel

Points +161

Vegan
05 Jul 2025

A must eat

If you are in the area you should eat here! We had the No mackerel and the Ruben sandwich and they were amazing. We wished we didnt have to leave Edinburgh and could come again to try the other things on their menu.

thejanine

Points +73

Vegan
04 Jul 2025

Delicious and decent

A great experience in Holy Cow. Despite being very busy they got us seated quickly. Had a generous portion oyster mushroom burger and some proper chips that actually tasted of potato. Added a well dressed side salad. Burger was good and had a generous portion of sauce. Added a turmeric late made with oat milk. There were a range of vg milk choice. Finished off with a generous slice of summer fruit cake. All in all would return and try other things.

Pros: Plenty of options, Generous portions, Well seasoned

WildCashew

Points +174

Vegan
02 Jul 2025

Best full vegan breakfast

So so good, get the full breakfast or the Reuben! They previously had another location which had pancakes but they closed (my photos are from then but the dishes pictured are the same)

Updated from previous review on 2025-07-02

lotten83

Points +10

#Veganuarian
02 Jul 2025

Great sandwiches

Great small, hidden spot with delicious sandwiches and good-looking cakes

Simon47

Points +52

Vegan
28 Jun 2025

Amazing

Great food, cozy atmosphere and nice staff. If I visit the city again I'll definitely come back :)

MartinBaumeister

Points +637

Vegan
27 Jun 2025

Fantastic vegan gf breakfast

Absolutely delicious vegan and gluten-free breakfast. You have two options for breakfast. One is the regular full breakfast that contains gluten and the other one is gluten-free variance of the full breakfast. We went with the gluten-free, which was excellent! Great selection of coffee and tea drinks as well. Very friendly service as well! Cute outside patio!

vktr_sndr

Points +41

Vegan
25 Jun 2025

Top!

Friendly staff, great amount of tasty food

TovaDavidson

Points +229

Vegan
23 Jun 2025

Delish breakfast

Went in for the full vegan breakfast. Asked for the haggis and they were able to accommodate my request. Cute and quaint vegan spot

cmhwak

Points +3519

Vegan
13 Jun 2025

Lecker und freundlich

Da wir uns schon durch die halbe Stadt gefuttert hatten und uns das Angebot der Speisen hier jetzt nicht so umgeworfen hat, haben wir nur Kuchen gegessen. Der war aber lecker und/aber sehr mächtig-eher eine schwere Buttercreme,statt ein leichter Käsekuchen 😅 Aber sehr lecker. Es war ziemlich voll, aber die Bedienung trotzdem total relaxed und freundlich. Hunde sind-wie fast überall in Schottland-willkommen.

Wacho

Points +197

Vegan
12 Jun 2025

Cozy eating

Had a nice curry-lentil soup, quite spicy and very delicious.
Very friendly staff!

Updated from previous review on 2025-06-12

catatonicyouths

Points +525

Vegan
08 Jun 2025

Good gluten free options

Nice spot. Got the soup of the day in the restaurant and then got a reuben for takeaway. Loved the soup. The reuben wasn’t the best one I’ve ever had but it was good. Lots of gluten free cakes.

Tara HD

Points +923

Vegan
08 Jun 2025

Lovely vegan restaurant

I went there twice during my stay in Ediburgh and really liked the cosy atmosphere there. The food was also good: the soup and burger were very tasty, the fries could have been cooked a few minutes longer though. Lunch service was very friendly and relaxed, dinner service felt a bit rushed though.

Pros: fully vegan, tasty food

EricMurphy

Points +20

Vegan
05 Jun 2025

Great food and service.

Ruebin sandwich was fantastic, great service and selection.

Treesearcher

Points +28

Vegan
05 Jun 2025

Amazing food and service

The selection here is amazing and delicious. Everything is vegan, and they're careful to be inclusive of other dietary restrictions! They also sell cakes, most of which are GF and all of which are delectably vegan!

Pros: All vegan, Great staff, Inclusive for eating restrictions

Kraeuterbuddha

Points +20

Vegan
30 May 2025

👍🏻😋

The Burger and Cake was very jummy.

diana.shfitness

Points +32

Vegan
25 May 2025

The Best Meal Ever!

Really good quality, very nice people and great atmosphere

Tuulia.

Points +883

Vegan
25 May 2025

delicious burgers

The portion size was decent and we really enjoyed the burgers and fries. We would recommend Holy Cow. They also got good looking cake.

soy_vegana

Points +977

Vegan
23 May 2025

Amazing sandwiches

Sadly we got take out so I only grabbed photos of our drinks.

The quinoa bowl was so hearty and life giving.

The Vietnamese tofu sandwich was to die for. Truly had so much flavor in every bite.

The service was quick and friendly, it’s a cute little spot!

Pros: Service, Menu variety

gabrielakubikova

Points +575

Vegan
17 May 2025

Lovely food & place

I had the pad thai and it was a lovely meal! We also loved their outdoor sitting area and very lovely staff ❤️

PiRat

Points +26

Vegetarian
15 May 2025

Cute, cozy and good burgers!

Loved the smaller interior and friendly personnel. The food was very good and everyone was super sad that the burgers left us to full to try the cakes. We are thinking of going back for them 😆

SophieHScotland

Points +64

Vegan
14 May 2025

Great burger, friendly staff

This is a great vegan place. Very cosy and calm. A small menu but very high quality, with burgers, sandwiches, soup, salad, cakes and drinks. The burgers are always good.

Pros: High quality, Nice interior, Friendly staff




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