We recently spent a weekend in Edinburgh to check out the Fringe Festival and I had received a hot tip to visit David Bann for some vegetarian food. I’m so glad we acted on that hot tip as it was one of the highlights of our weekend in the Scottish capital.
Snaps to the chef David Bann who believes that vegetarian food can be both tasty and healthy. I love veggie food and I think it’s such a shame when some restaurants just have one veggie dish (usually a mushroom risotto) on their menu which means they ‘cater’ for vegetarians.
Being the foodie I am, I made sure I checked out the menu online first which gave me that feeling of excitement and anticipation of what was in store.
The restaurant is located in the Old Town just off the Royal Mile and within walking distance of many of the Fringe venues. There was a range of people in there, many of which I wouldn’t have picked for choosing to eat veggie, but once I had tasted the food I understood why. Even carnivorous Chris loved it!
We shared the Thai fritters – spicy fritters of smoked tofu, peas, ginger, green chilli, lime, sesame and potato which was served with fresh banana chutney and plum sauce. These were amazing! The crunchy coating tasted similar to a falafel, but better! And the chutney with fresh banana was a new concept, but totally worked!
I had the broccoli crêpe with tarragon, toasted almonds and smoked Ardrahan cheese which was served with a salad of beetroot, fennel and orange. It was pretty cheesy, but so delicious and creamy!
Chris’ mushroom, runner bean and cashew curry came with jasmine rice, potato and fenugreek patties. This was cooked in an aromatic coconut, cashew, fresh tomato and coriander sauce, and served with sweet pineapple chutney and mint salad. He was pretty happy with this dish as the mushrooms and cashews were a great substitute for meat.
David Bann is a very modern restaurant with great service and while the menu isn’t massive, there is enough choices on there to make any full vegetarian feel spoilt for choice. A nice touch was the pitcher of water which comes with strawberries, orange, lemon and mint – so refreshing! Definitely one to try if you are ever in Edinburgh.
56-58 St Mary's Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1SX (Off the Royal Mile and the Cowgate)
Open every day, all day from 11 am. Reservations are recommended but not possible during the Fringe Festival, so just pop by.
Tel: 0131 556 5888
Email: info@davidbann.co.uk
