Holy Cow in Edinburgh, City of

Stopped in as a walk in, able to get a table no problem. Had the vegan gluten free breakfast which was incredible. Fast, friendly service. Also had vegan cakes including Oreo cheesecake which looked soooo good. Highly recommend, I will be back!

Lovely people, great fresh and tasty food. I had dirty fries and Ruben Sandwich, great portions..

We went for dinner last night and we were surprised by how fast and nice the staff was, the food was amazing, very tasty. I recommend for either vegetarians or vegans or if you want to try some tasty vegan food.

Super delicious vegan food. Including vegan cakes. Highly recommended. Located in the sousterrain (one stair down)

Great food, great portion size. The mushroom oyster burger was yummy! Amelia was very friendly:)

Good vegan burgers, fries are amazing! 🌱🍔

Ordered a tea. Received the largest pot of tea I’ve ever seen in a restaurant. Delicious. Great food too.

found this hidden gem when i first moved here 3 years ago and i just keep coming back, best vegan sandwiches and cake i’ve had in my life!

Lovely lunch here today. Can't fault anything. If I had space I would have had cake too as they looked amazing..

A place to have breakfast or eat 100% vegan. Very nice and very pleasant atmosphere. It's not cheap but it's worth it. It is very pretty and everything is very well served.

Friendly and relaxed service and we managed to get table for 4 mid week right away so no problems with walk-ins only. The food tasted great - had the no mackerel pate which had a great texture, tasted smoky and the seaweed in it (we had to ask how it was done!) gave it a taste of the sea. Also go hungry as the portions are large.

The staff was lovely, accommodated phone reservations, even though they don't in principle do that. The food tasted really good and they used high quality ingredients.

Fantastic! So glad to find somewhere vegan. I think it might've been the best vegan cheesecake I've ever eaten in my whole life. Very helpful, welcoming and attentive staff!

Super good burgers. The service guy was very attentive and friendly.

Amazing vegan burgers!! We tried the quarter pounder and the jackfruit. The service was excellent! We loved it ❤️

One of the best vegan places in Edinburgh hands down. Love coming here. You get variety whether you are looking for sandwich, soup, salad, burger, or something sweet. The food is always excellent, the staff are really lovely and friendly. If you're looking for vegan food or you are curious and want to try something plant based then put Holy Cow on your list.

Very good vegan "fast food"! Must try!

Found this special spot on google looking for a whole food plant based organic cafe and this fit perfectly. The atmosphere was relaxed, welcoming, ans natural. The service was brilliant. The food was satisfying and delicious Highly recommended.

Delicious vegan food that tastes like homemade. Super friendly staff and cute surroundings.

Beautiful place, to eat breakfast lunch or dinner, all options vegan. Super cakes

Superb cakes and sweet staff. Had the Victoria Sponge and Biscoff Cheesecake

How good it was! First evening, first restaurant, very well received. The portions are generous, the flavors are there. We will come back with pleasure!

Delicious food and healthy portions. Nice relaxed atmosphere in a cozy restaurant. Really nice Tofu burger with proper handmade chips. It's nice to have a fully vegan menu of tasty food! Highly recommend.

Great food, friendly staff, but small menu for lunch. Desserts looked divine. Almost walked past the restaurant, as you need to take the stairs down to lower ground level.

It's a quiet and relaxing place, tucked away in a corner near St. James Quarter. The cheesecake was light and not very sweet, and tasted great. We ordered chai and pumpkin lattes, and they were nice and hot. Thanks for the experience!

Had the Full Vegan Breakfast, very good. Filling portion size.

Little hard to find (it's below ground) but the food is great. Nice break from pub food in Scotland, Reuben was good! Cute atmosphere too.

Small restaurant in the basement, very charming and quiet. The menu is short but excellent. The products are fresh. I loved the soup and the Burger, the desserts are also varied and very good. I will come back on my next visit to Edinburgh 😊

I found the Vietnamese burger a bit lacking flavour, the prices quite high (although I think that's just a bit Edinburgh all over) and the music was quite loud and intrusive.

Our order was served very quickly and was every bit as good as we hoped. Very high quality food at very reasonable cost. The home made kimchi was an added bonus, just loved it! Very substantial portions too, we couldn’t eat all of it ( but did eat most!)

The food was tasty, but the cold, unwelcoming, unfriendly service left an awful taste in my mouth and ruined the dining experience.

The most delicious food I've had in a long time. And such a delight to be able to choose anything and everything off the menu! We had the Reuben sandwich, the soup and the Banoffee cheesecake, all delightful! I will definitely recommend it to everyone visiting Edinburgh. 😋

I had a great post-hike meal here. The chai latte was tasty and was a great way to warm up. The Ruben sandwich was flavorful and made me feel refueled. The hot dirty chips were a bit spicy for my preference.

A bit off the beaten path, but definitely worth looking for it. I went for dinner and we had the loveliest time. I enjoyed every bit of my mushroom burger and I also indulged in a smoothie and a cake which were both worth every penny.

The worst vegan burger I have ever tasted, could not finish the meal. It was like eating dry bread with lettuce and some diluted and tasteless "dressing". The place was kinda filthy.

Holy cow was amazing! My girlfriend and I were visiting from the USA and stopped here due to its reviews. The waitress was extremely friendly and told us about some of the history of the town, and the food was amazing! My girlfriend melted over the cheesecake and the glass of soy milk they got us from the back. We went back again on our return trip!

Absolute perfection, the vegan breakfast was phenomenal, where do you get the sausages! And great cakes too, coffee and atmosphere lovely too, thank you

Wow! Amazing! Much tastier than a meat Scottish Breakfast - I was very impressed, will return!

Great food, generous portions, very very nice people

Had breakfast there and everything was yummi. The staff was nice and the outdoor area in the backyard quite cozy. Highly Recommended! 😊

ordered 3 menus. none of them were tasty. paid 60. way too expensive for such tasteless menus. atmosphere and service was good.

Food and drinks are just simply not appetising, service is slow as they only had one server. AND EXPENSIVE! I could make my meal for £3 at Asda

Very good food, big portions, we had burgers with chips and it was more filling than we expected. Nice vegan cake selection too!

Had a lovely experience eating lunch here while visiting Edinburgh. It can be very hard to find places that cater for vegetarians who also have gluten intolerances, so this was fantastic. Wide range of options on the venue, and tasty food with large and filling portion size. Staff very welcoming and friendly. Would definitely return.

Great vegan food, atmosphere and service. Perfection! Highly recommended! Had myself the "Green Smoothie" & "Cult HC's Pad Thai Salad" and also took some "Victoria Sponge" & "Forest Fruit" cakes to go.

Excellent vegan lunch with very generous portions. Super dog friendly and great service. Thanks!

I rate 200 out of 10!! Best cafe ever with vegan cakes so yummy I want to have them all!!! Also great soup. Recommend everyone to come everyday :)

The chai tea and the cappuccino were great. The vegan cakes were first class! The service is also good

Very cozy Cafe with tasty cake and Coffee and very friendly personal. 😋 You can also enjoy your coffee outside in a quiet garden.

Small entirely vegan restaurant located in a street basement, typical of England. Simple menu: soup of the day, four burgers and four sandwiches. I personally opted for the Oyster Mushroom Burger (breaded oyster mushrooms, imitation fried chicken), already a success even if it is already loaded to the point that you may want to remove a piece to eat it more easily . I was able to taste a piece of a friend's jackfruit burger: very surprising taste, close to meat so worth testing. However, the real stars of the show here were the fries: a mix of classic potato and sweet potato fries, cooked to perfection in a way I haven't been able to eat often. They go very well with the quality organic ketchup on the table, too! The desserts are also of good quality (you can take them away for those with a sweet tooth). I will come back with pleasure!

Very warm welcome, attentive and very friendly French waitress. Delicious food and good value for money.

All in all it was really nice experience: I ordered the Oyster Burger, which was nice and so crispy, but a bit too greasy and nearly "too big to handle" - but If you take some of the fried Oyster pieces it works well :) Really reminded me a bit of real meat, referring to the consistency (Just my impression, but i haven't tasted meat now for over 11 years). The fries were also good. There was a bottle of organic Ketchup on the table, it fitted very well :) The chocolate-cheesecake as a dessert was really nice, very soft consistency and not too sweet. Sometimes the service seemed quite short-spoken but was in general still very nice. If you have never been to the Holy Cow: it's downstairs, so don't look for it in the upper floors. So thank you very much, especially for the cake! I'll visit you again if i come back to Edinburgh :)

Very good vegan restaurant. Friendly service. Advised.

Had dinner at Holy Cow with my family tonight and the food was incredible. We couldn't believe how much food we got and everything was delicious. The best vegan Ruben sandwich I've ever had.

Seriously delicious veggie burgers, lemonades and coffee. The desserts also looked delicious, but unfortunately I had no more room in my stomach. Nothing can be done, we'll have to stop again!

Staff knew how to handle my gluten restrictions, which was great! Unfortunetaly, the gluten free bun I had was crumblimg down, as the burger had way too much sauce. The fries were a bit soggy as well.

Amazing experience. Wonderful options, fantastic flavors, best chips in the UK! Superb sandwiches & burgers. Smoothies, tea, & healthy juices too. The mushroom steak burger can't be beat!

I as able to share in 2 meals here while visiting and loved every bite and every sip. Thank you for Being here

Hidden vegan restaurant serving all day breakfast plus other dishes. The Pad Thai salad with smoked tofu was nice and refreshing for a late lunch, the place wasn’t too busy but it did take a bit of time to get our food. Overall a nice find

Delicious food, fast and friendly service, cosy atmosphere. Would definitely return

The mushroom hamburger was perfect 🤤

My sister ordered a whole snickers cheesecake for my birthday. It was astonishingly bland, and tasted like someone blended a block of tofu, spread it across a base of dates and almonds, and drizzled very bitter chocolate sauce on top. No idea where the snickers part came in aside from some raw peanuts sprinkled on top. We thought surely there had been a mistake and we had accidentally gotten someone’s sugar free or gluten free order. After reaching out for an explanation and possibly a refund, we were assured that our cake was made exactly as it always is and that there was nothing wrong with it. Given this reassurance, I feel confident recommending that no one order the snickers cheesecake, unless you are looking for an experience that harkens to convincing yourself that the weird low-calorie “dessert” you made while on a diet is actually tasty. I have been vegan for a long time, and had some truly phenomenal vegan food, cheesecake included. This was decidedly not one of them. Might have expected to come across something like this in 2014, but given the current state of creativity and innovation in vegan cuisine, this cake was uninspired and disappointing. Oh. And it was £60. So forgive me for having higher expectations.

Friendly staff and fast service. Ideal place for vegans and vegetarians, abundant and tasty dishes. Quiet, comfortable environment and close to the center. Perhaps a little difficult to find without a navigator, the sign is small and not very visible from the road.

This place bears almost the whole vegetarian tourism industry of Edinburgh on its back. Felt right at home, comfortable and safe. If I return to this, let's say chaotic city, this will be the first place I go.

Amazing vegan dishes- really hard to choose. I had the reuben sandwich and slice of forest fruit chocolate cake. Both so good and will definitely come back.

Absolutely delicious and the server was wonderful.

Good food, good vibe, lovely place! A peace of zen in the bustling city.

Completely vegan super! The oyster mushrooms were great. Cake was a little dry, but it was also gluten-free and then it quickly became a bit drier. Spacious tea pot, full of delicious tea. Definitely go if you are in the area.

Great Choice of cakes and teas.

High quality food place with kind staff :)

Great selection of original and fun vegan cake, hard to pick just one! I loved the biscoff cheesecake. Great meal options too, though I didn't have any. A bit on the pricey side but the portion sizes are pretty big.

If you want to escape the hustle and bustle of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh and have a good vegan meal, look no further than Holy Cow. The restaurant is somewhat hidden in the basement. The interior is very lovingly designed with a feel-good atmosphere. Dogs are welcome and are provided with a bowl of water. When the weather is good, there is a small outdoor area. The food was incredibly good! We had the vegan English breakfast, which we still rave about today. All other dishes looked good too. The owner was very friendly and we would come back any time.

I had the Quarter Pounder Burger, and I just didn't like it. Sauce and patty were bad.

Lovely vegan cafe. Service was a bit slow but it was very busy so can be expected. The food was great, would go again.

Very happy vegan, will come again, just so happy

Great Vegan restaurant! A good variety of options (with GF for intolerant options) Everything was very tasty and the staff was very friendly! Also, superclose to the city centre P.S: yes, that's my half eaten bowl 🙄

Had a turmeric latte during a brief stop in Edinburgh - was super happy to finally find a turmeric latte that isn’t sweetened (most cafes have a premixed powder with sugar), it tasted so lovely! Shocked by the price though - over £5 for a small cup (see photo), in comparison, their soup is just over £7 which would be much more nutritious and filling. This might be typical for other cafes as well though as I hear prices have risen dramatically in Edinburgh.

Lovely place, very cozy. The banofee pie was really good and the Caffè latte was nice and strong.

Great food! Would definitely recommand!

Amazing vegan cakes (and I genuinely could not believe they were also gluten free as they were so soft and fluffy)! Cosy little spot near St James Quarter.

Wonderful vegan foods and desserts in a cozy and friendly atmosphere

Lovely vegan lunch - Oyster Mushroom Burger and Quarter Pounder were brilliant. Only criticism is the Oyster Mushroom Burger could have done without the thin sweet potato chips in the burger itself as they were difficult to cut through, and it would have been better without them. Nice small find on a rainy afternoon with a great selection, but easy to walk past if you don't know the area.

Conveniently located just behind the main bus station. Super friendly service and great vegan breakfast and coffee.

I went twice and the truth is that their Vietnamese tofu burger is delicious. Good price, Edinburgh city standard.

Very good cakes and pumpkin chai latte 🎃

A place away from the hustle and bustle of Edinburgh city center and perfect for a quiet dinner. The food is good although the soup I ate (spicy coliflower) was indeed very spicy. Good value for money. It is important that such restaurants exist to democratize vegan cuisine

Not good value for money, it's too expensive ! If you make it look like meat , it doesn't mean I have to pay like it was meat.

Mushroom burger was overcooked, bread was burnt and hard, and the chips were overcooked and oily - after eating vegan food all over the world this experience was very disappointing

I had the chance to stop by here during my self guided vegan noshing tour of Edinburgh. This was on many vegan lists when I was doing my research on the vegan scene in the city. I love reuben sandwiches and when I saw it on the menu I immediately ordered it. The sandwich comes with house made bread which was delicious. It was slightly on the harder side but it was tasty and worked well with the sandwich. The vegan pastrami was slightly thicker cut but the spices were great and the sauce was delicious. The cheese wasn'ty favorite as it hadn't melted but was fine. The sandwich came with a small side salad which was appreciated and tasty. I would highly recommend this place and would be keen on visiting again when I visit Edinburgh hopefully in the future. They also had great desserts but I didn't get a chance to try. Give them a try and support this delicious vegan business!!!

Tasty and big portions. Because it's a bit hidden, you can easily find a free table.

I went to this place, where circulation is intense like on a Sunday, relying on Google reviews. I had a hamburger there, which they said was made from beans and soybeans. Only a pinch of soybean was put in it. Also, the bread was stale from previous days. The fries were previously fried but reheated because they were cold. There were traces of this on the bread and fries. I had velvet cake and cheesecake. The cake of the velvet cake was very bland. The jelly on top of the cheesecake was like cough syrup. In short, it was a terrible experience. Also, the wrap I wanted to take away was like vomit. Despite them saying there was soy inside, there wasn't any soy. I didn't even take a single bite; it looked like vomit.

They make a very good sandwich.

Would recommend their hot drinks, matcha latte, pumpkin spice latte, they were delicious. Ordered their beetroot sandwich and was disappointed, because the sandwich was two buckwheat toasts and a bunch of rocket with 8 slices of cooked beet and cheese feta crumble. The toasts were nice, but I haven't ordered toasts and rocket for £13.

Loved this meal! The service was prompt, dishes were clean, and the menu was easy to read. The meal came out hot and deliciously flavored. I was a bit disappointed that the tofu patty on my sandwich was quite thin for £15. In the photo it looks substantial, but the other side was less than half the thickness. I'm not sure I even got 10g of protein out of the meal. That would be my only recommendation for changes, if any.

Had a mediocre earl grey latte. the victoria sponge was also quite mid. the tarte aux citrons tho !!! the tiramisu looked very good and so did the burgers! will give it another try but what I tried so far had not convinced me :/ 5/10 (needs another chance)

Amazing vegan food and lovely staff. Our son is a fussy eater and they accommodated our request to make something for him that wasn’t in the menu. Really appreciated!

I wanted to know what type of sweetener they add to the cakes but the answer was “I do not know”! Even when I asked the guy there “How are you?” His answer was “not too bad”! I felt they do not pay attention to details about healthy ingredients

Healthy options but no real cooked food. The food didn't have any taste (bowl) although the plate was nicely presented and filling. Overpriced for veggie plates.

The owner was so sweet. I had a friend who had her own food and she let us get seated and even brought her a plate and utensils. So kind. I had the vegan quarter pounder and fries. Unfortunately didn’t like it much, but might try out another dish if I come back to Edinburgh :)

Well… What can I say? I had the avocado sandwich. I fell in love with this delicious sandwich. The arrangement is cozy and comfortable. The personnel was kind.