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Hours
Sun
10:00 - 22:00
Mon
10:00 - 22:00
Tue
10:00 - 22:00
Wed
10:00 - 22:00
Thu
10:00 - 22:00
Fri
10:00 - 22:00
Sat
10:00 - 22:00
Ratings and reviews
4.5
RATINGS
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere
Details
Someone from this business manages this listing.
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CUISINES
Cafe, British, Healthy
Special Diets
Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options, Gluten Free Options
Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch
features
Is this a cafe?
Details
CUISINES
Cafe, British, Healthy
Special Diets
Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options, Gluten Free Options
Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch
FEATURES
Takeout, Seating, Highchairs Available, Free Wifi, Table Service, Gift Cards Available
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4.5
359 reviews
Excellent
256
Very good
63
Average
11
Poor
14
Terrible
15
Robert
Oxfordshire3 contributions
Feb 2020 • couples
Some of the best food we have ever eaten. We popped in for lunch on a rainy Thursday and were greeted by friendly service and calming music. We had a burger and soup, both absolutely delicious. Then chocolate cake and an apple pie, also incredible. This is some of the best food we have had in a cafe, vegan or otherwise.
Written 13 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
edenroseoz
Leeds8 contributions
Jan 2020 • none
My partner and I wanted somewhere to sit before our coach left at 21:00 from the bus station round the corner on our last day. Holy Cow was the only cafe to be open late and from walking in we were instantly welcomed and handed menus by the lovely waitress. I especially recommend the cakes and the hot chocolate. Also there was a brilliant playlist that featured songs that my partner and I remembered from growing up. Really enjoyable experience and left a positive lasting experience of Edinburgh.
Written 15 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Christopher H
Ashford261 contributions
Feb 2020 • solo
Visited Edinburgh for a few days and whilst walking around looked for a vegitarian/vegan friendly place to eat.
This little place tucked in a basement part of a building away from the main streets is a little gem.
Fresh home cooked meals and cakes, with some great drinks, including prepacked bottles and home made smoothies.
The halloumi burger with home cut chips was brilliant, tasty and stuffed after eating (still made room for cake) great home cut chips and the added slaw and fillings in the burger made it all come to together.
I had Tiramisu for dessert, which was nice and tasty just to big a slice, could have fed 2 people lol.
With a bottle of Gingerella (not had before) a very enjoyable meal.
Written 19 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
mitmozizol
Edinburgh15 contributions
Sept 2021 • friends
Yesterday my friends and I visited this Cafe hoping to have some nice vegan coffee and cakes. It was 4pm, place empty, table full of crumbles but we didn't make a problem out of that. We ve been waiting around 5 minutes until we could ask where to order to get the response "at the table, I'm just taking my time". Sure no problem, we were not in a rush but sill had to go somewhere else on time. We got the menu, been watching the possibility Spanish waitress to do her stuff, making a call and as we were not meant to be rude we didn't say anything. After 20 minutes not being served in an empty cafe way after opening time and way before closing time is a bit too much so we left and found another place to spend the money. Shame, mainly during covid when you try to support local places and you are simply ignored after showing our understanding and patience that that woman has some other jobs to do. Hoping the next time someone will ask what we would like to order in less than 20 minutes.
Written 16 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sam T
Exeter6 contributions
Jul 2021 • couples
saw lots of excellent reviews for this restaurant so decided to go while in Edinburgh, while my jackfruit burger was tasty £13 for a burger and poor chips (undercooked and soggy) is too much. My girlfriend ordered the vegan BLT sandwich and really did not enjoy - £8 for two slices of bread with some vegan cheese and bacon was too much ££. The service wasn’t great with one waitress running around trying to take orders, serve food and make smoothies (as well as seating customers) - seemed very unfair on her.
overall, for such high reviews we left disappointed and poor.
(staff were very polite though)
Written 30 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Charlie
London10 contributions
Sept 2021 • friends
I have visited many MANY vegan restaurants across the UK and this was easily the worst I have been too. The waitress was trying her best, bless her, but she was acting as a waitress, table cleaner, sous chef (I think) and drink maker alone. I don't know if we picked a bad day when all the staff and the usual chef were sick but our experience didn't match the many positive reviews at all.
The "Spicy Tofu burger" was literally a slab of slightly warm, slightly drained semi-firm Tofu with a table spoon of a watery sriracha sauce on top and some fried onions, between 2 burger buns. The chips were decent. My partner had a portobello mushroom burger which had a nice flavouring but generally was not worth the very high expense of the meal.
I always try and support independent vegan restaurants when I visit cities and generally the food is good enough for vegans and omnivores. Of course there is variation but it's rare that the quality is this low. They could've at least sprinkled some corn flour on the Tofu slab to make it crispy when fried. Compared with the food in the other vegan restaurants it was very poor. I can only imagine that they had a temporary cover chef who wasn't used to cooking vegan food and the other staff were ill or isolating.
The drinks the waitress made were amazing. It's a shame the food wasn't.
Written 10 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Isabella F
Greater London76 contributions
Jul 2021 • none
I have a very mixed review of Holy Cow. The first time we went, we had just arrived in Edinburgh and the cafe is right next to the bus station so ideal location for those travelling. We had a super friendly member of staff recommend us the Reuben sandwich which was delicious. For desert, we ordered a strawberry cake which was honestly one of the best cakes I've ever eaten. It was incredibly moist and everything a cake should be!
The second time we visited, was at the end of our trip. I was a bit hesitant of visiting again since we had such a good experience the first time and might ruin it but we were in the area so thought we would try again. We ordered burgers which sounded nice on the menu, however in reality they were lifeless and for £13 so overpriced for what they were. You can get a better burger pretty much anywhere else. Worst of all was the dreadful chips that came with the burger. They were soggy with oil, tasted old and burnt. It was around 6.30pm so it's not like they were the last dregs of the day.
Both times we sat inside but they also had an outdoor area which seemed quite popular, next time we will stick to the sandwiches!
Written 5 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ailsa B
1 contribution
Mar 2022 • friends
I was out in Edinburgh with my friend who is celiac (gluten free) and we googled and saw this place has options for her so decided to give it a go. We had hoped to grab some cakes and coffees, however, this didn’t happen. My celiac friend asked whether or not the cakes where gluten free, as she is very concerned (some of the labels in the case explicitly said it was gluten free). However, when she asked she was told that sometimes they just write gluten free without being 100% sure it was. She is extremely allergic to gluten and this could’ve made her very sick. There was a couple of ladies in at the same time as us who asked if one of the cakes was nut free. Which, as everyone knows, nut allergies can be lethal. The woman said she didn’t know and kept blindly pointing at labels and seemed clueless and confused as to what was in it. They, unlike us, pointed out that you should have a official recipe list and be aware of EVERYTHING in your products by LAW! I also ordered a hot chocolate that took 10 minutes to come and everytime I looked up the barista was just drinking her latte. Overall, we where extremely disappointed and appalled that they thought this was acceptable. Will not recommend to anyone and wish we had just left.
Written 16 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
holycowvegancafe
Dear Ladies,
I’m so sorry about your bad experience.
I will speak with my FOH staff to make sure such a situation never happened again.
Indeed all our cakes are labelled with allergens and best before date. Maybe waitress wanted to say we use gluten in the kitchen and we do our best to avoid cross contamination but it’s still possible. The possibility is very low but we have to inform our customers about it. According the law we have to say: “it’s nuts/ gluten/soya free ingredients used but may contain nuts/gluten/soya as we use those ingredients in our kitchen.
Once again so sorry for this unfortunate misunderstanding and bad impression. Definitely will take an action and ask my staff to speak clearly and pass the proper information to the customers.
Written 17 March 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Kate
London11 contributions
Oct 2020 • none
My spouse and I, recently moved to Edinburgh and ever since then we visit Holy Cow at least once a week. Even our non-vegan parents and friends, abosultely enjoyed the food. It will be a recolution for your taste buds, trust me their food is to die for.
Our tip, when in doubt = go for the soups. They are absolutely delicious and never disappoint.
Have I told you about the cake yet? Usually they have 5 different cakes, raging from Brownies, to vegan cheese cake and layered cakes with creamy, rich fillings. If you are lucky enough to get your hands on the Banoffe Pie, Mole Mound Cake or the Oreo Cheese cake, I'd advise you to try that sweet indulgence of vegan cake heaven.
The staff is super nice, the restaurant is cute and quirky and the food is amazing. They are happy to customize the dishes upon request and answer all your questions.
Written 30 October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Becky S
Bunwell26 contributions
Jun 2022 • couples
We arrived and waited to be seated, staff walked past a few times, we weren’t acknowledged so we sat down and were told to move as that table was reserved. Very slow service, we only ordered drinks and a slice of cake each, this took a long time to arrive. When it finally did arrive one slice of cake had crumbs from another cake, that we hadn’t ordered, on it, clearly hygiene and cross contamination are not considered here, lucky we don’t have any allergies! The waitress had noticed this but just served it anyway. The cake was dry, tasted stale and despite ordering 2 different cakes you couldn’t really tell the difference. Would not recommend.
Written 29 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
holycowvegancafe
Thank you for taking your time and letting us know about your concerns. The girl that was serving you just started last week and got a proper training but unfortunately we will be in position to find someone in her place. Thank You once again and we will do our best to avoid such a situation in the future. I’m sorry for any inconvenience you experienced.
Written 1 July 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
theposh
Cambridgeshire473 contributions
Aug 2021 • family
Been here twice now albeit first time just drinks. Today we had sandwich and cake. The food was fine, nothing special but do able and appreciate it's all vegan. Service was slow but Team doing as best they could, no fault of theirs. What gripes me about this place is the poor value. £7.95 for a dry little loaded sarnie is horrible, 2 slices a few meagre toppings and nothing else on the plate. Small average coffee that comes to you in a cup barely half full. Over £30 for this? Love indy vgn cafes 100%, but dont kill me with high prices. Not for me.
Written 26 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Happy foodie
Dundee69 contributions
Jan 2020 • couples
We have recently started to try vegan dishes and this lovely place certainly helped open our eyes to how tasty vegan food is.
The sweet potato soup with a bit of spice was the best one I've ever had, the CBLT was delicious and my partner had the jackfruit burger which she thoroughly enjoyed.
The portions were plentiful, the hot chocolate and flat white were spot on. Had the mango cheesecake to share for dessert, amazing.
I would highly recommend this place and will definitely come back.
Staff were lovely and hats off to the chef for the brilliant food.
Written 18 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rebecca C
London100 contributions
Oct 2022 • couples
We arrived around 2:30pm to a very busy restaurant with one table left. Juliana the lovely waitress greeted us and sat us after clearing the last table.
She was on her own and being a total rockstar doing every position from Barista to waitress to Manager. Kudos to her as she still managed to keep her cool.
I had the homemade red kidney bean burger and my wife had the cesar salad. Both full of flavour and my wife said her salad was the best cesar salad she has had (and she has had a lot). I loved the burger and the handmade cut chips were a beautiful addition.
As we were mid meal there was a very rude woman complaining to Juliana that she didn’t feel welcomed and was making a total scene. Honestly she needed to read the room because Juliana was rocking it and if she felt uncomfortable when she came in, she should’ve left. Not try and do her best to make the girl cry.
As someone who works in hospo and has done for 24yrs the first thing I said before I even ordered was how well she was doing. I noticed it and so did everyone else who was dining apart from this very rude customer. Juliana felt so awkward and you could see it unfolding. She dealt with it very well.
I felt obliged to go outside and speak to the woman and let her know what she did was not cool. She all of a sudden became meek and mild because she knew she was in the wrong.
Anyway, beside that, the food and service was amazing. The cakes were also delicious and I had a Victoria sponge (which was perfect and not sweet, I hate cakes that are too sweet).
Thank you for catering for us vegans as the restaurants in Edinburgh weren’t too appealing until we came here.
Also people saying it’s too expensive need to understand what is happening in the hospitality industry atm with inflation. These places are the independent gems we need to collectively save!!!
What a total gem! Thank you Juliana. 🙏🏻💜
Written 26 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sarah G
2 contributions
Oct 2021 • friends
I’ve visited Holy Cow three times in the last two weeks! Great!! Vegan food, everything is freshly made and there is a lovely just baked bread smell throughout the whole place. My personal favs is the open sandwiches and the chips which taste incredible. Worth a special mention is the waiting staff member who served me today, obviously dealing with a busy period but who was totally attentive and made our whole party feel so welcome and looked after, whilst politely enforcing wearing of masks when coming up to counter which really I appreciated.
Can’t wait to take more friends here! P.s all my non vegan pals also love this place now.
Written 23 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
holycowvegancafe
Thank You for lovely review! Happy you liked our wee vegan cafe!
Written 31 October 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Stephen B
11 contributions
Jun 2021 • couples
On the rare occasions we get a few days away from our young daughter, my wife and I love to plan vegan places to eat in the city we are staying in. During our recent trip to Edinburgh we had a number of places saved after researching beforehand. One such place was Holy Cow.
The food is excellent, way outranks many of the other places we have been to, both in flavour, presentation, value and setting.
To be able to enjoy a full vegan menu, made from scratch in the centre of the city of Edinburgh at similar prices to cheap take away is a treat indeed.
As we visited Holy Cow first, we ended up coming back time and time again, missing out on visiting other establishments but hey, we know a good thing when we see it.
If you love outstanding vegan food prepared with obvious love and passion, in a beautiful setting do yourselves a favour and visit.
Written 10 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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