Where to find Edinburgh’s best sustainable restaurants

If you’re adopting a plant-based lifestyle or trying to cut down on meat, this Bruntsfield-based eatery is a great spot to enjoy some vegan cooking on the south side. With a superfood packed menu (and some more decadent goodies), it’s also the place to come to top-up on nutrients and boost your immunity. The team create their inspiring healthy takes on cruelty-free treats including burgers, sandwiches, pizzas, tacos, nachos, wraps, cakes, bakes and vitamin-packed beverages. Feed your soul with some wholesome nourishment and perhaps one of the venue’s own dairy-free cocktails or boozy smoothies. And, if you’re taking your food away, rest assured that the boxes, bags, cups, cutlery, and napkins are all completely biodegradable, with any unavoidable waste composted or recycled.

The newest venue on our list, this one opened as part of the Bonnie & Wild Food Court, during the St James Quarter launch. It’s a certified carbon-free dining partner, which means that the brand plants hundreds of trees every month, achieved by offering customers the chance to plant a tree, by adding an optional 99p to their bills. To date, that’s accounted for nearly five and a half thousand new trees, offsetting the carbon impact of its meals. The franchise began in Norwich in 2018, with a 100 per cent plant-based, plastic-free and mostly organic ethos. It’s a great choice if you need a mid-shopping pit stop and haven’t planned in advance – it doesn’t take bookings and provides a casual atmosphere. Stocking forward-thinking products like Dirtea’s Mushroom Tea, Erpingham House makes responsible, all-day casual dining, fun and tasty.

A previous winner of the Sustainable Business Award at the Catering in Scotland Excellence Awards sponsored by Green Tourism and Seafood Scotland, the Scottish Cafe and Restaurant is taking strides to lead in this area. In addition to its use of local artisan suppliers, the venue has a proactive waste-reduction strategy. Its training initiatives are designed to encourage and incentivise employees toward environmental best practices. Part of the wider Edinburgh-based Contini group, the venue benefits from in-house herbs, vegetables and berry fruits grown in their one-acre kitchen garden on the city’s perimeter. The Scottish Cafe and Restaurant is found at the Scottish National Gallery.

This ‘slow food’ establishment has been a leader in the sustainability stakes. It’s been winning awards for its commitment to eco-conscious practices for over a decade, having been a member of the Sustainable Restaurant Association since 2009. It also has a one-acre kitchen garden on the outskirts of the city, which grows mouthwateringly fresh herbs, vegetables and berry fruit. In 2012, Cafe St Honoré received a lauded 3-star ‘Food Made Good status. And in 2013, Chef Director, Neil Forbes and the team hosted an event highlighting restaurant waste, feeding 5,000 people for free, from items that would otherwise go unused. In terms of its menus, there’s a daily changing à la carte offer, as well as two and three-course Cafe Classics available at lunch and dinner. Sourdough is prepared daily and, by taking delivery of whole and part-carcases, the kitchen offers a more sustainable approach for those wishing to consume meat.

This unusual restaurant is unlike any other in the city. It’s tucked away in an actual 19th-century cottage that once belonged to a gardener and was saved from the bulldozers then revitalised as a restaurant. In the unlikely setting of the bustling London Road, the tranquil cottage welcomes guests, who take their places side-by-side at a large trestle table for the social dining concept. A blackboard reveals the evening’s menu, which is the same for everyone, although dietary requirements and vegan, vegetarian and pescatarian diners are accommodated. Expect lots of items from nearby, such as Dunbar crab, Perthshire roe deer, East Coast saucisson and lashings of I.J. Mellis cheese. Many of the veggies and herbs are grown by gardener Charlie at the restaurant’s own allotment. Under the ownership of chefs Dale Mailley and Edward Murray, the venue has gone from strength to strength and offers both lunch and dinner sittings.