David Bann is Scotland’s leading vegetarian restaurant and has been a successful part of the Edinburgh scene since 2002. Handily placed in the Old Town just a few seconds off the Royal Mile – and avoiding the hippy wholefood look with a modern, straight-lined interior – the cooking is reliably creative but doesn’t carry the soporific after-effects that you might suffer following an encounter with a heavy curry, pasta or meat dish in the middle of the day.
For example, the parsnip, apple and blue cheese pudding is a light bake of the root veg, Bramley apple and Strathdon Blue cheese, served with roast spuds, swede and Puy lentil stew – ample, comforting but not debilitating. As a single main dish with a glass of wine it makes for a fine lunch. Alternatively, for two lighter courses, you could have a starter-sized plate of olive polenta, roast Mediterranean vegetables in pesto, and goat cheese curd – then a dessert like whisky pannacotta, meringue, and pear and caramel sauce.
It's an obvious benefit for vegetarians to be able to choose blind off the menu and know that anything served will be meat-free; but the quality of food should keep even the most ardent carnivore content, too.