Henderson's Bistro, Edinburgh

This, May 1st, 2007, was the last day of our long weekend in Edinburgh, and as we had to vacate our flat in the morning but had until late afternoon before it was time to head back to the airport, we seized the chance and walked around Edinburgh some more. We hadn't planned to eat out, but since we were at the Princes Street area, hungry, and knew where Henderson's was, having passed it on our way to the Botanic Gardens a couple of days earlier, we decided to investigate more closely.

Unlike David Bann at dinner time on a Sunday, Henderson's at lunch time on a Monday was nice an quiet. A few of the nice, cosy tables remained empty through our visit, though I can't imagine why, since the food... but I get ahead of myself. The decor is an... interesting mix of rustic wooden chairs, retro-modern glass and metal -and faux leather wall coverings. The last one, while it probably looked good when it was put there, still seems like a slightly odd choice for a vegetarian restaurant.

In addition to The Bistro, Henderson's have a Salad Table and a small shop in the same block, so it may be that The Salad Table gets most of Henderson's lunch trade. After three days of traipsing up and down of Edinburgh city, however, we wanted somewhere where we could sit down and have food brought to us. Eventually.

Again, the menu offered a plethora of clearly indicated vegan and potentially vegan options. I just had to try the vegan haggis, while spouse went for the day's special, a Moroccan stew.

The haggis, which, I'm sure, shares little besides the name with the real thing of sheep innards, was wonderful. It was comforting and, well, stodgy, but in the best possible way. The sort of meal you have after a full day of working the fields, full of carbohydrates, with starch, and some more carb. There were at least lentils and pinhead oatmeal in the mixture, and some other grains and pulses, and the generous pile of haggis was served with a side of mash and a ramekin of gravy, and some fresh greens. And, oddly, garnished with thin slices of apple, but we're going to ignore that bit. The mash, which had a specific name I can't remember for the life of me, was a perfect accompaniment for the haggis, and the gravy was the proverbial cherry, or possible apple slice, on the cake. Mmmm.

In practice I don't often get to have the traditional sort of cooking typical for the region of the world I currently live in, so this was a nice change. Though considering how heavily (but comfortably, mind you) the meal sat in my stomach afterwards, a few times a year is plenty.

The Moroccan stew and rice spouse chose was a much, much lighter affair, but none the less flavorful for it. The stew was fragrant and beautifully colored, with chickpeas and butternut squash, my very favorite vegetable. I must admit there was a moment I wished I'd chosen otherwise, but the haggis was a rare and wonderful experience.

We did have a garlic bread starter, as well, and it was a good thing we did, as we had to wait for our mains for quite a while. They did eventually arrive, without an apology (though that came later) or explanation, but the service was friendly enough, and we were on a holiday, so we didn't really mind. As for the garlic bread, it wasn't memorable enough to stick with me this long. Sorry.

The dessert, however, I still remember, and well. We, and especially me, were more than sufficiently sated after our generously proportioned main courses, but the rare chance of a vegan dessert was too good to let it go by. We shared a slice of vegan whole meal cherry pie with a vegan cream substitute. You could really taste the whole meal in the pastry, and the filling was red and sticky and gooey - yum. While the pastry admittedly was a little dry, and nearly rock hard on the crust, we nevertheless practically licked the plate clean.

To top the whole thing off, instead of the usual mints, the bill arrived with two little squares of Green & Black's dark mint chocolate. Those had to be stashed away for later.

As a total experience, and because it was a perfect end for the best holiday for a long, long time, on the Tiwinaku scale of planetary bodies Henderson's The Bistro reaches all the way to Neptune, since we're no longer supposed to count Pluto. We'll be going back when next in Edinburgh.