Seeds for the Soul – the vegan force is strong in Bruntsfield

A couple of weeks ago we went to Bruntsfield to have lunch at Thrive, but I had been tempted by the menu at Seeds for the Soul. Both menus appealed, but i had a hankering for comfort food: Caroline had set her heart on Thrive. We agreed to Seeds for the Soul the following weekend for a late lunch.

Orange cake and coffee at Seeds for the Soul in Bruntsfield.

Orange cake and coffee at Seeds for the Soul in Bruntsfield.

Occupying the former site of Moon & Hare, Seeds for the Soul has been open since February 2018. We have been planning to visit for months but something always took us elsewhere.

Seeds for the Soul is a decent size, and despite us going for a late lunch on a Saturday, we were quickly seated at a corner table in the back. The serving team were welcoming and the venue was quite & pleasantly cool, the advantage of going in September after the festivals crowds have gone.

Dishes big and small

The menu is vegan, with a focus on locally sourced food prepared on site. We were tempted by the breakfast options, but felt Saturday afternoon deserved something more substantial. Caroline chose the tofu soul bowl and I had the seitan wrap (without the gherkins). We shared a potion of dumplings.

Crisp and chewy and soothing all at the same time: dumplings at Seeds for the Soul.

Crisp and chewy and soothing all at the same time: dumplings.

The dumplings arrived first and were a good choice, with crisp pastry, comforting filing and an enjoyable sweet & spicy dipping sauce. We’d missed breakfast and so devoured them in seconds. With something in our now less noisy stomachs, we could focus more on the taste of the food and less on our hunger.

Getting stuck in

Caroline’s tofu soul bowl was a attractive selection of salad, tofu, soba noodles, avocado, lettuce, carrot, rocket, coriander and black sesame seeds served with a ginger & garlic soya dressing. While the soul bowl was simple, the message was clear that the important things were the ingredients and the taste. Caroline loved the mix of flavours & textures: the the salad provided the freshness & crunch, the noodles provided a comforting fullness, and the avocado & tofu gave a real depth, all brought together by the zingy dressing. There is something wonderful about a soul bowl: the selection of tasty & healthy ingredients revive you after a long week.

Soul bowl: sunshine in a dish.

Soul bowl: sunshine in a dish.

I was feeling a little less healthy and felt my soul didn’t need help, it need something more comforting – the seitan wrap. The flatbread wrap was filled with lettuce, tomato, gherkins, red onion, vegan cheese, smoky seitan, and barbeque sauce. I had requested ‘no gherkin’ but now know that was a mistake. The wrap was tasty, with a nice crunch to make me feeling I was eating something substantial and a reassuring taste from the cheese & seitan to fill me up, but was missing a sharpness to bring it all together – my fault for getting rid of the gherkin.

Coffee and cake

We washed the food down with an alcoholic ginger beer and organic hemp beer (to raise the hipster factor). Next, the sensible thing would have been to leave and have a long walk but we decided to order coffee and pudding. There were a variety of tempting cakes and tray bakes on offer; I settled on the orange cake with a long black and Caroline had the almond butter chocolate brownie with an oat milk latte.

Almond butter chocolate brownie. Yeah, OK, go on then...

Almond butter chocolate brownie. Yeah, OK, go on then…

The orange cake was nice, but it wasn’t quite as luxurious as I expected. The combination of creaminess and citrussy orange was lovely, but not enough to overcome the cake which was a little too dense for my liking. Caroline’s almond butter chocolate brownie was as gooey as you could want and gave her necessary sugar rush to get us up and moving for our afternoon.

I liked Seeds for the soul and will definitely return. The venue is welcoming and the menu has interesting options. I already know what I will be having next time!

Having two vegetarian/vegan restaurants so close to each other could be an issue (Thrive is two doors down), but I believe it will encourage people to come to the area and create a feeling of ‘destination’. Their menus have enough difference to ensure that reach slightly different clientele. I look forward to going back to both and know that the choice on which to visit will depend upon my mood on a particular day.

Seeds for the soul

167 Bruntsfield Place
Edinburgh EH10 4DG

Telephone: 07419 582296
Contact

Instagram: seedsforhtesoulltd | Twitter: @Seeds4theSoul1

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