Ann Purna

BEWARE!!! Total rip-​off. I felt cheated at the end of my meal.
We were 5 people, and had ordered 5 thalis for lunch. The price should have been fixed. One of us was not able to eat any curies that were available (due to religious and allergy reasons) — and when asked the server said they would be happy to replace it with another from the menu. AT THE END, the bill charged us separately for the curry and the naan ordered for 1 of us (who had asked for a replacement curry to which the server HAD agreed). He misguided us at the beginning and was not willing to admit he was wrong, probably scamming us. He also charged extra for the papadam — again, he served it and did not tell it was chargeable.

OMG! What a terrible experience. We picked this restaurant by chance and so many things went wrong — here’s a detailed report.
It showed from the very beginning. I and my friend were given a seat and menu on a set table for four. During browsing, the waiter removed the things from the two other seats as it should, but he also took our empty wine glasses without even asking if we are taking wine.
Well, we ordered a thalli (15pounds) which included a started and also a side (accompanying) portion each. The waiter asked if we want a poppadom and accepted (he did not tell us the price). I asked for a wine list, but the had only local wine (3.50pounds/glass). We also wanted a jug of water. We got served 2 glasses of water with ice, and the glass of wine very quickly, and an acceptable 10 mins later the poppadom arrived. It was very thin and breaks in small pieces, so I am not sure if it was the way it should be. Two poppadoms came with 7 sauces.
My friend drank her glass of water and ask twice for a jug of water but was in vain. I had to stand up by the bar and ask it specifically, and then it was served.
In the meantime some new diners came along and took a seat beside us. 45mins passed after finishing our poppadom and we have not yet been served. I drank my wine already. Then we saw two thali dishes coming — at last we said! but! they were served to the diners who came after us beside us. We kindly pointed out the issue, and the waiter said ours is coming soon, «no problem’!. The diners besides us apologized (even if they had not to — but they were British) After 5 – 10 minutes the waiter brought two large plates (we started to wonder why)?! Then 5 mins after a single thali dish
We asked were is the other one? The waiter disappeared and ignored us. We realized the two plates are for sharing so we called the head-​waiter (a indian with a green T-​shirt) and after consulting with the waiter (who was kind inexperienced and not focused) he said it is coming because the waiter took an order of 1 instead 2. My friend who was Scottish was complaining and stood up to leave away, so the waiter said he will give the 2^nd thali for free to compensate the mistake.
Being so hungry, and did not want to waste time during sat night at the fringe we accepted, so we shared the first one, and then 10mins after the second one arrived. While eating the second thali, we realized that there should have been a starter included. So we asked the neighbouring diners (who took the same thali) and confirmed they did had a starter. So there we go for another complaint and the waiter replying its «OK» I bring it now. (=5 more mins) and so we ended eating the starter at the end of the main course.
Then we just wished to leave asap and asked for the bill. It was a notepad page with the price in barely legible red ink, except the final price which was 46GBP. I realized he did not gave the 2^nd thali for free, so again went personally for complaining, and he said oh yes sure then its 32pounds. Then still, on the way out we were asing if the price of 32 was right was a poppadom, wine, thali and 2 side portions, and jug of water (perhaps we were charged for this)??
By the way, I forgot to tell you that from the two side portions only one came. Vegetables with spices: = few shredded lettuce, a sliced tomato, 2 rings of cucumber and cinnamon the only spice (yck!)
Actually we got a chat with the neighbour diners who were sorry for us and told us that they have been here 2 months ago and was very good, but now the management changed and they also did not liked the long waiting.
That was my experience, so you can judge for your future considerations

Very good food and atmosphere. Excellent service, refreshing !

The food alone would get 5 stars, but just a couple of things at this quality vegetarian Indian let it down. The service was a bit sketchy, aways friendly, they just weren’t quite on top of things. And the coffee at the end of the meal was instant (although on the house, along with my companion’s whiskey).
Thes a great selection of main courses but we opted for the Thali which induced a starter (pakoras), three curries, chapatis, rice and one sweet dish. It was all great, delicious and not stodgy at all. The poppadoms we had were a little on the greasy side but tasted good and were freshly cooked. Good selection of chutneys/​dips too.
They’ve got Cobra, Kingfisher or Tenants on draught and looks like they do a lunch buffet too though can’t comment on that.
If you enjoy curry, you’ll love the food, and it’s so tasty if you’re not vegetarian you probably won’t miss the meat.

It was busy on a Saturday when I was there so service was slow. I tried to overlook the fact that the table beside us were served before us even though they arrived after us. The food was fine, nothing special. I like when you are automatically given a jug of water in an Indian restaurant but it took quite a while to get any water when we asked for it. We paid our bill and then finished up our drinks. As we walked out of the restaurant we were called back by two waiters and accused of not paying for our meal. I won’t be in a hurry to return!

I was very sad last night to see the end of a great Edinburgh institution. I have always rated Annapurna as having some of the best great value Indian food in the city, last night proved that has now changed. I was shocked at the small portion of burnt (as in with carbon) okra and the dried out dahl. When the waiter asked me if I enjoyed it I said not really to which he replied well you seemed to eat enough of it. He then proceeded to start a debate. I immediately asked for the bill and was further grilled by the new boss (son of the owner) about my palette. All in all the meal was poor, over priced and the service was rude. I shall never return The good news is Edinburgh has some wonderful new Indian eateries for everyone to enjoy.

Sometimes with Unilocal you can get a bit carried away with the idea of a place that the reality can let you down. It wasn’t really the case, although I think I would shy away from describing the food here as incredible, but it at the same time, extremely good — and what is more, entirely up my vegetable-​strewn street.
As I was incapable of making a decision on such an aubergine-​heavy menu (oh how I love you so), and the boy lost without meat options, we chose both thali options, to get a few different taste sensations. As we did — with a green pea, aubergine and potato dish coming out on top for us, followed by chickpea and potato as well as a mixed vegetable bhaji (?). The rice was perfumed with spices, the chapattis burning hot from the oven. I wasn’t blown away by the samosas or pakoras, and found the dhal lacking in flavour, but overall, the quality of food was high.
Have to give a nod to the service as well, very friendly and pleasant to be around. There was an introduction to some of the dishes on our plates when they arrived, glasses of water part way through and offerings of complimentary drinks at the end, which we were too stuffed to accept.
I will also note that although I did enjoy the poppadoms (had more flavour than others I have tried) and the multitude of chutneys — a fiver for the pleasure was much too high — as noted by a reviewer for another restaurant, there is a large markup on puffs of air, and I definitely experienced that last night, and we paid nearly eight quid on one beer and a fresh orange and lemonade, which also seemed rather steep to me. I have to note though, prices for the rest of the meal seemed much more reasonable, but it will be sometime to remember for my next visit.

I’ve been here twice (pre and post makeover) and the food is divine.
A little different from most places as it is vegetarian, but the food is so good you won’t even think about the lack of meat dishes.
Recommended.

Sometimes when you want Indian food, you don’t know exactly what dish your tummy is asking for, so the answer of course is The Indian Lunch Buffet.
My first visit to Ann Purna was a smashing success. I was on my own, so had plenty of time for (too) many visits to the food table!
The pakora starters were fresh and crispy, with the vegetables as the star, not the batter.
They offer a small selection of main dishes, and to be honest, when I took my first look at them, I was prepared to be underwhelmed. The sauces looked watery and they seemed to have some vegetable combos I didn’t recognize (although as a Anglo my vegetarian Indian cuisine knowledge is somewhat limited).
However, the food was simply wonderful. My favorite was what I think was a saucy variation of aloo gobi, it was deliciously sweet, creamy & spicy. The lentil dal (which I usually don’t care for) was a great excuse for more basmati & naan, which was fresh and puffy from the oven.
I was early for lunch (just before noon), and sat and read while the buffet was prepared. I think it was ready to go between 12:15 & 12:30. I ate so much I didn’t want supper later that evening, so it was a good value for me :)
What a great location in St. Patrick’s Square; easy to get to from the city centre and the university, and about a mile walk home for me.

Lovely vegetarian Indian food. I must confess to rather preferring it to the Kalpna nearby.
Another review says they don’t have a licence to sell alcohol — they certainly do these days, however they are also very happy just to serve you tap water, but they sell the usual indian beers and a variety of wines.
Very good value and one of my favourite Indian eateries.

«The best Indian Vegetarian Food» the sign outside proudly proclaims. I admit, when I eat Indian food (or any food for that matter) 60% of the time it involves meat, every time. (I recently went on a Will Ferrel movie binge, sorry for the awful references…)
Back on track. So basically, my reference point for other vegetarian indian food is limited. But I can say I adored the food here. Even the dips for our popadoms (there were 6 of them, swish) were lovely. I ordered the fried, baked aubergine curry and split ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ with my neighbour the other aubergine dish which was served chopped with nuts. Of the two I prefered the one that was served with nuts as the aubergine was in big chunks, whereas with the other you couldn’t really taste the texture of the aubergine. I also tried the aloo gobi (potato curry) and it was amazing.
The thing that struck me was that each curry sauce had a completely different flavour, and you could really see the different spices in it. There wasn’t a tikka masala, jalfrezi, or rogan josh in sight. Basically, this was authentic Indian cuisine.
Quite a lot of the dishes were also vegan, which was a big plus as the birthday girl we were dining with happened to be so. The only downer is none of the desserts were vegan (including the pineapple, mango and payaya. This confused me slightly.)
The house white wine was also very nice, which is a plus.
The only reason I’m holding back that fifth star is that it was –10 outside that night, a nd the restaurant was really quite cold. Indian food is hot, warming, fragrant and it needs to be complimented by a hot, bustling interior. Sadly, whilst not exactly outdoor temperatures, it was pretty cold. My food cooled quickly as a result, and my toes went numb. Hmm.
For authentic, good Indian food (not «British» indian), even the sworn meat-​eaters like myself won’t fail to be disappointed. Friendly service too!

I finally visited Ann Purna the other night. As a vegetarian, I’m really glad there are so many vegetarian restaurants in Edinburgh, especially a few more affordable ones.
I’ve noticed some strange comments for some of the veggie restaurant reviews around Edinburgh. Some comment about the fact that despite the fact they eat meat they enjoyed a meat free meal, as if they are surprised that the addition of meat doesn’t magically make something taste nice. The other common point made is that they DIDN’T enjoy a vegetarian restaurant because it had no meat in it. It’s sad that a restaurant can’t be evaluated in its own terms, we don’t review an Italian saying «well I usually eat only Thai food so this Italian was a bit crap». I assume that even reviewers who claim they can’t live without eating meat don’t judge their morning toast by its absence of beef.
So let me say that Ann Purna is a restaurant that serves great food irrespective of its absence of meat. If anything this proves just how flavourful, nutritious and filling vegetarian food can be. Apparently they do serve some meat dishes when requested, but this seems pointless.
So yeah, I thought the food here tasted great. My girlfriend and I ordered a sweet, coconut flavoured, creamy dish which brilliantly complemented another savoury, tomato based aubergine curry. Along with the saffron rice (which remember you have to order separately as its not included in the price of the curry), this meal was satisfying. It was a little higher than average price wise, when you take into account the curry, the rice, and probable bread, poppadoms or side dishes. All in all expect to pay around £12-£15 for a not too extravagant but filling meal.
As for service, it was a bit of a let down. The staff were very welcoming but we had a bit of strange experience while ordering. The waiter seemed overly keen to get us to order a starter we just didn’t want. He then insisted we ordered a side dish. We already wanted poppadoms, and when they arrived, it came with a range of chutneys to try. «Great» we thought «complimentary dips». Only when we looked at our bill we discovered it wasn’t complementary at all. They had seemingly brought us something and charged us without a word! To makes things stranger, they also deducted two of our poppadoms which actually WERE complimentary– only they cost much less than the £3 they charged us for the chutney without telling! I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt and say they messed up, otherwise this was pretty unacceptable. You don’t want a homely «student friendly» restaurant to rip you off. I look forward to revisiting and finding out!
This experience however couldn’t detract from the excellent food. It was so good it’s inspired me to be more adventurous with my own curry in future! As I mentioned before, I found the food filling. As someone with a big appetite this isn’t often the case. I thought the portions looked small at first, but they didn’t feel small after! The creamy dishes are especially filling.
Definitely recommended, just double check your bill.

I got dragged in here by a vegetarian friend of mine, against all my principles (I’m definitely a meat person). I’m glad she coerced me into it though, the food was absolutely amazing and made me eat my words about how it would be boring and bland.
Humble pie fully swallowed, my smug-​looking friend and I had their lunchtime buffet which costs £5.95 for all you can eat. Unlike a lot of indian places offering cheap buffets like this, the food was really well cooked to the same standard that you’d expect if you’d ordered á la carte.
The service was really friendly too, and we didn’t have to think twice about whether or not we were going to leave a tip. And I’ll definitely be heading back. Although next time I’ll be trying one of the few meat options I spied on their main menu.
Long story short? Even if it were a 100% veggie restaurant, it’s that good that even the most carnivorous types will be suitably impressed. As it’s not, you have absolutely no excuse not to give it a go…

Wandered in here my last night in Edinburgh a few weeks ago, not really knowing what to expect. The UK in general is full of great Indian restaurants so I was excited to be trying some out. Of course I didn’t pay attention to the sign that read «The Finest Indian Vegetarian Gujarati Cuisine», and seeing how I love my meat, I did not have high hopes.
Boy was I surprised! The food was absolutely incredible. My parents and I shared several dishes: Matar Reiggna, Bahar-​E-​Nau Korma, Ann Purna Baingan, a side of Sindhri Batata, along with some roti. Every dish exploded with flavor and the portions were nicely sized.
Gujarati is a province in northwest India that is known for it’s vegetarian cuisine and I was very happy to try some excellent authentic food from the region. The servers were all very friendly and happy to explain all of their interesting foreign dishes to us Americans.
If ever in Edinburgh, definitely check it out!

Meaning ‘The Food Provider’, Ann Purna certainly does provide on many levels.
Boasting itself as a vegitarian restaurant, but also preparing meat dishes, this traditional indian restaurant really blew me away.
Having been persuaded to go by a vegetarian friend (which I am not), I was pleasantly suprised to be so impressed with the vegetarian dishes on the menu that I went for something totally meat free — why go for meat when any restaurant can do that?
And to be honest, I’m really glad that i did go for the bahar-​e-​nau korma as it was delicious, a combination of carrots, potatoes and kashew nuts.
Service was excellent, and over all the meal was cheaper than I had expected.

I wish I’d tried this sooner before moving out of the flat next door. This tiny Indian vegetarian restaurant is amazing. It’s a shame I had to work out that I’m offended by the texture of aubergine here because the flavours were something I’ve never experienced– I find it hard to find something to make me stray from my usual Kurma choice.
Fast and friendly service even though it was so busy I’m surprised anything at all got done.
The only negative point I’d make is that it was hotter than middle Earth, but that’s my fault for wearing an inappropriate knitted jumper.

It is one of the veg Indian places that comes with the magic offer ‘Crunch lunch’, which is basically a generous three course meal for a fiver. I know, i know, it sounds unbelievable but that’s what you can grab at lunch time if you happen to be in St. Patrick’s place area, i.e. round Edinburgh university.
The restaurant is a bit hidden from the main street but if you head towards the archway to Apple Tower building, just before entering the arch look to your right side and you will see a nice small restaurant there!

This Indian vegetarian restaurant lies in the shadow of the somewhat better known Kalpna (also an Indian vegetarian restaurant), and I imagine it suffers for it. This should not put anyone off though, as Ann Purna is really a totally decent restaurant. It’s only drawback is that it is not licensed to sell you alcohol, so be warned — drink beforehand.
It’s lunchtime buffet is also recommended over Kalpna’s, as it is slightly cheaper and equally tasty.

A tiny Indian vegetarian restaurant. The food was amazing. I had an aubergine dish that had a great smoky after taste and melted in my mouth and mango ice cream which was delicious. My boyfriend was greatly impressed by his dish too (he is Vegan). The service was great and although they were busy we didn’t feel rushed. I would advise booking to ensure a space as we turned up without a booking and took the last available table. It also gets very warm with the heat from the kitchens and the amount of people in such a small place.

This is one of my favourite restaurants in Edinburgh. There is a wide range of completely delicious vegetarian Indian food. A lovely couple seem to own/​run the restaurant, and appear proud of their food. As well as the curry, I really liked the breads here. The restaurant itself is nicely decorated, and feels quite cosy. Would definitely recommend here!