About

Vegan Edinburgh Emma Bathgate

Vegan Edinburgh is run by me, Emma. I’ve been vegan since 2015, and I am passionate about raising the profile of vegan-friendly businesses in Edinburgh.

I am a proud HappyCow Ambassador. As well as all the listicles you can find here on veganedinburgh.com, you can read my individual reviews and contributions on happycow.net.

Let’s be friends on happycow

Editorial policy

Vegan Edinburgh began as a wee passion project in 2016. Back then, there was only one fully vegan restaurant in the city. And in “normal” restaurants, you were lucky if there was one named vegan option on the menu!

Things have improved dramatically since then. There are now at least a dozen vegan eateries in the city. And the vast majority of mainstream restaurants have at least one vegan option on the menu. It really never has been easier to be vegan in Edinburgh.

But over the years, one thing has stayed the same. The Vegan Edinburgh website is still only run by one person – me.

I only have so many hours in the day (I run this website on top of a full time “day job”), money in my pocket and space in my belly. So I know that I will never be able to sample every vegan offering in the city – as much as I would love to.

So, to give you an idea of what to expect on the Vegan Edinburgh website here is my editorial policy in a nutshell:

1. I will always prioritise 100% vegan businesses in Edinburgh.

I am, first and foremost, a vegan activist. The reason I promote vegan-friendly businesses in Edinburgh is because I want it to be easy to be vegan in our fine city.

While I understand that we all have to spend our money at non-vegan businesses and it’s great to have options, I will always encourage my readers to support completely vegan businesses whenever possible.

2. I will only feature businesses that have, in my opinion, a great vegan offering.

That might seem obvious, but the standard has risen significantly over the last few years. So the places I cover will generally have at least a few well-considered vegan options that are imaginative, delicious, and leave you feeling hungry for more. Here’s where I generally get my inspiration:

3. I don’t accept freebies in exchange for coverage.

There are a couple of reasons for this.

Firstly, it puts pressure on me to give a favourable review, which can get awkward. I like to experience places as a regular punter and have the freedom to share my genuine opinion in my reviews.

Secondly, it is out of respect for my peers who create digital content for a living. Even though this is a hobby for me, I will not undercut professional creators.

By all means, drop me an email to let me know your business exists. But I am not your typical “influencer” and more often than not, I will come along and pay for my visit out of my own pocket.

4. I will not cover large national chains.

Don’t get me wrong, UK restaurant chains have upped their game on the vegan front over the last few years, and I love it. But I would rather focus my time and energy on writing about what makes Edinburgh’s vegan scene unique, instead of covering places you can experience anywhere in the UK.

If you would like to know which chains cater for vegans, Curious Claire has a wonderful list of vegan-friendly chain restaurants in the country. You will also find exceptionally good chain restaurants listed on HappyCow.

5. I will try to keep my information accurate and up-to-date.

But please remember that things can change, so if unsure please contact the restaurants or cafés directly. If you notice any mistakes on Vegan Edinburgh, please let me know, and I will fix them as soon as I can.

Contact

Got a question? Spotted a vegan-friendly place that’s not on the site yet? Have an idea for veganedinburgh.com? Want to work with me to promote your vegan-friendly business? Drop me a line: emma@veganedinburgh.com.

My thistle logo is provided by Vecteezy: free Vector Graphics by www.Vecteezy.com