text: I will not deny that Hendersons is an Edinburgh institution It was the first specially vegetarian restaurant in Edinburgh in the s at a time when people were beginning to become aware of it Despite the mainstream disapproval of vegetarianism this place was really trendy and still rides on its fame from the good old daysnnWe are lucky to have the number of vegetarian restaurants in Edinburgh that we do today This however means more competition for Hendersons Nonetheless it still remains probably the best knownnnI have mixed feelings about Hendersons however On one hand it provides a great variety of generally good quality vegetarian food on the other its pricey for what you pay for and the menu never really seems to change It is a great shame that some of the other criticisms here have confused some generally bad experiences that could have happened at any restaurant with the fact this restaurant just happens to be vegetarian It is clearly fallacious to say that just because your cake was not creamy enough vegetarian restaurants must disapprove of creamy cakes Any restaurant could serve you a disappointing flapjack It reminds me of the sort of arguments you here from intolerant travellers when they are abroad and do not like something they have been served or whatever and equate it with something necessary about the culture or the peoplennThat aside Hendersons does have it downside I love their chickpea and tomato stew but it is not that special it is something I cook all the time and do not expect to pay ua for it I love their crusty bread with curry but could they change it around more often I find Hendersons can be too expensive for simple dishes that seem to always be the same albeit from a great range On the former point I sometimes feel that Hendersons now caters mostly for the New Town residents perhaps the rebellious youth of the s now all grown up and able to afford it They do offer a student discount howevernnBut now let me defend Hendersons and say that the quality of the food both nutritionally and taste wise is still high above the average and unlike most pubs or standard Italian restaurants I do not feel like I owe my body an apology after eating there I do not think that a slab of flesh maketh a meal considering our bodies are not made to eat meat with every meal and that of the worlds population live without meat through choice or circumstance this claim seems ridiculousnnI think to claim that Hendersons is a place that can be okay for some lifestyles but not for me really or not really my thing cos I eat meat is a claim from someone who has not tried the range of dishes available here or has some problematic addiction to one particular food group besides presumably these people do not literally eat meat with every single meal breakfast lunch dinner and snacking or they probably do not have much longer to live Again you might not like Hendersons because they are rude or the dishes are cold or you thought the curry tasted crap but the mere absence of meat in a place surely does not make it a pleasure only for the select fewnnIncidentally Hendersons is not unfriendly the dishes are not cold and nearly all the dishes I have tried quite a number have tasted very nicennA great vegetarian institution that still remains a great option despite some setbacks