Edinburgh Restaurants

Kalpna

#424 of 424 things to do in Edinburgh

#133 of 135 indian restaurants in Europe

1 reviews | Write a review

Not good for: food

  • Address
    • 2-3 St Patrick Sq
  • Transport
    • all South Bridge buses
  • Website
  • Phone
    • 667 9890
  • Price
    • mains £6-11
  • Hours
    • noon-2pm & 5.30-10.30pm Mon-Sat year-round, plus 6-10.30pm Sun May-Sep

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Lonely Planet review for Kalpna

A long-standing Edinburgh favourite, Kalpna is one of the best Indian restaurants in the country, vegetarian or otherwise. The cuisine is mostly Gujarati, with a smattering of dishes from other parts of India. The lunch buffet (£7) is superb value.

 

Traveller reviews for Kalpna (1)

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    "The best vegetarian restaurant in Scotland"

    tonya001 does not recommend this,

    declared the Glasgow Herald. "The best Indian restaurant in Scotland" enthused the Edinburgh-based Scotsman newspaper. This was 20 years ago. At its peak Kalpna was brilliant. There are many Indian restaurants in Britain where apparent authenticity is everywhere except on your plate - but Kalpna wasn’t one of them.

    If fiery chilli was your thing, or piped music, or free poppadums you went to the ubiquitous and unashamedly-named Taj Mahal. But you went to Kalpna to experience just how subtle Indian food could be. It’s rare for committed carnivores to make a detour to a vegetarian restaurant - but they went out of their way to eat at Kalpna.

    But Kalpna’s changed. It’s had a makeover and is under new management. Fine, as long as the food’s still great. But it isn’t. The thali was nothing special. I order it primarily for the mushrooms. But no mushrooms. The food is tepid, the rice overcooked, the dhal tasteless, the cauliflower crunchless.

    Kalpna means imagination - you’ll need it.

    Not good for: food

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