David Bann, Edinburgh - Restaurants in Edinburgh | s1play.com

Veggie well done

Review published on 06/12/2006 © Sunday Herald

Last week, I was complaining about steak-centred menus.

I’m bored stiff with big hunks of meat, centrepieces of plainly cooked protein with their repetitive, unimaginative sidekicks of workaday vegetables and predictable spuds.

Don’t think for one moment I’m contemplating a switch to vegetarianism. I’m a dedicated omnivore. That’s quite a different thing from those carnivores who only give vegetables plate space because the Scottish Executive has told them that it’s Five A Day or sudden death. No, I actively like vegetables, which is not something you can automatically say for the massed ranks of meat avoiders.

I won’t labour the joke about ‘Glaswegian vegetarians’ – whose diet is said to consist of Mars bars and chips – but my point is that people avoid animal protein for many reasons, and a fondness for fruit and vegetables isn’t always one of them.

If I’m honest, I find some meatavoiders borderline neurotic and confused about food production. I respect the sea-green incorruptible ranks of the vegans, who are logical and consistent, but all those fainthearted, “I’ll eat white meat but not red… I’ll eat anything that doesn’t look like it ever lived or had a mum” people test my patience.

Disciples of Gillian McKeith are the worst. The ghastly ‘Shock Doc of Nutrition’ must be warming up the planet single-handedly by virtue of her advocacy of a year-round diet of items such as asparagus, blueberries and sweet potatoes, all imported from sunnier climes. ‘Food miles’ is not a concept that MsMcKeith seems to have digested.

It has, however, been taken to heart by David Bann, proprietor of the eponymous vegetarian restaurant in Edinburgh. His culinary outlook has always been global, but in recent years, he has increasingly incorporated homegrown and seasonal British ingredients into his menus.

In the cheese department, for instance, his dishes feature well-chosen British and Irish artisan cheeses, in place of the ubiquitous mozzarella or feta. There is a welcome emphasis on our indigenous, underrated crops like beetroot, parsnip, chard, broccoli and leek.

Bann is one of the few restaurateurs in Scotland who puts some elbow grease into preparation of vegetarian dishes. Not for him the lazy risotto, the effortless disc of industrial goat cheese melted on bad bread, the chewy aubergine slices with execrable attempts at ratatouille.

He has his chefs working harder than their counterparts in many an omnivore establishment to come up with multi-layered dishes composed of many labour intensive elements. Items like puff pastry, ketchups, juniper-pickled cucumber, goat’s milk curd and vegetable broth are all home-made.

Where most establishments would give you sunblush tomatoes out of a jar, his tomatoes are slow dried in the kitchen. I enjoyed these tomatoes baked in a short buttery crust along with softly sweated onions, English Golden Cross cheese and mascarpone. (His application of the ‘British-first’ buying strategy is thoughtful, not kneejerk.) Also impressive was a starter of gooey polenta, grilled crisp and capped with fresh wild chanterelle, boletus and horn-of-plenty mushrooms.

For main courses, I avoided the Japanese-influenced dishes – I’ve tried, honest, but I just can’t like tofu. My puff pastry with spinach, Loch Arthur’s wonderful cheddar and sautéed Jerusalem artichokes with creamed celeriac and caraway butter made a dish studded with interesting flavours and flattering textures.

Another savoury strudel, this time with smoked Ardrahan cheese, was a satisfying assembly, with its cheesey, pine-nut filling and its flavoursome garnish of buttered savoy cabbage, sweet roasted swede and earthy beetroot upon an emollient shallot and orange sauce.

I find the puddings the least tempting part of what’s on offer at David Bann’s – perhaps it’s the preponderance of ice-cream and sorbet – but at least they are all home-made. In the end, we shared the assiette of desserts which featured a very competent hot chocolate pudding with white chocolate sauce, a hard, rich chocolate truffle and my favourite element, a hot, creamy pear and passionfruit tart served with coffee and sambuca ice cream.

David Bann, (the restaurant, not the proprietor) has expanded widthways since I last visited. The interior is, as always, stylish, and the lighting accomplished. Affable table staff, fair mark-ups on wine and reasonable prices all make the food package even more attractive.

© Sunday Herald