The Engine Shed

What a stand up place! Fabulous food, and a great cause.
This place makes the best spinach hummus and oatcakes amongst other dishes. I love their stall at the farmers market.
Heard recently that they will be shutting down due to funding problems. Shame as this is the type of business communities should support.
Best to try out the food while you can well worth a visit!

I used to cycle past this place on the way to uni, and always felt hungry as the scent of bread baking and… something else… teased my senses. I stupidly didn’t know what this was for quite a while; there was just a car park with a couple of cars close to this seemingly empty building. Then I saw some people entering.
It would seem that you must first reach this remote destination hidden behind the east park side residential area, then enter the building through the humble little door, walk up a brief staircase, and enter a very cute rustic café, which just so happens to be vegetarian. The concept behind the place is really ethical, as people with learning disabilities are employed and offer internships, get some exposure to the catering industry, and build confidences.
Ethics aside, food-​wise, this is a real find. They have changing daily menu, and often choices include: jacket potato with a variety of filling options, soup of the day, veggie burger, pizza, toasties, thai green curry, and a variety of other local and more exotic dishes. All the bread is freshly made downstairs, as is the tofu (that other nice smell I said I couldn’t quite put my fingers on). You can buy loaves which come in various shapes, sizes, flavours and types. The tofu is also for sale, and available smoked, marinated, plain, or in burger form, ready to cook at home. Besides savoury food, there are a good variety of cakes available, some of which are vegan (vegan carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and vegan chocolate fudge cake)!
The prices are very reasonable, and there are many places to sit. The close quite early and sometimes the hours can be unpredictable, check on their website to avoid being disappointed!
if you don’t want to come all the way over the New town, you can find some of their products (like tofu ‘cheese’ and bread) at the castle terrace farmer’s market on a Saturday morning.