El Piano

GOOD veg food in the historic center of York, a lovely place. Unusually prepared and attractively served.

We were in York on vacation and decided to try El Piano. Even with the great reviews, we were a little hesitant as none of the members of our family are vegan, however I need a gluten-​free diet (which is a challenge in the UK for sure!!). Do not be hesitant, the food here is very, very good and as others have said you don’t miss the meat, dairy or gluten at all! We had the combo platters with kebabs, pineapple croquetas, fritters, mexican trio of refried beans, black beans and pico de gallo, a blend of salads, and the roasted root vegetables. Everything was fantastic, honestly nothing meh about any of it! Had the sticky toffee pudding which was incredible. Chai with coconut milk is good, but very sweet. We all agreed that you didn’t taste as much of the spices as you should in a chai tea. Service was great (slower than North America, but that’s pretty much everywhere we’ve been in the UK), staff was friendly and knowledgeable. Don’t miss this little gem!

El Piano, where everything is vegan and rather tasty!
It’s not the easiest place to find, as it’s tucked away along Grape Lane, but it’s well worth finding for the gorgeous food they offer. They try to source as much of the ingredients locally and the menu actually tells you how local each dish is! As already mentioned, everything’s vegan but it’s also gluten-​free, nut-​free and palm-​oil free. How good is that? And most people would never guess!
Today I had «Bob’s Best Burger» which is massive! I had to resort to eating it with a knife and fork as there was no way I was able to lift it to my mouth without dropping half of it on me! It came with three mini side salads and a large bowl of chunky vegetable chips but I could barely finish these after gorging on the burger!
Even though there were plenty of mouth-​watering desserts to choose from, I really couldn’t fit any more food in (even after loosening my belt!) so I opted for a milkshake for ‘dessert’ and was given the choice of chocolate or toffee with soya, rice or coconut milk. I chose toffee as the milkshake is made with bananas so I thought it’d make a nice banoffee flavour, and I was right! Although it could’ve done with more blending as I kept finding large chucks of ‘nana in it. The flask that it came in could’ve done with a good clean as well, thankfully the grime appeared to be only on the outside and not on the spout. If I’d felt more confident I might’ve sent this back for a clean one…
And my plate (with my burger on) had several large noticable chips on the edges. I’m not bothered by this as all my plates at home look the same (I’m so clumsy!) but I suspect this is something that most people wouldn’t expect to see at a restaurant that charges nearly £15 for the large burger!
The toilets are a bit odd as you have to go outside and round a corner to get to them, and they’re not the best toilets in the world but they were clean and served their purpose! And I got to say hello to the local cat that likes to sit in the backyard of El Piano!
Apart from the quick service and payment, I didn’t really interact much with the staff on this visit but they all seemed friendly, professional and the service was fast; we barely had to wait for our meals and they were cooked thoroughly.
There’s free wifi available, and they serve beer, cider, wine, cocktails and tequila! Oh, and a full range of soft drinks which includes ‘posh pop’, hot drinks, smoothies, milkshakes, juice etc.
Despite the negative things I’ve pointed out, I’d still go back there — the food is good enough to overcome any minor negativities!

Once you’ve eaten here, you’ll turn your back on meat forever! Lovely, delicious food served on fancy plates by caring personnel. York is worth paying a visit for this restaurant alone. But if you really really have to leave the wonderful medieval York, you can buy one of their cookbooks and hope you can prepare and serve the food in the same way they do in El Piano.

This is an awesome vegetarian restaurant. The menu may seem a little confusing at first glance but it’s actually not and you will regret it if you let than dissuade you (I almost did). It’s a very different place, but oh so good. As well as our meal we bought a couple of the cool mugs that hang from the roof
So you choose a main and then a fritter and a cold salad. So what did we have? Lentil Dahl, Blanched Greens, Croquetas, fake sushi, hummus and some delicious gluten free corn bread that they make themselves. We had tempura too as a starter. It was all really good, without exception. Menu regularly changes I think, but based on my experience I would trust whatever these guys come up with!
They had unfortunately run out of their guest beer, but the Black Sheep ale was not bad.

Took some vegetarians out for lunch, and they oculdn’t have been more impressed! The décor is wonderful, the staff are really helpful and friendly, and (most importantly) the food was great — the platters let you try a bit of everything, and as a carnivore i did not miss the meat, everything was really delicious. would definitely come back, even with non-​veggie friends!

This is my favourite place to eat in York, I’ve been coming to El Piano regularly since 2008. Vegan gluten free food is an accquired taste and not for everyone, but I really love it. I love being able to buy hot chocolate made with a selection of dairy free milks, dairy free chai latte, and many other things such as being able to actually order a pudding. It’s a small café and sometimes you have to wait for a table. The food itself is delicious and the menu varies at regular intervals to keep it fresh. They also sell stuff in the front bit. I have the original El Piano cookbook at home and that is excellent as well; it has the recipe for the Aztec Tofu that they’ve stopped selling at the restaurant. They also do takeaway through the window. I wish I could eat here every day. I’ve heard they also do quite a bit of Raw Vegan here now, again, not for everyone, but I’m looking forward to trying it next time I go.

Really nice friendly place in a fab central location but none of the fanciness of most other York tourist spots. Outside seating for when weather is nice –toilets are also outside. They also sell food gifts and cookbooks and rooms can be booked for special occasions. Have added pics of what to expect.

I am a carnivore, but I do have appreciation for my veggie /​non-​meat dishes too. I was in the mood for something meaty, but this turned out to be a pleasant last resort restaurant since it was one if the few places still serving at around 9:30pm.
Everything in this resto is vegan and gluten free — I’m not really affected by either, as long as the food is still tasty. I ended up ordering the soy meatballs in a fennel and tomato sauce, along with my spinach basil mushroom fritters, homemade ketchup, and a mexi slaw. And wow, the soy meatballs were great! I wanted something meaty, and this did the job. The fennel tomato sauce was really good too. The fritters were a bit on the greasy side, but still tasty w the spicy ketchup. The disappointment was the slaw. So simple, but it seriously lacked any Flavor. I found the recipe in their El Piano recipe book– lime juice, oil and pepper. No trace of acid — definitely needed more, and probably a bit of salt and sugar to balance it.
I ordered a pot of chai tea, with coconut milk. It was £2.50, and equalled out to about 3 teacups. It was ok, bit on the sweet side, I think it needed a bit more spice to it.
Overall, the meal was £12.50 — I was happy with my overall experience, it’s something I would come back to again. And they change their menu every 6 months!

Neither my wife or I are vegetarians, but let me assure you, this is one of our favourite eateries anywhere, ever, full stop.
The service is always exemplary and the food, whoa, the food, is full of flavour, and you get plenty of it.
Really friendly environment, and i always, always leave with a smile on my face.
Pay it a visit if in York, you won’t regret it.

«So where did you eat in York?»
«Oh at this wonderful, heavily mediterranean-​influenced vegan spot.»
OK, so it’s the 21^st century and that statement doesn’t really sound that funny or unusual, but still… something about having just walked through the Shambles and past more wattle and daub construction than you can shake a stick at sort of *un-​prepared* me for El Piano.
We were seated out in the courtyard amid great company (the cats from the place upstairs came by for a bit) and were very happy with our food. I had the dal, which hit the spot, as did each of my tempura fritters (and for that matter the bigger-​than-​socially-​appropriate bite of one of my wife’s corn fritters I took).
We were there during the «heat wave,» which didn’t really seem like a heat wave compared with what we occasionally deal with back home, but was definitely warm enough to put make the thought of eating hot roasted meat and yorkshire pudding unattractive. Thanks, El Piano, for stepping up with a light, well seasoned alternative!

I really want to like El Piano, because I’m always rooting for the underdog of the culinary world: the vegan restaurant.
Unfortunately, rather than debunking the idea that vegan food can, in fact, be delicious, El Piano’s fare falls right into all of the traps that the average ‘healthy living vegan joint’ critics have set in place for it — either underseasoned or WAY too overseasoned to be edible, not complex, flavour wise, due to one-​note ingredients, and either straight up raw or way too oily/​deep fried.
The food, in general, reflected all of the things I listed above. We got a variety of dishes, including a North African potato dish (which ended up being, literally, mashed potatoes with curry powder, served in a corn husk), a vegetable soup (may as well have been a tin of pureed tomatoes, dumped into a bowl and served warm), and a selection of breads and dips (hummus was weird and had no salt in it, the use of vegan soft cheese made another dip taste grainy and a bit like glue). And none of it is SUPER cheap, averaging between £10−14 a head.
Not impressed. It’s a cute little place, in a very cute little part of the very cute little city of York, but I wouldn’t return when in town. Funnily enough, I found out later that my only friend from York used to work at El Piano, and said the food/​place in general was ‘weird’…I wish I had consulted her before dining there.

As one of us is gluten intolerant, it is always a challenge in a new city to try to find a place that can accommodate us easily and with a high quality, tasty meal. We visited El Piano in York near the end of a four-​week trip to the UK. Our experience in the UK overall was varied; the staff at some restaurants obviously were aware of gluten intolerance and spoke knowledgeably about which offerings would suit, but in the majority of cases, the staff seemed hesitant at best and totally ignorant at worst. El Piano certainly was at one extreme (the positive one!) with respect to both knowledge about gluten intolerance and having a menu that accommodated it well (in fact, their entire menu is both gluten free and vegan, so for once there was no need to have a lengthy conversation with the wait staff about what would and would not work).
We were also pleasantly surprised by how tasty the food was. Often gluten free products are bland and have a poor mouth feel (particularly items that substitute for wheat intensive things such as Brad, pastries, etc.). Everything we had was absolutely delicious.
However, El Piano is not just for those who are gluten intolerant. The half of us that can eat without concern about consuming gluten-​containing products enjoyed the meal just as much as the one who needs to be more careful about what is eaten. Both of us would recommend El Piano highly.

All Gluten Free! everything is gluten free which is awesome. It is also vegan which for me was the draw back, I’m a guy I needed some meat to break up the meal, the food was ace don’t get me wrong I enjoyed it all ⁵⁄₅ for food but I needed meat. It’s not much to look but you are paying for the food which is ace, it’s got a fair trade quirky vegan feel to it but the staff are ace, it is slightly pricy but u do get a lot and it is nice so definitely check it out.
(Based in 2 visits)

I really like El Piano. I think everything on the menu is vegan and/​or vegetarian. Even though I’m not a vegan I love this restaurant because the food is so tasty. It’s really funky and quirky inside too with loads of cushions and pictures everywhere. Lovely staff too.

As a recently converted vegan, any concerns I may have had about a lack of tasty food have been well and truly quashed by the good folk at El Piano. All we had to do was spend a few minutes deciphering the slightly confusing menu, choose the ‘VAT buster’ (which at £20 for a huge amount of food plus drink PLUS coffee is amazing value), then sit back and let seemingly neverending quantities of deliciousness come to us.
We had… houmous with cornbread, baba ganouj, corn cakes, falafel, tabbouleh, lentil dhal, thai curry, and the most amazing sticky toffee pudding washed down with fantastic coffee. All so so tasty! Ok, the falafel was a little disappointing, but given the amount of other tasty stuff that we couldn’t even finish, this was no great disaster. The food is beautifully presented too in little bamboo (?) dishes, and the surroundings are lovely: a sunny, jangly, peaceful Spanish vibe inside, and a beautiful courtyard outside.
The service was a little slow, but the staff were friendly and very apologetic about the wait — I think they were a little short-​staffed in the kitchen. And this isn’t a place to rush anyway — sit back and savour it!

AMAZING vegetarian food — you won’t be disappointed at El Piano.
My wife and I aren’t vegetarian, however on a recent trip to York and after reading some reviews online, we decided to give El Piano a try.
The service was fast and friendly and the food was fantastic and inexpensive. Everything was amazingly flavoursome and we will definitely be back!
Don’t go to York without stopping in.

I have been to El Piano many times now on several visits to York and I still find it to be one of the most enjoyable places in the city.
I have all sorts of obnoxious eating issues (mostly dairy-​free), but this restaurant poses no problems. The entire menu is meat-​free, dairy-​free, gluten-​free and nut-​free. Amazing! That sounds like it would produce some bland, boring food, yet this is some of the most flavorful food I have had in a while. The key is they focus on foods from cuisines like Indian and Mediterranean that tend towards being naturally allergen-​free. Dairy-​free sticky toffee pudding! Heaven! Moroccan chai with rice milk! Heaven! Gluten-​free rice and dal with onion bhaji! Heaven!
Not only is the food here wonderful, but the people are wonderful as well. Both of the servers I have had here have been beyond helpful and terribly friendly. The atmosphere is laid-​back and relaxing. This place deserves your business!

El Piano is a brilliant place — the food is vegan and gluten-​free (but apparently not so all of the drinks, so read the menu), but don’t let that stop any carnivores — the tastes and portions are awesome.
The staff are very knowledgeable about their products, and eager to help or cook something especially if you have a restrictive diet.
The only thing stopping me giving 5 stars is that it does get very busy, but hey — if they weren’t doing things right, I wouldn’t be writing such a good review.
GET DOWN THERE
But if you take the last table — save a place for me — I might not have eaten yet :)

I still look back on our bank holiday trip to York with amazement at all the gluten-​free options we turned up. And El Piano was a gem.
If you, or someone you know has coeliac disease this is your eating out heaven on earth. It is a 100% gluten free menu. No disclaimers, no eat at your own risk, no caveat emptor.
And if you couldn’t give two farts about gluten free, don’t worry, this is really tasty, wonderfully spiced, delightful, good food, all on its own. Tapas, croquettes, hummus, these were the fare we sampled, but honestly, we didn’t have much choice.
We had thought they closed an hour later on Sunday, but instead, we got there only five minutes before closing. We were just gutted. It all looked so good. Then we learned they might not open up the next day because of a fridge problem.
All credit to the staff. Amid their trying to clean up their fridge mess, they fixed us up with a sampler of all kinds of tapas and finger food and… get this… all of the rest of their hummus! No fridge, they would have had to throw it away. We were stunned. Living in the south, I think we’ve just come to expect that everyone in this country is a stingy stuffy southern English stiff twat.
York really won us over. And a good deal of that was due to people like those we met here at El Piano.
El Piano is all casual, so leave your top hat and spats behind. Relax, slip on your toe-​less shoes of choice and tuck in.