I love spotting a tourist on Dalry Road. Slight frown. Downturned mouth. Clearly perplexed. Who can blame them, Dalry Road is not the Edinburgh most people envisage when planning their trip. Cigarette butts litter the floor instead of cobblestones. Spray-painted shutters stand as the area’s only monuments. If I were them, I too might wonder if I’d got off at the wrong stop.
However, look past its lack of gothic beauty and you’ll soon realise that Dalry Road is one of the most attractive streets in Edinburgh, as long as you’re an eater that is.
Instead of the Thistle Do Nicely outposts and fast food branches that clog so much of the city, Dalry Road boasts a dense and varied range of independent restaurants run by and for a diverse, local community.
Walk 100 metres and you’ll pass renowned Italian restaurant Locanda de Gusti, a newly-opened Japanese restaurant called Miju, Scottish bistro First Coast and Xiangbala Hot Pot, an eternally-bustling Chinese restaurant. Add to that exceptional pho joints, award-winning curry houses, Turkish cafes, Argentinian steakhouses and you’ll begin to wonder why so many who visit Scotland’s capital never come to this 0.6 mile stretch of road.
The answer is simple. While Saigon beef stew, masala dosa and Shetland mussels can all be found on Dalry Road, there is one thing that can’t, a tasting menu.
Unlike Edinburgh’s general independent restaurant sector, which increasingly caters towards big-spending tourists, Dalry Road’s culinary scene serves a huge array of regular folk who value their food.
The local shops hammer this point home. Italian ingredients can be found at Fruttivendolo, while every spice you could ever need is neatly stocked at the back of Mediterranean Supermarket. Baixing Chinese Supermarket, Thai @ Haymarket and the sauerkraut-slinging Taste of Europe form the remainder of this grocery store, all-star starting five. Unfortunately, not even this dream team can save Dalry Road.
9 Haymarket Square, a four acre office development located at the station-end of Dalry Road, has been undergoing construction for some years now. Many of the buildings have now been completed, as attested to by the aggressive lump of metal and glass that juts above Dalry’s diminutive buildings.
Alarmingly, the 9 Haymarket Square website suggests that this extensive development is only the beginning, stating: ‘The wider Haymarket areas is [sic] set to undergo a significant transformation in the next 3-5 years with significant levels of commercial development already in planning.’
Transformation is one of the many words developers like Qmile Group use to dance around what’s really happening: gentrification. Of course, this isn’t bad news for everyone; some Dalry Road businesses are well-placed to take advantage of the area's impending metamorphosis. However, there are many others, especially those that are owned by and cater for migrant populations, that will be driven out of the area, either by changing customer demographics or increases in rental price.
Those with food businesses should be particularly alarmed. Part of the £350 million project involves a complex which in Qmile Group’s own words will boast ‘a selection of high-end bars, cafes, restaurants and retail.’
So far, the only evidence of such “high-end” establishments is a wall plastered with Black Sheep Coffee ‘opening soon’ signs. Depending on your temperament, that’s your cue to run, sob or scream.
Qmile Group and fund managers M&G Real Estate’s past projects do little to allay fears that Dalry is about to be inundated with uninspiring, overpriced chains. The duo were also responsible for Edinburgh’s Quartermile development which boasts “high-end” culinary enterprises such as Caffè Nero and Söderberg. Give me Throat Punch, Twelve Triangles or Troy anyday.
The most galling aspect of the development is that both Qmile Group and M&G Real Estate describe 9 Haymarket Square as ‘A vibrant oasis in the city centre.’ I don’t believe a newly-minted space, packed with commuting workers who eat soulless lunches served by B-rate chains, to be anything of the sort.
Instead, I see 9 Haymarket Square as what it really is: a beige food court designed to serve people who are too busy, stressed or ignorant to eat somewhere further afield.
Unfortunately, this charade comes at the cost of a real oasis. One that has nourished a 0.6 mile stretch of the A70 for years. You should come and enjoy it, before it's completely drained.